Originally Posted by ckcowl

1. Should the fabric in a scrappy quilt be somewhat color coordinated?
sometimes scrappy quilts are color coordinated - there are a couple names for this- dedicated scrappy- organized scrappy- --- some people just really really can not put scrappy together without a plan-

2. Should she just pick fabrics she likes? Yes
3. Would a black or mostly black border be a good or bad idea?
black really makes colors stand out and give a definite (feel) to a quilt---they really pop---you can achieve a (good=popping) design with white too- or really any solid that is a sharp contrast to the rest of the fabrics...black is great for drama!
4. Should there be a balance between bright fabrics and pastels?
with scrap quilts color really has nothing to do with how well a quilt design comes together--
what matters is VALUE!!! you need a good mix of light, medium, dark for it to work.

I told her I was pretty sure that anything goes in a scrappy quilt, but I would ask my experts.
you are right- anything goes with scrappy- if you like that sort of thing---some people have to have everything coordinated
Me--i love scrappy! and have quilts that contain batiks, homespuns, calico's, novelty prints...
sort fabrics into light, medium and dark with total disregard to color and you will have a striking quilt- especially if you use black or white for a background.

Are there any hints you can give me about selecting fabric for a scrappy quilt, whether it be scraps or new fabric??
try to have a good mixture of textures- large prints, medium and small blender types- the more variety the more they tend to work.

Also, I think someone mentioned an online fabric store that somehow allowed you to place fabrics next to each other to see how they look? That might be handy for her....and for me.
fabric.com is one but there are a number of shops now offering a design wall- you can choose fabrics - send them to the design wall and see them all together---move them around- put them on top of each other---it is a great feature!

have fun with it! let your friend pick out anything she likes-- it will be wonderful! :thumbup:
:thumbup:
i think about 80% of the quilts i make are scrappy's :-D