"When life gives you scraps......Make Quilts"

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Coordinating my fabric colors.....finding the right range of tones.......

Good Morning,

This morning I was thinking about color coordinating fabrics for projects.   Personally, I love colors and can audition fabrics for projects til the cows come home, if I had cows.....  but I also appreciate the fact that there are many of you who often tell me that you need help when it comes to selecting colors for your quilts.

How many of us go shopping for fabrics, browsing colors, trying to find the right coordinates, etc.  Even if we have no project in mind, it's a given that we'll still find something that we want to purchase.   But how do we decide what to buy.

When I shop for fabrics, I'll always try to find at least a couple of coordinates so that when I decide to put it into a project, I will be a little bit ahead of the game in that I have already married 2 or 3 fabrics that I auditioned together at the shop; making a wonderful base for selecting new fabrics when I'm ready to put the project together.

Meanwhile, when I was shopping for paint at our local hardware store a couple of weeks ago,  I was looking at the new paint chips there and actually took the time while reviewing the paint chips to work on a new project for wool applique.  Yes, there I was, in the paint section - working on the colors for a new design for wool applique.  Who says that stitching can't begin in the hardware store.
I want to shop for a selection of wool colors and I found a paint chip card with the perfect color scheme that will work for this project.  The same idea appliqes to fabric.

It is so exciting because our wonderful paint companies have done all of the work for you when you coordinate your next quilting project. 

Even if you have only one fabric for your next quilt, and you want to coordinate a few others to make the family complete, take a  swatch of your fabric to the paint shop, and select a paint chip that matches your fabric.  Guess what happens???  In finding the right match for your fabric, you've also found a whole color scheme that will coordinate with that fabric.  Now take the paint chip to your favourite quilt shop and audition fabrics to math the color family on the paint chip.

Shopping for colors have never been easier.   With regards to the paint chips, not only do we have such a huge range of colors, but they are also divided into color stories that will work with different tastes.   e.g.  Modern, Vintage, Pastels, Brights.

How's that for making our quilting lives easier!!!! :-)
Here's wishing you a fun and creative day!    QUILTY HUGS!!!!!!!

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