Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Ellie's Blocks, catch up.



Catching Up: Bright Yellow, Orange & Dusty Blue
Whew! I caught up just in time for the new color (rust) to be announced.

Bright Yellow
It turns out yellow is a tropical party girl. I had 3 different yellow scraps in mind, chose this one, and then invited aqua and pink to come play. 

My made fabric:

And my block:

Takeaways:
Yellow is fun!
Adding other bold colors to it brightens everything up. Orange is usually my ''go-to'' zinger color, as I typically use so much blue and green that it creates a nice contrast. However, I really enjoyed finding some friends for yellow.

Orange
I knew exactly which orange fabric I wanted to use—the brown/orange leaf print you see below. That made adding in the brown an easy choice, and then the turquoise kept it feeling modern and bright rather than so autumn-like.


I also found this fabric, which I LOVED and also felt validated my color choices. Ironically, I completely forgot to use it in my made fabric. Oh well.

My made fabric:


And my block:

Takeaways:
Orange is so versatile! And I don't have enough in it in my stash. I started a new quilt after finishing these blocks, and I need more oranges! I love how these three colors (orange, teal, brown) look so rich and polished together.
And small disclaimer: these photos turned out very bright. The actual fabric is not quite so fluorescent.

Dusty Blue
This color was a challenge. Maybe it goes back to my mauve-ish and dusty blue bedroom when I was a kid in the 80s…I don't know. I tried pairing it up with several different color schemes and nothing worked. Ultimately I realized that dusty blue is shy. It's going to fade into the background in most situations. So I let it do that.


My made fabric:

And my block:

Takeaways:
As I said above, I had much more luck when I gave up on making dusty blue the star and let it hang in the background. It's a great ''neutral'' but I'm still not sure what to put with it to make it pop—even if you went monochromatic, the other values of blue would likely stand out more. But hey, it has a purpose and I'll keep that in mind on future quilts!


And all seven blocks together so far:




Still having fun making these! And seeing everyone else's blocks!


Ellie, they look amazing. Your blocks pattern is Fabulous! It will be a beautiful quilt!

6 comments:

sheila 77 said...

These three blocks are so good. Love your fabric choices for each and the way they all look together.

Jodi said...

Wow! Gorgeous color combos - love them all!

Julianne said...

Oh! All your blocks are terrific and they look great together!

Tracey said...

Spectacular, Ellie!! I love your blocks together. Your color play is wonderful. The purple and peach additions to the dusty blue brighten it up greatly. I'm a big fan of friendship stars. Can't wait to see your finished quilt.

Ellen said...

Really love how they all sing together! Great blocks!

janequiltsslowly said...

That pewter neutral is a great setting fabric for the colors blocks. This is going to be a great quilt.