Finally, a small emery cushion, for polishing the needle should it get sticky or rusty, a piece of beeswax is useful for flax threads, a stiletto for piercing eyelet holes, a yard measure, a bodkin, and some small pins, are all necessary items, which should always be at hand when wanted.
The Second Point: The Colour Scheme.
Colour lends an inexpressible charm to our daily life—it is in nature that it exists in greatest beauty. The wonderful robe of colour which she displays for us throughout all seasons and in all countries, through the flowers and fruits, trees and foliage, sea and sky, the birds, animal and insect life, all under different aspects and ever-varying circumstances, increase our admiration and pleasure. We reflect and gratify our need for colour in our intimate surroundings—dress, hangings, furniture, carpets, pottery and pictures. The embroideress who has a fine instinct for colour will arrange a scheme wherein beautiful combinations of hues, tints, and shades will mingle and produce a harmonious whole. It is for those less favoured that the following hints are given. A knowledge of the principles of colour will serve as a guide, while the use of a chromatic circle, i.e., a colour circle, will be invaluable to the beginner. This convenient arrangement wherein successive strips of all the colours are placed concentrically in their due proportions—as in the prismatic spectrum—will enable her to study the varieties, the relations and the peculiarities of colour and help her to arrange and select those hues, tints and shades which will combine well together; it will aid her to obtain happy effects with some appreciation of its harmonies and contrasts.
The three primary colours, green, red and blue—green being now generally accepted as a primary instead of yellow—offer the greatest contrast to each other. They are the strongest and most powerful and exercise a greater influence on the mind than any of the others; add to these, orange, yellow, violet, white and black—the sum of these six colours constitutes white, and the absence of all, black—and we have the eight from which all the other colours and their modifications can be made, easily and systematically.
Red (Complementary Colour, Bluish-Green).—Red, the strongest and most powerful, excites and stimulates the eye. It was the first colour to be used for decorative purposes by primitive man, and the first to receive a name: it is the most predominant of the warm colours, and on account of its fresh, bright, cheerful character, is much used by beginners; but this very assertive quality makes it rather difficult to combine with other hues, therefore it is well to use it in small quantities for general purposes. Red, in different hues, has always been the symbol of power and distinction. Scarlet has been used for regal robes and state ceremonials, as well as for military purposes—it indicates bloodshed and war, fierceness and courage. Red of a rosy hue signifies divine love. It has been a favourite colour with the poets from the days of Homer to our own time. The complementary of red is bluish-green.
Blue (Complementary Colour, Yellow).—Blue followed red—it is of a quiet retiring nature, soft and soothing in effect, imparting the same quality to all the hues in which it predominates. It is one of the cool colours and is symbolically emblematical of heaven, piety, and intelligence. The complementary of blue is yellow.
Green (Complementary Colour, Purple).—Green, the most prevalent colour in nature, and the least stimulating, has a remarkably distinct and striking effect on the eye. It is highly refreshing as well as soothing, and is the necessary restful colour, the opposite of red. Yet the nervous power of the eye is sooner exhausted by strong greens than by any other hue; thus, a piece of work with a preponderance of green is not so pleasing to look at constantly as the piece where blue predominates. Symbolically, green is the emblem of bountifulness, youth, happiness and prosperity. The complementary of green is purple (violet-red).
Yellow (Complementary Colour, Blue).—Yellow approaches white, and is therefore a brilliant and advancing colour. It possesses the greatest power of reflecting light; is rather difficult to combine unless modified. Bright yellow has been used emblematically, to express charity, joyousness, plenteousness and old age—greenish-yellow is the symbol of jealousy and envy. Its complementary is blue.
Orange (Complementary Colour, Greenish-blue).—Orange, coming between red and yellow, partakes of the nature of both—it expresses warmth, fruitfulness and wealth. The complementary colour is blue with a tinge of green.
Purple (Complementary Colour, Green).—Purple is the quietest of the rich colours, being composed of red and blue. It varies in tone according to the amount of its constituents. When blue is predominant it is symbolical of mourning, expressive of sorrow, sadness, and is called violet; when inclining to red it becomes warmer and richer. It expresses dignity, pomp, and regal power. Its complementary colour is green.