Color value ratio?
 

I'm pulling fabrics for a quilt using 36 fabrics of varying shades of purple (each block containing white). I will make 2 blocks with each fabric for an 8 X 9 setting (72 blocks). I'm thinking of using 12 each of light, medium, dark fabrics. Would you use another ratio mix? Less controlled? Any opinions?

This sounds good to me. I am a huge purple freak, and I have made many quilts with various shades of purple with touches of white. You will have a beautiful quilt. Luckily, purple fabric is much easier to find than it used to be.

I may not be an impartial person though...as purple is my default quilt color. If I thought you needed pictures of purple quilts, I would flood you with them. :) But I suspect you don't. :)

Dina

As I'm not a scrappy person, I think your ratio sounds right on the money. If you have the opportunity to purchase all the fabs at once, I would lay them out in that ratio to see if was the look I was going for. Or even just say 3-4 of each value so you can get a feel for the ratio.

Dina - Please flood away!!! ;-)

Lavender, why not do graduating colors from inside out? Here is a rough drafting from EQ that explains it a little better than my "just waking up" fog. This would give a subtle order to a scrappy, .

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Carolyn, such a super idea....may not use it this time around, but definitely in the future! One of those "why didn't I think of that?" moments for sure.

LavenderBlue, you did ask, so here are some of my purple quilts. :)

Dina

I would prefer to be less controlled and rather than split it up into thirds would cut back on the mediums and punch up the color with the darks.

A few more....like I said, I like purple! :)

Dina

What I do is cut 2" squares of the fabrics, then lay them out in various ratios to see what I liked best. If you wanted similar amounts of each fabric, then a single square will do. If you're thinking twice as much dark, then 1 square of each light fabric, 1 square of each medium fabric, 2 squares of each dark fabric, and so on. I lay them on a small piece of batting so that I can hang it from my shelves, then step back and look at it. Then change the proportions and see if you like a different proportion better. Doesn't do much for the actual block layout but you do get a pretty good sense of the color and value proportions.