Oh, I'm so sorry. It sounds like you need to step away and get a good night's rest. Trying to match that many colors would make me INSANE. Bless you for even trying.

you are correct. trying to match colors exactly is exhausting and frustrating. that's true even if you're lucky enough to have an in-person place to shop for them.

consider changing your strategy a bit. remember that works of art inspired by other works of art are nearly always "interpretive". that is to say that they don't have to be exactly correct in order to be beautiful and appreciated.

as long as the colors you use create the appropriate look, it won't matter if they aren't super-precisely accurate. cross my heart. ;-)

is there a place near you that sells paint? they might not mind if you collected paint sample strips that show the colors you need. then, contact HOP to see if you can mail them the chips so they can go through their bolts to match those colors for you. if they can't, try contacting Mary Jo's. i don't think they carry moda, but they have a huge selection of tonals from a number of designers. (i'll bet it's the same at HOP.) it's possible that drawing your fabrics from different collections will add interest to the quilt you hadn't expected. :-)

you might also consider buying a supply of fabric paints and some nice plain white muslin. you can mix and paint your own. i could be wrong, but considering the price of the fabs you've been considering, i believe painting your own will save you piles of money in the long run.

when you've made what you need for your project, you can also experiment with faric painting for its own sake. there's a huge market for hand painted fabs. if you find you have a talent for producing beautiful fabs, you will most likely be able to sell them. :-)

Try calling there customer service and tell them what you want with the numbers, a person might be able to help. Keepsake quilting (I go to the store) also has a lot of moda that is not in their catalog, you might try giving them a call also.

Sorry that happened.That would tire me out pretty quick.Here's a site that carries all Moda Marbles. If you don't order on line, it does show all colors by number & name. Good luck in finding what you need.

http://www.craftconn.com/Main.asp?Ta...CategoryId=110

How frustrating. I sure hope you can find those fabrics somewhere else.

You have probably already tried this but google the fabric ID number and if the same shop comes up on multiple numbers you could try calling them. You may have to end up getting the fabrics from different vendors. I had to do it that way once when I was buying a particular line of fabric. Good luck ... it's a lot of work.

Susan

SO disappointing when best laid plans fall flat, isn't it?!! Sorry you couldn't find what you wanted at a store, no less, that everyone raves about.

One suggestion... have you looked at the Robert Kaufman fusions line? It's all the same (subtle) tone-on-tone pattern but comes in a great many colors. I use them all the time, especially for borders where I'm trying to blend with several other colors. Here's a link... scroll down...
http://www.robertkaufman.com/fabrics/fusions_5573/
Good luck!

Try looking or contacting Webfabrics.net. They have tons of Moda Marbles and when you order from them, they all come with a little sticker on each piece with the color number on it. I hope you find what you want here.

Be very careful trying to match colors on a computer monitor. Chances are excellent that if you matched a color perfectly to something you want on your monitor, it would not match in person. Fabric color matchers are made to match other fabrics, not graphics. They go by dye content, something you cannot duplicate.

Also be aware that Moda Marbles vary greatly between dye lots and today's Christmas Red will likely be tomorrow's Almost Made It. Patrice's suggestions are excellent, as always, and I would only add that Craft Connection generally has a larger selection of in stock Moda Marbles than HoP and they do carry all the colors.

I have seen the Fusions line. I do like that line, but I don't think its leafy tonal print would be completely suitable for this project. The sages depicted on these windows are elemental based so I think the only window where this leafy print would make the most sense is the Forest Sage. Definatly would not work with the Fire Sage (besides the obvious, lives on a mountain with no vegetation) or the Spirit Sage (who lives in the desert). I know...I know...I'm being picky, but I think about these little details.

However, I did look on that website and discovered their Artisan Batik Prisma Dye line and I really like those. And they list the specific color name as well as the color number! If only I could find a place that sold the whole line I'd be in business. HOP didn't seem to have the whole line on their website.

When I finally got this idea going I had spent two hours picking through fabric swatches on HOP. I wondered if I was being to picky. So I basically asked the board if I was being too anal for trying to match the colors as closely as possible. And a couple did say to take more artistic liscense with the images and that if it was really that important to be spot on with the colors. But one person had said that I have a vision and if I don't stick with it I'm not going to be happy in the end.

And oh how I have tried the paint chip thing and then some. When I was working overnights each day when I'd pass by the paint station I'd grab a few paint chips until I literally had all the Kilz paint samples. But I discovered I couldn't put the paint chip up to the TV screen to see if the color matched because unlike a wall or paper its lit in the back. And for whatever reason my printer isn't printing the colors out right. I thought maybe my computer's calibration was off and thus the colors I was seeing were totally off. But the images I pulled off ZeldaWiki and the video I took with my video capture card were both the same. Even turned on the game and went to the windows are and sure enough the colors on the TV screen matched to what I was seeing on my computer screen. So I can't print off a picture and match chips that way. I even went on a website where you can match paint chips and it won't let me find a color by putting in the color the computer gives me (ex. #000000=black). Ugh...I just can't win.

To tell the truth, dying isn't all that cost effective either between the dye, soda ash, the gallons of water I'd have to buy since we have rusty water, Retayne, that stuff that helps keep red dye from making your fabric looking spotty, and the fabric itself. I figure either I'm going to buy every color of dye under the sun or buy large quanities of red, yellow, blue, and black or have to experiment a lot or do quite a bit of research and hope for the best. Going to cost a whole lot more if I end up with something that I can't use.

Glad I could help a bit, albeit not directly. :-)

Just another thought if you want to look at a different fabric. Hoffman 1895 batiks (expensive though) are gorgeous and there's a website where you can get a snippet of their entire line. If you are interested in something like that I will be happy to find the website for you.

Susan

SEVENTY-SEVEN+ colors??!! <gasp> <gasp>

You go girl! No wonder you're stressed out. :-)

I hope this works. This is the link to the "color fan"


http://www.batiksplus.com/SuperStore...ProductID=5042

The main website is batiksplus.com. I've ordered from them several times and always had great service. You can also get free shipping and sales from time to time as well. Good luck!

Susan

As you said, it took you hours to pick the colors. A lot of work!! Really hope folks on the QB can help.

From reading your posts I know you are a purist, especially with your Zelda project. With such a vast colour range needed, and the fact it is a stained glass window effect, perhaps you might consider using fabrics other than 100% cotton. Depending on what you choose, it may add an extra luminosity to your work. Now I'm off to hide from the QP!

quilting is supposed to be fun LOL

http:stitch-n-frame.net

moda marbles, patrick lose marbles, tons of marbles...

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It would literally make me sick. But, I checked out this link and it is awesome! I think I've discovered a new source of fabric. I'm a Batik nut and this link has some great fabrics. Try it, maybe they can help.

I don't remember which on line shop recommended this sight, but once when I was at my wits end, I looked up FabricCafe.com, and then I called them. The service was great and I got just exactly what I wanted. I don't know if it was as hard to find as yours, but it is certainly worth a try. Good luck.

if you go to http:thousandsofbolts.com
they have a fabric comparison chart as well.

My heart goes out to you in this project. Pull away for a bit of time, relax and then go back at it. You will succeed.

What is the Zelda project, please ?

What's a Zelda? The only Zelda I know was in an old TV sitcom - Dobie Gillis.

I am only a beginner but I have noticed that there are so many colors of fabric and materials it easily can put me into sensory overload.

Good luck and blessings...

Oh my, you sound like me. I want my colors to match exactly...but, you know what, I am gradually learning that they really don't have to. They just don't. Close is close enough sometimes.

Don't know if this will help, but crafttown fabrics carries Moda Marbles.

can you post what you're working on so we can see it, please

i love your zelda ideas. i've had to make the sword and sheild several times for halloween as well as the costume. my oldest has every zelda game and still has his original nintendo ones. he's 21 now and still the gamer. i showed him the windows and your posts and he is impressed. in fact, he's hinted several times that he thinks "I" could do that. i don't. i don't have the patience, but i think you are doing a great job and i can't wait to see the finished product. good luck.

Try www.Fabric.com/Moda I looked and they have Marbles and you can check their archives Hope this helps

A really great quilt shop that carries most of the Moda Marbles is Weaver's located in Lititz, PA. They do not have a website but here is a phone# 717-627-1724. They are very helpful & try to please. Good Luck !

www.craftconn.com has a good deal of Moda marbles. You might find a few you need there.

Good luck!

number contain a lot number too, and if you have a different lot number, your color could be off just a tiny bit. I would get as close as I could, and not worry about it so much

Try the moda website, email them, or call, and ask where you can buy the colors?