Valerie made a comment about the White Strip Donation top the other day and it got me thinking about successful scrap quilts.
I think the strip and improv donation tops have been successful because of the consistency of color used. Primarily, these quilts are monochromatic. I say primarily, because fabrics often have different colors on top of a primary color, so other colors are included in monochromatic quilts. Also, for many of them, I have used a different color (complimentary, usually, though neutral as well) for the sashing and border.
I have used a different color as sashing or border to provide contrast in the strip quilts. The White Strip Donation Top I recently finished has a different look. I used fabrics with a white background for all the pieces. Readers can see some of the other colors as they dominate the image (click on it to see it larger and get a better view), but the overall look is still white.
I often worry about the successful color selection of “paper bag” scrap quilts. Many find it fun to grab a piece out of a paper bag and use it without thought or consideration. I find this method of selecting fabrics to be incredibly stressful. I like to carefully select my fabrics. In that way, I feel like I have a better chance of a successful final project. I don’t want to spend time on a quilt that ends up ugly.
Making the Scrapitude quilt was an exercise in faith. It was a mystery quilt so I had no idea how it would come out. Often, I wait until the end to see the finished product, but this time I stuck to the schedule. I still carefully selected my fabrics and was careful to use the same type of prints for the background-dots on white.
I love the way this quilt came out and I do enjoy looking at it. I wonder, though, when I look at it if I should have included the blacks, dark greens and some chocolate pieces? I like all the fabrics I chose.** I often think of making another version of this quilt and making the changes I wonder about.
I think carefully selecting fabrics even if you are grabbing from your scrap bin is really key to a good looking finished quilt. The quilt will look like your style. You will like it and you will enjoy working on it.
** I think it is absolutely key to only work with fabrics you like. Whether it is the brand, the designer or the colors, life is too short to work with fabrics that make you cringe.