When Color Surprises You
How much time do you spend auditioning fabrics for your quilt? When I buy fabric for a project, I usually have a pretty good idea of which prints/colors are going where in a pattern. But sometimes if I’m not sure, I’ll try it out. And, for what it’s worth, when I audition fabrics (or anything quilt related), I always take a photo. There’s just something about looking at a small photo rather than the actual design wall that makes the answer stand out as obvious.
I ran into this type of situation Saturday night, while working on my nephew’s baby quilt. The pattern features 6-1/2” squares of the focal fabric, alternating with two-color Nine-patch blocks. I had a green and a red print for the Nine-patches, and was having a hard time deciding which print to use for the five squares and which for the four squares.
My initial thought was to use the green for the five squares, because the red print was a bit busier—I thought the red/yellow dots might be too much. But I wasn’t sure. I made my three-piece strip sets, one red-green-red and one green-red-green, and cut segments. I laid out a six-block section both ways, took pictures, and boy was it obvious! There was so much green in the focal fabric that having five blocks of green was too much. Five squares of red looked so much better. Glad I auditioned the fabrics before sewing…I’m much happier with the results!
Lisa Swenson Ruble
About the Author: Lisa Swenson Ruble
I made my first quilt when I graduated from college and realized that I needed a hobby to fill all those hours that used to be dedicated to homework! Eleven years later, I'm completely addicted to quilting and thrilled that my day job as the managing editor for Quilt, Simple Quilts & Sewing and Quilt Almanac allows me to "play" with quilts and the friendly world of quilters!
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