Dina

Well, I am no expert, but let me answer as best I can. Fabric selection is the hardest part, at least for me. If you buy any of the books, there will be a lot of information on fabric selection. I like mine to go from light to dark, and usually with two different colors. For each quilt I have made, I started with about ten extra fabrics and then auditioned them down. So far I have used 20 fabrics for 2 quilts, 12 fabrics for one, 16 for one, and 21 for the two I am making for twin beds.

How many fabrics you needs sort of depends on the design you want and the size you want. My favorite so far was Surf Song from Eileen Wright's book Twist and Turn Bargello quilts. The book has about ten patterns in it, I think.

I have used a pattern for three of the Bargellos I made, and I made 3 without patterns. Following a pattern is much easier. The main thing I learned about pattern selection though is to ALWAYS use an even number of fabrics. The last one I made has 21 fabrics, and that makes the ironing (ironing seams towards the even numbered strip) very challenging. I am making a mirror image of that quilt ....and it is the brown one....and I will never make one again with an odd number of fabrics.

You should google Bargello quilts and/or go to the Gallery part of the Pictures on this board and look at all of the different fabrics and colors. I think that about anything can be done....and do a search with just Bargello on this board too. You will see fantastic quilts. Bright colors with neutrals in between should work very well too. I particularly like to have a white next to my darkest. Just makes it look good.

I will attach a picture of my first Surf Song. I wanted blue and purple and spent ages selecting my colors. I am very satisfied with it.

Dina

Ruby the Quilter

I keep thinking I want to do one - so any suggestions on a pattern to start?

MarthaT

Is this normal? Come on, no one has been honest...of course it is not normal!!! Who in their right mind would take perfectly good yardages of fabric (after taking who knows how long debating whether they 'go together' or not), spend hours cutting them into teeny tiny pieces, and more countless hours sewing them back together and then, for pete's sake, consider doing in again, not once, but time after time, year after year. We quilters have a strange malady and the rest of the world is just going to have to accept that this bit of insanity is what keeps us right with the world in other ways. Enjoy whatever obsession you have at the moment. (By the way, the photo you posted of your quilt is lovely! Keep up the good work and don't worry about enjoying the same thing over and over.)

mea12

Dina, thank you for your tips. I did just google bargello quilt images and WOW! some look as though they use different strip sets vs just the same one throughout. very complex they are!! After viewing 15 pages, may i say your brown one appeals to me the most!! I can't say why....but i think it is restful but in a bold way and has an easy elegance to it. some of the ones i saw were impressive works but no place for the eye to rest. those have striking impact also but i like the more subtle deviations w/ a punch or two of boldness.

Dina

Well, I knew I wanted to do a Surf Song first, but I was not sure I actually understood the process. So I read through the book I had bought, Twist and Turn Bargello Quilts by Eileen Wright, and at the back was a pattern for place mats. I made one and it was explained so well, as she assumed you had never made one, that I felt comfortable forging ahead with Surf Song.

You might try that route. I will enclose a picture of it. Doing it inspired me to do more. It might do the same for you?

Dina

Dina

I think you hit it on the head that some of the Bargellos were impressive but had no place for the eye to rest. That is probably why I ended up creating my own design, as I was wanting a pointy one and couldn't find many patterns of just that. Plus a lot of those look just too complex for little ole me.

Have you looked at this one? It might interest you. I used it for the inspiration for the brown one.

http://www.northcott.net/?sid=3&layo...id=1&colid=549

Dina

smockingRN

Hi Dina,
I think I know exactly what you are going through! I have been making a lot of bargellos the last few years and am always looking for new patterns.
I believe there are good reasons for our bargello compulsion;
1. They ARE beautiful visually.
2. Bargello quilts are still kind of unusual, at least in my part of the world.
3. They appeal to those who may not like traditional quilts...especially men and teens, and so make great gifts.
4. Making a bargello is challenging and satisfying! They require quite a bag of tricks, especially color selecting skill, precision sewing of hundreds of seams, and finally, concentration and endurance!
Now, I NEED to go work in my garden, but I really WANT to start a new bargello!
Karen in Columbia, La.

mea12

Dina, i do like the style of that northcott one quite a lot but i like yours better!! i do feel the border is just all wrong for that quilt but that's just a preference thing. Will prob go w/ that pattern for my first..as apparently its too difficult to stop at one! i may try a mini version first as a wall-hanging. that could look pretty amazing too. I do agree w/ previous poster who said these have appeal for all genders/ages..its a really great style with universal appeal and does fall somewhere between traditional and modern.

Dina

I agree with you on the border of that pattern, but that is what is neat about quilting. We can make each pattern "our own." I tend to prefer a small inner border of the lightest fabric and then a larger one of the darkest fabric.

In fact, I made a small wall hanging based on that pattern. Let me see if I can find a picture of it. I didn't use all the pattern, but I did start with it. I forgot how many fabrics I used, but you could count them. I like this wall hanging so much that I made the brown Bargello to match it.

Dina

svenskaflicka1

i've done the same kind of thing my whole life. i'll find something that fascinates me, and i worry at it and work it to death. when i've either mastered it, or researched it to death, and i feel as though i "have it", i'm able to move on to something else. this has proved true with nearly everything i've ever set out to do. (luckily, i haven't mastered the marriage thing, so i'm still married to the original--and i still have all of my kids, too. i never gave even one of them away.) fill your life with the beloved bargello--and when you're done, you'll know.