Try the back side of your fabrics. It tends to be lighter than the front and may give you enough value contrast.

I plan a project using the dark scraps and just buy light yardage. Scrappy Irish Chain, for instance, can use all your dark scraps and you can just buy some white Kona on sale to complete the project. Cut strips where you can and squares where you can't. A diamond scrap quilt can be done all scrappy for the darks with one light for the lights. A Cat quilt (or dog quilt) can be done with all dark scraps and a single neutral. These are just some examples. I tend to have only dark scraps left over, so I totally get it.

Maybe you could use the wrong side of the ones you have. This way you could keep your plan not to buy any new fabrics. I find that lights and blenders are very seldom on sale so that is why we end up with more mediums and darks.

That is an interesting observation and one that I don't understand. Thousandsofbolts has a website full of fabrics and most are under $5/yard...and they don't distinguish between lights and darks.

Don't forget to look at the back of those scraps - lots of them might be just fine as "lights".

GrammaNan, I'm with you. I never buy fabric, except for a particular quilt. So my "scraps" are bits and pieces too, rarely more than 1/4 yard. I will certainly have to buy whites or blacks when I finally do a scrappy quilt. I really prefer scrappies that have neutral sashings and/or borders.

On second thought, I guess I have done three quilts with Marimekko scraps that were gifted to me, and I bought Kona White to sash and border all of them.