I normally buy bright fabrics, but then get too scared to use them. Not to mention my inspiration for this project was all over the place. I kept seeing gorgeous photos with wonderful, muted, contrasting colors. This nautilus sculpture was amazing me, as well as the browns of these deer against a green-blue fence. This photo had just the right muted tone, and this one was calm, just as I'd envisioned my quilt.
So, you see my color quandary.
Instead of focusing on color, I ended up choosing my fabrics based on texture. I decided to work with a couple of shot cottons as well as some plain solids. Fabric texture and feel can have quite an effect on how a quilt looks. This quilt with blender batiks has a faux texture because of the dye pattern on the fabrics. The colors are muted, but have an interesting visual quality because of how they were dyed. Shot cottons, seen here, can create a whole new look with solid fabrics because of their iridescent quality. When viewed one way, they're one color-- the other, another color. They're especially interesting when paired with black. They definitely add visual interest and subtle contrast when added to a quilt.
