This entry is about colourwash technique that I was exploring quite a few years ago and have abandoned by now.

Everything starts with a black and white working drawing. At this stage I am concerned with color value --the lightness and darkness of colors. I work to develop seamless blending from value to value or to create areas of contrasting values and the balance of light and dark. This shading is a way to reveal and underlying shape and movement -- sometimes the shading reveals transparency or three-dimensional illusions.

The next stage takes me to the flannel board design wall. I pick patches of fabric from trays sorted by color value. I go through hundreds of fabrics, laying out patch after patch trying to achieve the illusion of an uninterrupted continuous flow of fabric, not an arrangement of distinguishable patches. The biggest quilt I have made, *Dreaming of Sun* consists of more than 4300 small squares patches; the smallest, *See You There* is made of 256 squares. Usually just one patch from each fabric is used ("Dreaming of Sun" is an exception from this rule).

After much "fine tuning", replacing single patches or reworking whole areas, the 2"x2" patches are sewn together (pieced). This completes the patchwork top. This is when I select a particular kind of batting and fabric backing.

The next step, creating the design for quilting and choosing my quilting threads, is very important for achieving the overall effect. As you can see on the pictures showing detail before and after, quilting changes the surface in many ways. Quilting creates relief and texture, helps to direct the eye away from the piecing seams and blends patches together creating the illusion of a whole cloth. Sometimes metallic threads are used to add sparkle to the surface (unfortunately, this cannot be seen in the pictures). The rest is more technical, somewhat less creative work - binding and making the hanging sleeve.

In the end, I have a quilt that awaits a name. In many cases the relationships of fabrics, colors, and textures have indicated a sensation that is represented in the title and eventually on the label.