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!
Can I please come visit your stash for a day?
Posted by: Chris | February 18, 2011 at 02:38 PM
Great tutorial! Thanks for all the valuable advice...plus now I want your stash.
Posted by: Anita | February 18, 2011 at 03:52 PM
Hey, I enjoyed reading the entire post. I think you should make a quilt in each color wave so your audience can see how beautiful each selection is! Just kidding. ;0
Gosh, I LOVE fabric...even pictures of fabric make me happy. I'll have to go see what Thelma is using...
Posted by: ina | February 18, 2011 at 05:51 PM
Thanks Nicole for taking the time to do this for us. It still boggles my mind! :) Your picks are gorgeous but when don't I like something you choose? :)
Posted by: Nancy Watkins | February 18, 2011 at 05:58 PM
Great post on choosing fabrics. Thanks Nicole. You have a talent for fabric coordination!
Posted by: Sherry | February 18, 2011 at 06:14 PM
You have definitely missed your calling - why sell clothing when quilting fabrics is so evidently your vocation. I think you probably have a bigger stash than some of the local quilt shops I've visited(lol). Thanks for a great post with such delicious photos.
Posted by: CarlaHR | February 19, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Thanks for taking the time to write this out and sharing your thoughts about fabric selection. I was very interested what you wrote, and learned soemthing about analyzing my color choices more closely.
I just finished a quilt in Charlevoix this week, and posted a picture of it on my blog. (I agree those bright and cheery prints were super fun to work with!) I was in a huge hurry and had a terrible time choosing a backing. I read your suggestion about the polka dots and kicked myself. That would have been so perfect!! Great idea!
Although the wildly popular precuts available help many quilters (me!) to be more efficient and coordinated in our work, I know I'm guilty of relying on the fabrics within that particular line as a boundry for my choices. Your post is a good reminder to always stay open to adding more things in. After all, choosing the fabrics is half the fun!
I love what you have chosen for this project, and look forward to following your progress. I can already tell it's going to be a stunner!
Posted by: Brooke | February 20, 2011 at 06:47 AM
I'm a huge Miss Rosie fan. Looks beautiful!
Posted by: Kristyne | February 20, 2011 at 07:41 AM
I just want to grab all those stacks of fabrics and run away with them. :) I loved the way you analyzed the quilt that made me really look at the fabrics and see why they worked. Thank you. blessings, marlene
Posted by: Marlene | February 20, 2011 at 01:18 PM
Nicole - I'm participating in the Eventide sew, and need your advise/help. Where in the cutting instructions does it reference the cutting of your "something else"? I thought I had it all figured out, what fabric I wanted to use/where, the coloring and just cut away, sorted based on the instructions and then get to the piecing instructions and it tells me to use one "something else". I thought I knew what I was using for that, but I know I didn't cut any of those out based on the instructions. Now I feel really dumb and I've been quilting for over 10 years! I also noticed you used dark centers for your Ohio stars, but not the same dark as your points. Maybe I'm too anal but I had thought about using the same dark fabric for my centers, guess it's a personal choice. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Posted by: Deb A | February 21, 2011 at 04:14 AM
Brilliant post! Very, very informative. Thank you.
Posted by: Karen | February 26, 2011 at 07:43 AM