Color help
 

Color is always a challenge for me and so I thought I would check with the smart ones on this website.

I just completed 12 blocks of a block a month series that has black as the background on all of the blocks. Then all the blocks have a variety of batiks in a star design. I wanted to do the blocks on point. I have 12 of them but I’m trying to decide what color to use that will work well. I think white is to stark with the blocks. I didn’t really like the cream tones with it. Just wondered if somebody had an a suggestion that might get me started looking in a different direction. I did look at a lilac-ish color that might have some possibilities. But just thought I’d check and see if any of you folks had any suggestions.

Thanks for your help.

Any chance you could post a picture of the blocks? I love black with batiks and would generally agree that white would be too stark but hard to say without more of an idea of what they look like.

That lilac-grey-greenish sort of family often works well with batiks which tend to be a bit grey.

I laid the blocks on a quilt top I use on my bed and I thought maybe the brown might be a good neutral? Still not sure.[ATTACH=CONFIG]616532[/ATTACH]

Thanks for your input.

I think teal would look so nice, great blocks

I first thought teal, but anything from cream to beige to grays would work well too.

I'd like to see pictures where you audition teal, pink, grey, turquoise, mint, lilac--any of those brights you have in the blocks. I bet one of them will really pop.

How about sticking with background black also for the joining squares?
The blocks you have will start to float as they lose their black parts meld with the added black.
Then pops of colours in your borders.
Perhaps a variegated thread for the quilting?

I agree with quilte...black squares. I would do a bright pieced border, then a black border.

I don't care for the brown as the alternate squares. I think any color that is already represented in the blocks would look fine, like the lilac, green, rose, yellow, or black. I would use whichever color you want to emphasize, because whatever color you use for the alternate squares, it will dominate, and the quilt will become a "lilac" quilt, or a "black" quilt, etc.
Very attractive blocks, btw!

I would also stay with the black and use a coloured thread for the quilting. Or maybe use a grunge black if you want a little texture.

Watson