Star Sampler Fabrics

Time flies when you are having fun. I am enjoying musing over possibilities for this project. I didn’t think I would since I like to get sewing quickly, but I am determined to enjoy this fabric selection process and it, as it turns out, is not difficult.

I bought a couple of fabrics last week when most of the network was down at work, except the Internet. I did do work, really, I did – more than others, I think – but at some point, I couldn’t get into my email and there wasn’t any new work coming in. After you clean your desk and read all your piled up magazines, contracts and make a ton of phone calls that have been put off, what else is there to do but buy fabric? 😉

Dot Background?
Dot Background?

The fabrics came yesterday, which was perfect timing, because I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and they made me happy. I was able to play a bit and I even washed a couple of the fabrics.

There is always a surprise when I buy multiple fabrics and the turquoise and chocolate dot on white (middle of photo, right) was one of those happy surprises. I really like it and think if it had purple instead of the chocolate, it might be a perfect background for the stars. Still, I like it, but the chocolate does stand out a little more than I would like. I suppose I could add chocolate to the entire piece to add a bit of spark. I’ll have to try some out and see what I think.

I have to make visual decisions visually, so I will make a sample star, as well, before I decide.

Leafy Background?
Leafy Background?

Really, there is no shortage of blues at my house, but I seem to crave the calm feeling they project, so I keep buying more.  The three blues on white in the middle are also background candidates. I didn’t even buy them with that in mind, but thought of it when I saw them.

I almost bought more of the leafy V&Co print without even trying it. I stopped myself, because I want to make a sample and make sure the leafy blues and greens, don’t bleed into the other fabrics, destroying the crispness of the stars. I do think the leafy print would be a bold choice, because of the leaves.

Leaf and Dots
Leaf and Dots

I think the large dot on the middle left would be a pain. I think the pooling of the color at the bottom (top in the photo) would make it hard to use as a background. I do think it will work as an adjunct fabric for a star. The turquoise squares on white are a more conventional choice and might be a good one to fall back on in a pinch.

I keep thinking of this see-through star from someone else’s quilt in the quilt-a-long Flickr group when I think of the background. I don’t think I want to use a solid, but I do like the effect of looking through the star to the background, so I want to be sure and choose something that will help achieve that effect.

Testing the waters
Testing the waters

These fabrics all look good together and I think any of them would be fine, really. I think the leafy print looks good with the purples and the greens are similar, too.

At the moment, I am completely ignoring the purples I want, and need, to add. I like that Chicopee purple, but I need something that is a more bluey purple as well, like the background of the Philip Jacobs print. I’ll keep working at the fabric selection.

I have to admit that I thought about completely changing direction and going with pinks. Perhaps I will do two of these at the same time…except that that would mean I would have to pick background fabrics for two quilts.

I started talking about this project in a post a few days ago.