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Neutral colors

Neutral colors

Old 03-14-2018, 07:12 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Feathers-N-Fur View Post
I frequently read the advice on here to make a neutral quilt if you aren’t sure about colors. I disagree. I quilt because I love playing with color. If I was given a brown or white or cream quilt, it would just get put in a closet. Not everyone likes neutrals. Whereas, I would be thrilled with any “color” of quilt.
I agree with you 100% about the standard neutral colors being boring which is why I was seeking others opinions. I finally broke down and asked what her favorite colors are and will work with the information I received back Thanks everyone for your input, it was very much appreciated. As for the red being a neutral I too have heard that and it came from a professional quilter/teacher.
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Old 03-14-2018, 08:28 AM
  #22  
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A neutral for my quilting is any color lighter then a brown paper bag.
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Old 03-14-2018, 10:51 AM
  #23  
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I think any light color contrasting to a dark fabric is maybe considered a neutral. I remember hearing that Freddy Moran called Red a neutral so I think whatever you like as a neutral then it is.
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Old 03-14-2018, 12:01 PM
  #24  
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Originally Posted by Quiltlove View Post
This is a subject that is dear to my heart. I teach color theory and there is little information to be found for the concrete use of neutrals. Let me say this....A neutral is any color that is not on the color wheel. The color wheel only contains pure color and those pure colors that have black, gray or white added to them. Neutrals are bias with colors from around the color wheel. The key to using neutrals is the same for all colors. That is to make sure your selection has varied value and the largest proportion of color choice shares the warmth or coolness of the neutral.
This is what I learned too.
So.....are we discussing neutrals here? Or low volume? What is the difference?
I have a low volume quilt on my bucket list, and have started collecting fabrics for it. Many of them are not what I would have called neutral. They're just very pale colors. Maybe it doesn't matter so much to me as long as I like the combination.
Always love to learn something new.
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Old 03-14-2018, 02:00 PM
  #25  
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I have a quilt, made by a member here, that uses multi colors of deep burgundy as the background, and bright celery as the foreground color. I love it. Truly, any color can be used as your neutral unifying color.
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Old 03-14-2018, 05:29 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by d.rickman View Post
She also helped me when I was first quilting and putting colors together, to always use uneven numbers, such as 3, 5, 7, etc., in choosing my colors and to vary the depth of the shades I chose.
Wait, now I'm confused. How do uneven numbers help you choose colors? What's the correlation?
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Old 03-14-2018, 06:04 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Peckish View Post
Wait, now I'm confused. How do uneven numbers help you choose colors? What's the correlation?
In any type of decorating, humans respond better to odd numbers of things. Colors, candles, pictures, etc.
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Old 03-14-2018, 06:08 PM
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So you're saying use an uneven number of colors??? Well, I know a lot of 2-color quilts that are drop-dead gorgeous, so I guess that still doesn't make sense to me.
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Old 03-14-2018, 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Patricia M. View Post
I have a friend that thinks Red is a neutral.HaHa
I love red! It would be my "go to" neutral!
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Old 03-14-2018, 06:49 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Peckish View Post
So you're saying use an uneven number of colors??? Well, I know a lot of 2-color quilts that are drop-dead gorgeous, so I guess that still doesn't make sense to me.
You are right, they are beautiful. The odd number idea is about the artistic thing, not a law. It is your art, do what you like. As pretty as two color quilts are to me, I also know that having only two colors to work with, would keep me from being able to finish it myself, so there you are.
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