I'm working on my first vase. I'm thinking of mid pink and dark pink flowers, but I know by now that there's no use planning ahead - I will select whatever works after much auditioning of fabric in the right spots. I'm finding that my 'auditioning' method of colour scheming is working out the best for me - its by far the most successful method and it means I'm not waiting around for fabrics to arrive after I've purchased them online. I did do this at the beginning of my LE journey but I've made a complete U turn on my original colour scheme ideas and now I'm not scheming anything, I'm just letting it happen. I will let whatever fabrics I have guide me for the vases as well. I am planning at this stage to make this vase and its diagonal opposite more pink and the other side more yellow, to have a balance of variety, but I'll see how I go. It's too hard to predict at this stage.
These fabrics are all very saturated so I've colour tested all my fabrics to be on the safe side (see my blog post on Colour Testing on the sidebar if you don't know how to do this). I don't always colour test - it depends on the fabric (and quilt) in question - but when it comes to LE, I am colour testing EVERYTHING. It's just too much work, time, love and commitment to take silly chances with it. I would be devastated if my LE ever bled out. So I'm not taking any chances and if you don't mind me insisting - either should you.
I'm pretty much following the pattern colors at this stage, as you can see from my pieces here. I have a concern that these reds and pinks might be too dark for my LE center, so I will try them out and see how I go. Even though I swatched these fabrics on my LE center before I cut them out, I personally find that you cant really "see" if a fabric will work until its cut down to size and in position. I'm going to have a lot of leftover, fusible applique pieces when this quilt is done - but that's OK. I'd rather have more pieces and find the right fit then settle with something that doesn't feel right to me eyes. Of course, I'm making this quilt to please myself, so I'll just keep making and re-making until I'm happy with the result. I am planning, when both my LE's are finished, to make a little coverlet of all my leftover pieces - just for fun. So I don't really mind having all these left overs.
Hmmm, I like it but I'm wondering about the darker red background on this bloom
I have to leave it on my design wall for a few days to really decide
I think I might lighten it up with brighter reds
I really love these dark, coordinated shady fabrics - but, although they are beautiful, they don't harmonize with the rest of the center. So it will depend on whether I darken the rest to fit in, or change these to something more mid tone. I haven't decided yet.
sometimes fabrics really look great, but they don't suit the actual project, I have this problem a lot
a real problem is that I love ALL fabrics, choosing between them is too hard
I'll keep auditioning and let you know which fabric shines for my Vase 1 options.
Have you made your Vase 1 flowers? How did you select your fabrics for these blooms? I'd love to know.