Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Fabric Choices

We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. 
It's easy to say, "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." 
Then there are those whosee the need and respond. 
I consider those people my heroes.
~ Fred Rogers ~

Last year I watched the Mister Rogers documentary, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, which related the life of Fred Rogers with many clips from his shows and interviews. Now I just finished reading The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King which covers much of the same ground; however, there are differences when you read. You can pause and re-read paragraphs; books usually dig deeper and explain more.

When DH saw what I was reading he queued up the 2016 documentary, Mister Rogers and Me by the Wagner brothers for us to watch last night. I didn't realize Kickstarter began the funding for this movie. The difference with the previous works is this one highlighted people who were influenced by Fred and discussed their work that parallels his vision. How good to know there are more people interested in early childhood development and grounding children in kindness.


Back to the Stars. Picking three fabrics always seems like it will be easy. It's not. At least for me it's not. First I chose the three blue fabrics on bottom. They looked so good folded in a group and so bad cut and laid out. It needed color contrast, too. I kept trying different choices until finally choosing pink for the lightest value.


So it should be easier going forward, right? Wrong.

This time I used the medium value from above as the darkest value below. Again, my first idea was a range of three values of the same color.


Eventually the pale blue worked best for the lightest fabric. Hopefully my choices will improve as the quilt moves along. {Hope springs eternal.}

Enjoy the day, Ann

24 comments:

KaHolly said...

Sharing your process for selecting fabrics as you go along is so helpful to many of us. That you take your time and labor over every attempt is also refreshing. We can’t all purchase coordinated bundles providing the choices at our fingertips, and we don’t all make quick and easy projects, so to join you on your journeys is not only inspirational, but a great learning opportunity.

LA Paylor said...

I guess it's proportion. I've noticed too, that there will be good contrast when it's in yardage, even looking at just the small folded edge, but when cut it changes impact. I love the sort of plaid batik in the bottom star, and kind of like the pink. It's not your original vision though. I have been working in neutrals for a bit now, and it's changed my perceptions a little. The contrast is subtle. I would be working along, making decisions, then take a photo and see new things from the photo. The contrast would show up differently in photos, and actually I liked one of my progress photo compositions more than the final one in cattail piece. Ah well, it grew up and changed. LeeAnna

Quiltdivajulie said...

Love Mr. Rogers - always have. Thanks for the links and the book recommendation. Enjoy watching you experiment with colors. Like KaHolly said - much better than watching another quick and easy precut project.

Janie said...

Good words on 'grounding children with kindness', thanks.
You're having fun with fabric and contrast, interesting process.
I'll be back to see more.

Mystic Quilter said...

Wow these stars look tricky Ann - how many are you making?

Melanie McNeil said...

I enjoyed your post. Thanks for your comments on Mr Rogers, and on choosing colors. No, picking 3 colors isn't always (ever?) easy!

Ann said...

How kind of you to say so, Karen. I'm never sure if this is boringly TMI or not but I want to write about the process rather than the results. I don't purchase coordinated bundles and rarely buy two fabrics from the same named group because I'd rather make my own choices. I like the slight dissonance of fabrics that aren't batch dyed.

Ann said...

I think you're right, LeeAnna. There's always a huge difference between edges of overlapped fabric and the actual cuts.
That plaid is a Marcia Durse fabric {I think.} I don't usually pay attention but a friend of mine is a big fan of hers and pointed it out.
Working with neutrals sounds like a good challenge. Subtle would be fun... not that I ever actually do it. Ha.

Ann said...

Fred was great. It's good to know his legacy is ongoing. My grandchildren watch Daniel Tiger. The format looked familiar so I was pleased to find it's by Fred's company.

Ann said...

Just like you, Janie. I always enjoy seeing what you put together.

Ann said...

I think I need sixteen but I'm making more so I have some choice. Just like fabric folded versus cut, the blocks look so different once they are sewn.

Ann said...

Thanks, Melanie. I'm glad you enjoyed the colors. I spent most of the last week laying them out. Now to sewing.
Mr. Rogers is wonderful. So glad his legacy continues.

Cathy said...

Even though it's not easy that's part of the fun...mixing and matching fabrics from the stash. Nice to see you moving forward with these blocks. It's going to be beauty.

I hate to say it but I always thought Mr. Rogers was kind of strange. I must be the only one to think so so I must be the strange one. I do have to admit that sometimes when I make my ticky tacky houses his song about people in the neighborhood sometimes goes through my head. Yeah, I must be the strange one! Those are the people that you meet each day!!

Millie said...

Well. Hope may spring eternal but it’s never any fun banging your head on the wall trying to work it out. I like the blue and pink better than the sickly yellow green. Sorry. However. Pink isn’t just a light red, it’s really a light red violet. So I would veer towards a dark warm
Ish blue in the points. Like a dark violet. A dark blue violet. Tough to find in fabric. Then your darks will connect better with your pinks and give a nice contrast.

I’d use the blue with the dots in the bottom of the top photo and put that between the pink and the dark blue. You’ll have the added benefit of the circle mimicking and repeating the circle shape in the pink fabric. And absolutely use the patterned fabric in the points. The light will pick up the light of the pink and you’ll have a design that connects all the way through.

Ultimately it depends on what you want. I prefer a lively surface with contrast. You may not. But knowing what you want will make your color selections a bit easier. Don’t follow the color wheel slavishly. Working on either side of your “expected” colors can often yield surprising and interesting results. And don’t be afraid to try something you think might be really really wrong. You’ll know, of course, but often it can spark an idea you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. Sometimes when it isn’t working, I’ll break it on purpose. And often that works by getting me out of my own head. Good luck. I’m eager to see what you’ll come up with.

Hugs,
Lynne

patty a. said...

I see how the more matchy match color groups don't work as well as the ones you finally chose. The light blue and the pink add a bit of sparkle.

audrey said...

It's amazing how things change once the fabric gets cut into smaller pieces. Love both of these tremendously. The values are wonderful! Looking forward to seeing this one come to life!

Ann said...

Choosing the fabrics and rearranging them is one of the best parts of quilting.
I used to think Mr. Rogers was too slow until I read about Maria Montessori. Now I think young children need that speed.

Kaja said...

This is interesting,and you were looking for a new challenge after all. I think you nailed it with both of these in the end.

Ann said...

What a wonderful explanation for choosing colors. I've been surprised how differently the colors appear in photos than they do on the wall - even with the new light. Your idea of working on either side of the expected colors makes a great point.
I see this quilt as very soft - not a way I go often. We'll see how it ends.
Thanks, Lynne.

Ann said...

Thanks, Patty. I seem to always start out well-matched but end up liking a bit of dissonance more.

Ann said...

The size of the piece has such effect on the color. It always surprises me. And there are several more levels to go.

Ann said...

You're right. It's very traditional but also quite challenging.

Mary Marcotte said...

You know, I actually like them all. I think the contrasting colors look better, but I'd use any of those options. I'm not a picky girl, however, and don't have a favorite or preference when it comes to color. I seem to like all of them which, of course, can make decision-making difficult.
Regardless of what you choose colorwise, this pattern is interesting. I've never seen anything quite like it and am interested to see how difficult it is. (It looks rather difficult.) Whatever you're doing, keep at it because this is working!

Millie said...

Actually it isn’t the size of the piece, per se. it’s influenced by the surrounding color, in this example, so much white, so it gets washed out a bit.