Don’t fall off your seats, I’m writing a post!
I really love the idea of the quilt-a-long, and the Modern Blocks book is beautiful, my head is full of blocks that I want to have a go at making.
But I really don’t have a clue about choosing fabric, or binding, or even “proper” tools to use, so I’ve been reading everyone’s posts each week, trying to narrow down how I’m going to handle this project (and get it finished before our newest edition - if that is even possible.)
But, I need help, and I’m hoping that someone reading that has a better clue than me. Last October, during quilt month, I shared a photo of a pile of fabric.
Alyce suggested 3-5 fat quarters as a starting point. There’s half a metre of each of the fabrics across the top (the bottom fabric is probably my backing, there’s 2 metres)
So here’s my questions -
1) do you think I should include a brown or olive green to break up the orange?
2) I’m thinking about sashing (something I’ve never done before) would blue or brown look ok?
3) Would cream or blue work for blocks that have a lot of “white space”?
Cate is a closer-to-forty-than-thirty SAHM of 4+2 kids, ranging in age from 15 to 3. She doesn't do housework, wastes too much time on facebook and pinterest, and is overwhelmed by the awesome blogs in her google reader. She loves taking online scrapping classes, learning about the scout movement (as a Joey/Cub leader), and has a purple front door. 2013 is all about CHOOSING the right path.
DIY: Sewing Machine Extension Table
How to Sew a Simple Pencil Case
Bookmarks for Mother's Day
Christmas Trees on Pinterest
Big Blue Tote
I love your fabrics. Orange and Lime green look so great together. Personally, I’d probably add a little bit of white in there too. Perhaps for your sashing?
Looking forward to the #modernQAL !!
Anorina @ Samelia’s Mum recently posted..LEGO - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles {Giveaway}
I’m not great at picking fabric either, Cate, so I’m not sure I’m the best person to give advice, but I can imagine brown sashing creating a “frame” around each block. And I can imagine white or cream for the “white space”. But maybe you can decide on each block as you go along? (That’s kind of my plan - decide on fabrics as I go along! Great way to put off the decisions ;o)
CraftyMummy recently posted..Padded Seat Belt Cover
I’d probably use a deeper olive green for sashing, with maybe a brown with very small pattern for cornerstones. I find adding cornerstones helps the sashing to be more than just ‘the spaces between the blocks’!
And for the ‘white space’ I’d either match the white/cream in the wheel material (it’s a bit hard to tell from the photo if it is pure white or cream) or else I’d look at how a very pale blue or green would go with the other fabrics. I’d almost be inclined to look for something with a hint of a swirl in it, rather than plain. I try (not always successfully!) to be guided by some of Jinny Beyer’s principles od having a dash of ‘deep-dark’ (the cornerstones) and a brighter accent (which might be your lime-green) and also having a variety of patterns/textures.
The easiest way to find out if the ‘value’ is of your picked fabric use a red tinted see through piece of plastic. Most quilt shops have them and I have seen some use the pink saran wrap in a pinch. All of your fabrics in the pictue have the same ‘value’. You will need another very light green/green-yellow and dark green and same with the orange. All of these fabrics complement each other, but will blend together when put into a block and the block pattern will be lost. Of all the different element in quilting I think this is the hardest for most people. If you have the selvage with the color dots on the owl fabric you can see the light and dark fabrics that make up that fabric. Great way to pick out light, medium, dark fabrics is to match the ‘dots’…
Sharon recently posted..Quilt Class