RSN Crewelwork Course: Color

For the Royal School of Needlework Crewelwork course we are going to be using Appleton wool. Those of you who read my  site regularly know that I love Renaissance Dyeing wool and Heathway Wool.  I've used Appleton wool only once before for a project, a small rabbit design from the A-Z of Crewelwork book.One of the advantages of Appleton wool is the huge array of colors they offer. I am fortunate to have an Appleton Wool color card and that has been invaluable to me as I prepare for this course. I am a firm believer in investing in color cards if it's within your budget AND if you must order most or all of your thread online because there isn't a needlework shop in your area. Computer screens are sharp and crisp but not accurate when it comes to color.When advising students on color choice, the RSN guidelines suggest "one or two main colors with their tonal values, and an accent color, if desired".Here's what I'm thinking so far.If I go with the design that's the Tree of Life with the deer, then these two colors will work beautifully. The greens and golden browns will make the whole piece look like an early fall day in the English countryside. These two colors are Autumn Yellow and Early English Green.I could work the same design in blues and yellow but I don't think it would be as successful. However, I love the combination of Bright China Blue and Autumn Yellow - it reminds me of France.The blue and yellow might work best if I stitch a design that's more like the large single leaf design. It could work for the Tree of Life I suppose, but I'm not convinced.The two groups above and below would work best for one large leaf type design but could be made to work for the tree of life design if I was feeling fanciful. Above is Bright Terracotta, Bright China Blue and Elephant Grey. Below are Bright Terracotta, Bright China Blue and Putty. They seem very Indian to me and I love the addition of the gray or putty color to the bright blue and terracotta colors.Naturally the color choice can't be made until the design is chosen and until I see the color of the twill that we will be using from the Royal School. I'm assuming it is the more traditional oatmeal/yellow color rather than an ivory color.These are just ideas for now and I will continue to consider what I will work best over the next weeks. I will also rely on the input of my tutor, Nicola Jarvis,  after I arrive at the course. The nice thing about the course is that the complete selection of Appleton colors will be available for us there.Any input? Opinions? Ideas? Recommendation? I'd love to hear from you!