My usual process for making a quilt like this is to pull a bunch of fabrics, cut shapes, sew them into blocks, then lay them out. After a good many are made, I decide which ones work and which don't and whether I need to make more and what colors. With 13 made I have 29 more to go. I expect these will change places as new ones are added. Because this quilt is about value, I'm thinking of unstitching the one third row down, third from the left. I think those two fabrics are the same value!
The idea for this quilt came directly from Lynn Roddy Brown's book, Patchwork-play Quilts: Make the Most of Scraps, Spare Parts, and Leftovers. 
Early in the book she discusses value, something I haven't paid much
attention to when choosing fabrics. Her strategy is to pair fabrics in light and medium; light and dark; or medium and dark. I'm all about color, but after
reading her thoughts, I began noticing. Her explanation was so clear and the photos helped clarify what she was saying. Then when I saw her "Buckeye
Beauty" quilt I decided it might (or might not) work for a little boy's quilt.Buckeye Beauty blocks are usually sewn all the same which creates a strong one direction diagonal. Lynn has rearranged the blocks so some have light centers and some dark. The four-patches on the corners alternate, too, depending on the centers. The layout then creates diagonal rows of lights and darks and a checkerboard in the corners where the blocks meet.
Lynn's blocks are 8" but I like baby quilts with smaller blocks so I changed the size. These blocks will finish at 6" so they are a little smaller. Using a 6 by 7 layout the quilt will be 36" x 42", without borders. I love the fact that I can use small scraps for this quilt, and I can imagine it becoming really scrappy with several different fabrics of the same color and value per block.
I'm making progress on my star quilt. I finished cutting the colored strips for the next border today. They're laying alongside the quilt and tomorrow I'll play with color placement.
I'm linking this post to Let's Book It - May 2016, Oh Scrap!, WOW, Let's Bee Social, Moving it Forward Monday, Scraptastic Tuesday, and Design Wall Monday. Thanks for hosting, ladies.
Thanks for visiting!
--Nancy.
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That's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brenna. It's a start, and I hope it improves as I add more blocks.
DeleteI have to admit that I don't pay much attention to value either ... and your Buckey Beauty really proves that value can make a huge difference. I have never seen it set like that ... it's going to be awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your vote of confidence in the outcome of the quilt, Kathy. I hope it improves with the addition of more blocks. It's such a simple block that the quilt will have to rely on interesting fabrics and the colors and contrast in the blocks.
DeleteI just realized today that depending on the set this can also become a Jewel Box. I think that set depends on the layout in each block being the same (unlike in this particular arrangement).
I hope you're having a great weekend!
I think it's ok to have an occasional same value block ! Love the idea and hope it comes to fruition! Thank you for linking up to #scraptastictuesday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicky. When I pulled that particular block off the wall this morning it seemed to freshen up the all the blocks that were up there (a total 16 today). I'm not going to take it apart yet; I'll wait till I have more blocks and then add it to see if it looks comfortable amongst the others.
DeleteThank you for hosting Scraptastic Tuesday. I didn't have time to visit the others who linked when I posted but I'll go back tomorrow and click on their links.
Vintage quilts always seem to have a block here and there that are the exception to the rule, as far as value placement goes, so if I am going for a vintage look, I like to follow suit sometimes (not always). But I imagine that is not your goal with this baby quilt. : )
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the glasses with red lenses that help you determine value? I have a pair and when I get blocks on the wall I am unsure of, I put on the glasses and see if the values are too similar. The red lenses essential make the color a non-issue and you can only tell value.
I love that book by Lynn Roddy Brown. She has some great scrap quilts in there!
Hi, Janet --
DeleteOne of the first quilts in Lynn's book was a vintage/antique quilt. A few pages later was a photo of her copy of the quilt. She commented that she learned so much about value by replicating that quilt, block by block. I would love to see a vintage Buckeye Beauty to copy, or at least look at. And I would love this quilt to have a vintage feel but my collection of fabrics is so assorted and eclectic I'm not sure I have enough of any one style to pull it off.
I have heard of the red glasses you mention but have not seen them. I usually squint when I'm looking at quilts. (I guess I do sometimes look at value in quilts.)
I love Lynn's book, too. So much to learn from it.
This is going to be a great quilt! Lots of secondary patterns emerging. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouraging comment on my quilt. I appreciate it.
DeleteLove your progress. When I became a rug Hooker, I really learned more about value and it has improved my quilting. Taking a black and white photo is a great way to see where you stand with value.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennie. That black and white trick works well. I knew about it but don't think to do it very often. I usually just squint, which helps with value, but doesn't remove color. I'll have to remember -- when I'm focusing on value -- to change my photos to black and white.
DeleteThanks for visiting and leaving a comment.
looks great so far. leave the block in for now because it is a nice break from the value contrast.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice to keep that one block in, Debbie, but it came too late. I already changed it! Those two colors both looked dark when they were side by side. And I thought for such a small quilt, with only 42 blocks, it just didn't work for me. But in the future, I'll probably try to hold off on a decision until I have more blocks made. I appreciate your input. Thanks.
DeleteI have that book, too. Value is key in scrap quilts. This is a great block to use with scraps. Thank you for joining in with Let's Book It.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sharon. Perhaps I've noticed value in the past (considering that I have one quilt called "Dark Strings," but haven't really used value to my advantage in quilts.
DeleteThanks for hosting Let's Book It. I have to come by in a day or so and see the links to others' blogs. There weren't any when I linked last night.
Very fun blocks. I'm not good at paying attention to value either, color yes, but not value.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many different considerations in a quilt -- blocks, colors, value, arrangement. I usually manage to focus on one or two but not all, and usually not value.
DeleteThanks for visiting and leaving a comment, Kate. I appreciate it.