Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Whoopsy! Not all colour and pattern are created equal

I finished this quilt for a co-worker (and friend)'s baby quite some time ago. I must confess that I was slightly embarrassed to give it to him...and I am slightly embarrassed to show it here.

As you can see, I was trying to pay homage to my friend's love of bright colour. I love it too! I also love lots of pattern. Yeeeeeaaaahhhhh....While I love almost all colour and almost all pattern, it turns out that I don't love them all together at the same time. May I suggest that you don your sunglasses? BEHOLD:


I did warn you! Bright, non? Do you see how some of the colours and some of the patterns compete? It's like they are locked in a mortal combat. Not pretty. I wonder also if it could be the battle of solid versus pattern???

While the colours and patterns are not serene, the quilting is simple and straight forward (plain ole' straight line). Good thing...your eyes might have exploded if this quilt had also had busy quilting.

Fortunately, something can be salvaged from this brutal lesson in colour and pattern...the very simple back turned out quite well. I love this recycled IKEA bedding and vintage turquoise linen together. The gingham binding makes me deliriously happy. Yeah...I know that it is weird, but I really do love gingham that much - to the point of delirium!

What do I learn from this quilting experience besides some more humility??? I need to read a bit more about colour theory. OK - true confession, when I say "read a bit more" it really means "I really should bother to read something - anything at all - about colour theory since it is clearly not innate to me". Any suggestions for reading material to hone my fabric selecting skills????

5 comments:

  1. I think this is a beautiful quilt and I have had the joy of seeing it in person. I do think that the solids and patterned pieces compete a wee bit but I betcha that it will be very interesting for a baby to look at.

    and gingham bindings, of course, rule.

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  2. I love it! I like bold colours. The stronger the better.

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  3. I actually like it. Bold and bright doesn't have to be a bad thing and the busy patterns work for me, especially the way you've broken it up with the solids.

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  4. It's wonderful -- a perfect bright and bold quilt for a baby. Since I use vintage fabric, most of my baby quilts are not this bright, but I suspect that the babies prefer these more colorful prints and solids. Also...love the back!

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  5. Silly girl! It's gorgeous! You haven't a thing to be worried about.

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