It is strange to have curated this collection of grey fabrics so carefully only to find that they look too light. I have darker ones to cut and will probably use some of all of them. A sunny day is predicted for tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what the greys look like in the light of day. Perhaps they won't seem too light after all, or maybe they will seem lighter. Daylight will help me decide.
There's that one very light blue 9-patch that may get replaced with a darker blue, now that I have more blues to choose from.
This quilt is my One Monthly Goal for March. My specific goals are:
-- cut and sew 3 more cross cornerstone blocks
-- cut the rest of the sashing and arrange the blocks
-- buy and cut more of the dark blue fabric for the outer border
-- sew the pieces into a finished top
I'm linking this post to One Monthly Goal March Link-up at Elm Street Quilts. Thank you for hosting, Patty.
--Nancy.
.
It's interesting how different light can change everything. I hope you have sunny days soon. I love the red crosses.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, you're so right, Cynthia. I'll look at fabrics at night at think they look perfect, then look in the morning when there's natural light and wonder what I was thinking. We did have sun on Sunday, but it's been grey today and will probably be until Saturday, I think.
DeleteYes, I think those red crosses add a lot to this quilt. Wish I'd thought of it!
Mixing in a few darker grays will make the whole quilt appear a bit darker, I think. It's always so interesting to see how varying light conditions can change the entire effect of a quilt. Good luck with your goal.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Pat. I have added more darker greys and it seems to have helped a lot. I think I'm also going to make a few more blue and light 9-patch blocks using medium blues.
DeleteLight is very interesting when it comes to choosing colors for creative efforts -- quilts, walls, accessories in a home, etc. I've found I need to wait for good natural light for most fabric choices -- daytime with sunlight!
I just love your piece--and grays can behave funny, can't they? Some you think are dark turn out to look light in an overall piece...some even are almost on the blue side, too--those are my favorites...
ReplyDeleteI do like how the red crosses look against the grays a lot hugs, Julierose
Thanks, Julierose. Yes, I'm learning lots about greys. They behave funny in lots of ways -- depending on the lighting (natural or not), and what other color they're beside, turning toward green or purple or brown or blue. I've added some more darker ones and I think they'll work along with the other greys. Yes, I like those red crosses, too. I told someone else who left a comment that I wish I'd thought of putting them there!
DeleteI made that quilt several years ago and it's one of my favorites. When I was collecting grays for it, I found that there seemed to be warm grays and cool grays and that sometimes they just didn't look very good together--so weird! Good luck with your goal!
ReplyDeleteI had to do some searching to find your version, Karen, but now that I've seen it, I love it. I wish I had more grey-to-brown plaids to use, as you did, but I don't. I like the warmer greys but hadn't given a thought to how the cooler greys would look with the other blocks. They should have looked good, considering that there's plenty of blue blocks but my eyes didn't like them. I've added more warm greys and removed the coolest, lightest ones. It's coming together.
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts!
I love this pattern and you are interpreting it nicely. I always love patriotic colors but the red crosses not only enliven the whole quilt color-wise but they stand for help and hope somehow.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin. I've changed some of the greys to warmer ones and I like it much better now. I wish I'd thought of the red crosses for the corners stones (they were part of the pattern) because I love them, too. Maybe they will be part of some other future quilt.
DeleteI like this rather somber (despite the red)quilt. I agree that the light blur block would be best replaced.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jennie. It IS a somber quilt, isn't it? I think the intent of the pattern makers was to hark back to Civil War era quilts which was a very somber time in American history.
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about that blue block. I don't know yet what I'm going to do about it. I looked at the original quilt the pattern-makers made and it has several light blue blocks in it. At this point I'm wondering whether I should switch out one or two of the darker blocks and replace them with medium blues. Or maybe that light blue stands out so much because it's paired with white instead of a cream, tan, or other more neutral fabric. I thought I was just going to cut sashing and sew blocks but maybe I'll be making a few more blocks, too.
I love this quilt, so glad to see it back on deck and next in line to be worked on. I have all the fabrics [?] pulled for it for ''someday''. I plan to make mine larger than the original, did you enlarge yours too? I'm so looking forward to your progress!
ReplyDeletelizzy
Thank you, Lizzy. I'm glad to be in progress with this quilt. It will be great to finally finish something! Yes, I doubled the size of the blocks. The large ones will finish at 9", the cornerstones at 4½".
DeleteI know you know colors really well so you probably won't have the problem I've had in choosing good greys, though maybe you'll do yours in a different colorway.
Looks good! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck with your project.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Patty.
DeleteI love how this is looking! And if you'd like my opinion (ok, so I am giving it anyway - teehee) I like the light blue block just as it is. Antique quilts often have a block or two that stand out as different and I love that look. Hope you get some sun soon. It has been a grey few weeks here in Maine too.
ReplyDeleteI welcome and appreciate your opinion, Wendy! I like the quilt better now that I've added more warm grey fabrics for sashing.
DeleteThat light blue block.... I looked at the quilt the pattern-makers made and it has three light blue blocks in it and they all look great. I don't know mine one stands out so very much because I used such a light white or because the blue is light. I was thinking today about changing the white to a fabric that's not so white and adding a few more blocks with medium blues in them. The funny thing about the original quilt is that their lightest blue/white block is in the center of the second row, as if it wants to say, "Look at me!" I know for sure that the blue in that light block will stay but the white may become a little less white. And I appreciate your thought about leaving it, Wendy! Thank you.