I know a number of you who would like to join in the Eventide Sew Along that Thelma has started up are feeling a bit overwhelmed about your fabric selection. I don't blame you! I have given that subject a great deal of thought myself, and thought I would share some of my ideas with you. This is a super long post today!
This is the original Eventide quilt pictured on the pattern cover. Notice the predominantly light blue hourglass blocks that form a large star pattern, the red side inner borders, and the Ohio Star blocks.
Here is a close up of one of the 42 Ohio Star blocks in the quilt:
The block is comprised of a dark fabric, which forms the star points, a center square, a light fabric that is the four corner squares and a segment of the quarter square triangles, and the tricky element "something else" that is a segment of the quarter square triangles and frames the center square. Here is a shot of a few more blocks in the original quilt:
If you study the entire original quilt, you can see that the designer (Carrie Nelson) chose not to use any darks as her star centers, and that her "something else" fabrics tend to be floral prints or a pastel tone on tone (blue or pink). Many of the center blocks completely blend in with the "something else" fabric that surrounds it. It is a really nice effect. Her quilt has a strong "light" feel to it. That was her choice and is lovely.
I wanted to give you some suggestions for pulling fabrics together for this quilt. Here are the dark/medium fabrics I selected for my version:
The majority of the fabrics are from a collection by Lecien called Antique Rose. I also added in some scraps that I had left over from a group called Dominique I by Sentimental Studios (from several years ago). They were similar in style, color and scale to the Lecien fabrics. I wanted a lot of variety and had around 15 dark/mediums.
The lights I pulled from my stash, and are predominantly creams. I had scads of them. Lots of variety. I made the decision to keep the center square of each Ohio Star block dark. Here you see my fabrics stacked up for the Ohio Stars. Are you wondering about the "something else?"
To be honest with you, I cut out a heck of a lot of fabrics to be potential "something elses". I had prints, I had pastels and I had tone on tones. Didn't really feel the love. Remember there are no rules here, and you all have the freedom to go in any direction you like as far as your fabric choices.
I decided I wanted to be a bit more structured in my choice of fabrics for this element of each hourglass unit. So, I picked out five tan background floral prints that each have red as the primary color in the floral. My thought was since the inner borders of the quilt are red and cream, emphasizing this red color in each of my Ohio Star blocks might be nice. The tan background also makes a good contrast with the cream which will show up in each hourglass unit and surrounds the center square.
Here are some finished blocks for my quilt:
This one below has that cool "blendy" effect that is so nice.
So how about some additional suggestions? You may even have some of these fabric collections in your stash. Remember, no rules, and you should definitely not fear to add in additional colors that go with your prints.
Park Avenue (3 Sisters for Moda). You have your light blues, which you would use for the large hourglass blocks. You have red, which you would use for the star points, center squares and the inner border units. You have olive, and brown which you would use for the star points and block centers. I would shop for additional fabrics that would add at least one or two more medium/dark colors to the mix. Maybe a deep rose and a rich dark tan. You could use the light tan floral prints for your "something else" fabrics. Use a big variety of creams from your stash for the lights (corner squares and hourglass units).
Antique Fair (Blackbird Designs for Moda). You have your blues for the large hour glass blocks. You have your red for the inner border and star points and centers. You have brown, a lovely sage green, and I would add in some deep pink as well for the medium/darks for the star points and centers. For "something else" I would be all over those cool checked fabrics. That geometrical element surrounding each star center would be outstanding. The light background florals you could use with the blues for the large hourglass blocks. Add in tons of creams from your stash for the lights.
Charlevoix (Minick and Simpson for Moda). Now this could be super fun. You have your light blues for the large hourglass units. Use some of the light background floral prints for those large hourglass units too. You have your red for the inner border, star points and star centers. The yellow, pink, darker blue are wonderful for your medium/darks for the Ohio Star blocks. I would go with whites for my lights in the corner squares and hourglass segments. See this close up of the yellow print?
See that touch of green? I would definitely pick up some additional greens to use with the other medium/darks. And for the "something else"? Well, I would go on a hunt for some polka dot fabrics on white backgrounds. Moda has a line of polka dots that would be perfect.
Now take a look at how these French General fabrics could work as well.
Light blues for the large hourglass blocks. Reds for the inner border, star centers and Ohio Star hourglass units. The dark blues and pinks are nice for the medium/darks, but I wanted more fabrics and colors, so I pulled some dark browns and rich tans from my stash. Here are two ideas for "something else":
You could use the florals for the large hourglass blocks and for "something else". Or, separate the ones with the tan background and just use those for the large hourglass blocks, and use the white backgrounds for "something else" surrounding the center squares. White tone on tones would be nice for the corner squares.
Or what do you think of this for the "something else" to surround the block centers? Plaids! That would add some interest. I'd add in a tan plaid too if I could find one.
Hope these ideas helped you and didn't make things more confusing! Just remember to play with the fabrics and pick up colors from your large medium/dark prints and you can't go wrong. My key advice is to have fun with it. And if you haven't started putting together a stash of creams, white and tans, I recommend you get started!
What a great post Nicole! I'm still on the fence about this quilt at this time, only because my list of "quilts to do" is too long.
Posted by: Wendy | February 18, 2011 at 04:50 AM
Thanks for posting your process and insights into picking fabrics for this project - so helpful and right on. Judy C
Posted by: Judy C in NC | February 18, 2011 at 05:11 AM
Your fabrics are just gorgeous Nicole am really looking forward to seeing your quilt progress. I'm very tempted to join in but am still trying to finish all the tops I started last year!
Posted by: Debra | February 18, 2011 at 05:24 AM
Nicole, You have missed your calling, you need to work in or open up a quilt shop! Your ideas are the best. Usually I just dig in and start cutting but I like the way you analyze a quilt and it's colors. Maybe that's why your quilts are so drop dead gorgeous! I think I will try some of your ideas for the next quilt I make!
[email protected]
Posted by: Audrey | February 18, 2011 at 05:33 AM
Nicole - Thanks so much for your insight and your willingness to share! Attention to detail does make a wonderful quilt.
Karen L.
Posted by: Karen L. | February 18, 2011 at 05:42 AM
Fun post! You're so good at choosing just the right fabrics for your projects. I've been on the fence about joining this quilt-along, and every time I see it, I get a little closer to giving in. I was drawn to the subtle fabrics in the original quilt, but your blocks are exquisite. I can't wait to see how it turns out!
Posted by: Kim | February 18, 2011 at 05:44 AM
Thank you, thank you, thank you....a thousand times thank you!
I have thought so much about this sew along and fabric selection that my brain had become frozen. After your fantastic advice and order of approaching the project, I definitely feeling a thaw coming on!
This post took a lot of your time, and I truly appreciate every word and picture.
What a great teacher you are....again my heartfelt thanks.
Posted by: Cindy T from Tulsa | February 18, 2011 at 05:56 AM
That was really fun! I studied the photos and tried to picture each combination and learned how you pick fabrics for a quilt like this. Thanks Nicole! Picking the fabric is definitely the challenge of this quilt design.
Posted by: Quilter Kathy | February 18, 2011 at 06:03 AM
What a GREAT post!! You've made it easy to "read" a quilt to find how to place the lights, mediums, and darks so a similar quilt could be made. Love the fabrics you've chosen to use and you're certainly tempting me to fall off the UFO wagon and made this quilt.
Rationalization .... I have several sweetly beribboned fabric bundles that have no pattern yet (and that have been bundled together for years) so could be used for this delicious quilt ... hummmmm. Food for thought!
Thanks again!
Hugs!
Posted by: Barbara Anne | February 18, 2011 at 06:30 AM
What a gorgeous quilt. Love your fabric suggestions. One of these days I WILL start on Elizabeth!
Posted by: Jocelyn | February 18, 2011 at 06:33 AM
Thanks for sharing this very interesting post !
Posted by: Beatrice | February 18, 2011 at 06:58 AM
I like Antique Faire or Charlevoix
Posted by: Sara | February 18, 2011 at 07:49 AM
It sure makes a difference to break it into bite-sized pieces when choosing fabrics. Now it seems feasible to me. Love the quilt, but fabric choice seemed overwhelming.
Posted by: Diane | February 18, 2011 at 07:55 AM
Wow thanks for sharing these ideas. I have Luna Notte, and will probably use it because I love the soft dreamy look. My favorite perfume is L'Heuere Bleue by Guerlain, so the soft blues really appeal to me in a quilt named Eventide...
But I'm always working on thinking outside the box with fabric choices.
I'm going to bookmark this entry under "tutorials" to remind myself of the process..." Thanks!
Posted by: Paula Peck | February 18, 2011 at 08:09 AM
What a great educational post with all these possibilities! THanks so much for going through this step-by-step process on how you create your quilts and how you choose your fabrics.
Posted by: sillysally | February 18, 2011 at 08:20 AM
This is a great post. It is useful for many quilt projects. I really like the Eventide quilt, but I think it will have to wait until I can gather enough fabrics. Thanks for all your information in this post.
Posted by: Miki | February 18, 2011 at 08:26 AM
Nicole- I am using an older line of Moda called "Gatherings." It is a darker, country line but I started cutting it out last night and I think it will work. I'm going to kind of fiddle with the fabric as I go along and see how it looks. I wish I had your eye for color. Thanks so much for your ideas.
Posted by: Peggy Reilly | February 18, 2011 at 08:34 AM
Great post! I'm really liking the idea of using Charlevoix (Minick and Simpson for Moda). I really like their fabric lines and think that you could add in some other fabrics from some past lines to work with it. It just has that Spring feel to it. I guess I must be in the mood for Spring.
Laura T
Posted by: Laura Tawney | February 18, 2011 at 08:36 AM
Oh, my goodness, Nicole. You have a new calling!!! When a shop has a class for a quilt that is, shall we say, challenging to pick the fabrics, they should have you in the week before to talk about fabric selection and then have you help the students pick what they will use. I for one would pay more for that kind of service. Great post to refer back to.
Posted by: Jean | February 18, 2011 at 09:32 AM
Thank you for this truly educational, insightful and inspiring post. You've helped make choosing fabric for this (and other) quilts much more possible. Thank you. Thank you.
Debbie
Posted by: Debbie | February 18, 2011 at 09:35 AM
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for this post. You are very insightful about color choices. I always learn something from your fabric combos. Have a great weekend. Hope your daughter is feeling well these days (and starting to glow!). When do we see the baby quilts started?
Mary
Posted by: Mary Kastner | February 18, 2011 at 09:40 AM
Thanks Nicole I think it helped some people. I just decided last night to which fabric collection I am going to use. It will be "Roses the Noel"from RJR from a few years ago.
Posted by: Judith | February 18, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Awesome post! Tons of inspiration! I never would have looked at the Charlevoix group for that pattern, but now I'm thinking it would look VERY nice.
Posted by: Linda | February 18, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Thanks for the "picking fabric 101" for Eventide! Good ideas:)
Posted by: Sinta Renee | February 18, 2011 at 01:01 PM
I've got a question for you, Nicole. On the "something else" blocks where are those listed in the instructions? I think I'm confusing myself. Thanks for your help.
Posted by: Peggy Reilly | February 18, 2011 at 01:40 PM