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| this is still an elegant option and I did think seriously about beige / taupe |
Today I've been making much ado about fabrics (again).
Like most quilters, I know what I instinctively love and believe in following your strongest colour feelings. With Forget Me Not however, I've really had to double think all my choices and potential options.
With so much energy being invested in the applique, I want to be sure, really sure, that the block background fabric enhances and highlights the floral applique.
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| Love the red background but it fights with the foliage for attention! |
Some fabrics drain colour away from the floral/foliage pallette I will be using, others harmonise too well, which means that the applique won't stand out.
The floral and foliage fabrics are assorted scraps and stash fabrics that I know I will be fussy cutting and using in small amounts for colour realism. I dont know exactly which applique fabrics I will definitely use, that will depend on the individual flower pattern, but the colours below are a good indication.
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Dusty pink is so romantic and maybe a bit too complimentary
I want a striking contrast |
I lined them up against the potential backgrounds I had chosen.
Then to confuse myself even more, I consulted colour theory. Apparently an excellent background for floaral applique is dark block colours as they draw the eye to colour (of the applique).
That made sense. So I tried out my colours on a dark red background I had my heart set on. And it did stand out, but it was also fighting for attention. Red as a background option, gone.
Here's my Forget Me Not Background
1. Spring
Yes I went for the provincial charming yellow, it's a little differnt from my usual choice, but I really love it's vividness, it feels alive already. Flower colours across the yellow from the Curio range really stand out nicely. I'm happy with this choice.
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| Yes. love it, it glows! |
And... yes, I will be making 2 x quilts at the same time. I have 2 DDs you see, and of course I want to create all of my block floral patterns. I simply couldn't chose just the one per month like you will have to!
My second choice is below.
I couldnt part with my polka dots, well my DD couldnt, but the red block background didnt work with the flowers, so I went with polka dot frames, a dark block background and...just to make a statement, have gone for dark plain borders and sashing also. The polka dot frames will stand out with bright applique being the focus. Perfect. Well, it;s my DDs choice and now I'm sticking to it.
They both decided that there was too much red in my life...and you know, they may be right about that!
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| With the dark block background, the flowers are really going to stand out. And so are the polka dots! |
OK, now I'm set!
Have you chosen the background yet?
