Random Thoughts

Randomness - Part 3

My Random Lessons were forgotten for years.

Then, when I started doing my own designs and picking my own colors the old lessons were remembered.

For the Royal Gorge Postcard I needed to stitch the wall of the gorge.  To start, I pulled out every overdyed floss I had that was remotely brown.  Some were dark brown, others light.  One was brown with yellows.  One was mostly tan and purple but there was some brown.

Without looking too closely I reached down and pulled one out and stitched a row.  Then I pulled out another brownish thread and stitched another row.  Then I had to start paying more attention.  It would be easy to alternate 3 colors.  Instead I thought back to the random lessons.  Sometimes I used a floss that was dramatically different next, sometimes I used a similar floss.  Sometimes the same floss.  Any time I noticed a pattern forming I would use a different floss.

I used the same method of choosing colors on Purple Mountain Majesties.  I generated separate piles of yellow, green and purple and did my best to alternate them as randomly as possible.

 

The more colors you use the easier it is to be random.

With two colors it is nearly impossible:

AABBAABBAABB  (not random)

ABABABABABAB (not random)

AABABBAABABB  (better)

With three colors it is easier:

ABCABCABCABCABC (not random)

ABCBBACBAACABB (better)