Tartan

So I am going through my scrap bin looking for neutrals to pair with my darks for Madquilter's scrappy. I am at the ....should it stay or should it go back in the scrap bin stage. I have my brown bag in the mix because Bonnie says everything no darker than a bag. I have taken a picture with and without my red filter to try to figure it out. I guess I will have to just include them all and see how it goes. Scrap quilts take dedication as I iron my scraps and then cut my pieces I think a QB break is in order. [ATTACH=CONFIG]524426[/ATTACH]

Tartan

I want to take out the beige and black and white from the top left but in the red filter that don't look as bad. This indecision is not helping![ATTACH=CONFIG]524427[/ATTACH]

quiltsRfun

I have the same problem when making decisions about neutrals. They all look good with your red filter. Have you tried a filtered picture including your darks? Maybe that will help you to see if there's enough contrast.

Tartan

​That's a good idea, thanks!

ManiacQuilter2

I sometimes take a picture and with the help of a photo program, I turn the fabrics into shades of gray.

sewbeadit

I like every thing except the brownish upper left. I don't know it may be that I don't like that shade not that it isn't neutral enough. What do I know.lol hehehehehehe

peaceandjoy

I think the dark tan with brown print in the upper left is pushing the limits of a neutral. If you look at the background of this print, it's the color of the lunch bag - and the print on it is darker still. Including the actual bag was a great idea; I've heard Bonnie's line about that, and think, "Oh, that's about the same." Having it actually there is helpful.

sewbizgirl

I would get rid of that tan one, top left... the one that is bothering you and others also bothers me. My art teacher always taught us to squint at our drawings to see the 'values' clearly. If you squint at your picture, you can see that offending fabric in the upper left is actually darker than the brown bag.

Bree123

I think you are questioning the animal print & the B/W print because they are prints and the rest are solids/mottled. The tiny printed B/W in the upper right corner reads closer to a mottled because of the tiny repeating print, so it doesn't stick out so much.

Actually, I'd probably keep the two B/W medium prints because that will break up the monotony a bit & give the eye a place to rest. Sometimes I find when I work really hard to get my colors "perfectly" balanced, it ends up looking bland because there's nothing at all that pops.

And I agree with quiltsRfun: take a pic with an iPhone & use the "Edit" function to select "tonal". That always helps me understand what colors work & which ones compete.

Melanie Rudy

If you are combining neutrals with dark colors it is best to stay with one shade of neutral. In your case choose either the creams or the grays. Personally, I would choose the grays as these will make your dark colors stand out the best.