Auditioning Background Fabrics

I'm working on a new quilt and making a test-run of fabric colors. This will also be a test-run to see where I need to tweek the design to get the shading right. The final quilt will have different fabrics in it, but with similar colors. I don't have enough of those fabrics to make 2 quilts, so I'm making due with other fabrics. This test-quilt is also 50% smaller than the final quilt will be.

Last night I finished making the lilly appliques and can see where I need to make changes to get the shading to look better. I'm also auditioning backgrounds to see where I need to go.



This is my first choice of background fabrics. I think the complementary orange color works well, and there is enough texture in it to make it interesting. Unfortunately, I only have a fat quarter of this fabric so I would need to locate more or a similar fabric in yardage. That is the problem with all the fabrics I auditioned.


This is a commercial solid. I think it's too flat and needs some texture.


This is one of my hand-dyed pieces. It's better than the solid commercial fabric, but I'm still leaning towards the orange batik.


This is another hand-dyed piece. I think the orange is a bit too red, and again there isn't enough texture.

So the conclusion is that I need to find another piece of orange batik that is large enough for this quilt. I also need to tweek the shading appliques to get a better look. Of course, thread painting will add a lot to it, but I want to try adjusting the design a bit more. Once I get that done and find the background fabric, I'll add the leaves and stems and see how it all looks.

Comments

Barb said…
Your lilies are wonderful, the third background I liked the best.
Susan Loftin said…
Thanks Barb. I appreciate others perspectives. I wish my fabric pieces were larger, but it gives me an excuse to purchase more fabric and/or dye more fabric. That can't be bad.

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