I couldn't sleep last night and was thinking about colors in a quilt. I was wondering what colors you like and dislike in and a quilt and why?

I was looking at my spring table cloth on the back porch (has blue, yellow and orange) actually the orange looks nice. I didn't make it but was wondering about colors.

This should be an interesting subject thread. Will be fun to fun out colors and what designs on a fabric we like or dislike

Karen

I have yet to find a color that doesn't work somewhere for something, but I pretty much stay away for orange, just because it's not my taste. Don't use much purple either unless it's for my mother-in-law. I lean heavy on greens, tans, and blues.

Do you like small or large prints, what designs on fabrics?

I am more of an autumn color decor in my house, but my favorite color is blue.

I agree, don't like orange but it sure made the orange flowers pop out on that store bought tablecloth on my back sun porch.

Karen

I prefer fabrics that reflect old - no matter what color... not faded old - time old - repros, etc.

I usually stick with smaller prints so they are more versatile. Though now and again I will fall in love with a fabric that is so far out of my normal range, but have to have it. I have a nice stash of those, since I don't know what to do with them.

I'm not a fan of 30's - particularly in Grandmother's flower garden, and I'm not too crazy about high contrast black and white. Those are hard for me to do. I prefer the fall colors, deep reds, greens, rust, purple, brown. Pattern is usually small. If large, then I generally like fussy cuts.

Thanks to the Monthly Bee Block swap, and the Boomerang Swap, I can challenge myself to work with all sorts of fabrics and preferences on a small scale. I did notice that I have NO solids and barely any batics.

I like florals or at least a definate design to them. I can work with really well in the type of guilts I make. I cannot work with tone on tone using more than one colorway. I think it is that I don't understand the colorwheel, never have, and probably never will.

For some reason looking at my stash I have a lot of green,and yellow, I lean towards mauve, burgundy and off white in a lot of my quilts. For family it is more fall colors. My DDIL likes black, red, teal and brown colors(not together! lol)

I like any and all colors for the most part EXCEPT RED! LOL I don't know why I just don't like it. Maybe thats why it has taken me so long to finish the red and black wonky log cabin for my sister.

AS far as print goes I don't really like prints unless it is just a "texture" print something to give the fabric a different look (I never know how to cut print fabrics). I normally try to stay with either textures or marbles/mottled look that hand dyed fabric gets!

I like earth tones - blues, greens, browns, some oranges - with smaller prints. My daughters like brighter colors and larger prints so we have a little bit of everything here!

My tastes vary. I love blues/greens/purples together and have made a few in these colors. Sometimes I surprise myself when I buy fabric by choosing something I wouldn't ordinarily buy. Projects waiting in the wings are purples/pinks/greens, reds/creams, browns/pinks. I love batiks and use them frequently.

It all depends on the quilt, pattern, who it's for, the other fabrics in the quilt and so on. In other words, I can't think of a color I don't use.

I really like bright colors and jewel tone colors. I have quite a few prints and like to use modoa marbles as blenders, or a small print that read like a solid.

I am not a fan of 30's fabrics, or civil war reproduction fabrics.

Even though I like brights I am currently working on a lap quilt for my husband in beiges, browns, black/browns and I really like the combination.

That has happened to me when I made a blue and white and a black and white. The high contrast drove me nuts and it took forever to finish them. I was soooo glad when they were done (even if they were pretty in the end).

Purple in every quilt and I don't care who it's for. It's my siganture color. I'm like MadQuilter, not many solids or batiks but am working on getting some solids just for a change of pace in the qiuilts. I do lean towards smaller prints but have some large floral that are stashed b/c I'm not sure what to do with them. I use lots of purples and blues which my stash reflects and minus orange I have just about color in the palette in my stash just less of some than others. I admit to not having much pink either as it's not a color I favor or even like.

My problem is I like EVERYTHING. No color is off limits to me. I am always looking at "things" for inspirations. Flowering containers, advertisements, clothing displays, and of course fabric.
I am working on a project that has warm brown, purple-red and some other earthy colors.

About the only color combo that I absolutly don't like is brown and pink :thumbdown: Red is my absolute favorite color, so I have a lot of that :lol: I also love batiks and have a good variety of them. I guess I have a good variety of most colors, small prints, large prints, thirtys. My favorite combo is red, white and blue. I guess it just depends on the mood I'm in when I'm buying, the pattern I have in mind and who it is for.

When I first started quilting, I would have said I hate orange and most shades of it (rust, peach, etc...). Now I would say, there really isn't a color I won't use. My biggest challege now is to make myself do a two color, two fabric quilt. Actually a 2 color quilt I would like to do, but limiting myself to 2 fabrics.....mmm I don't know if it will ever happen.

The brighter the better for me!

I use mostly clear colors. I tend to use the cooler shades. I have made a ton of quilts with purples and greens in them. Also lots of blues too. I have not used orange very much, and when I have it has been a brighter almost "cooler" orange. I don't really like the 30's fabrics or real "antiqued" ones. I never use solids (unless in a Downy quilt kit) I have even replaced solids in several block of the month kits I have done. I don't use muslin either.

I LOVE red...the true deep reds not those that are to the orange side. I have yet to make a quilt in red though. I love the bright colors . I have a very acute color sense in matching colors. Sometimes that can be really bad when it comes to finding a piece of material that I need. It has to be just right or it is like fingernails on a chalk board.

I like landscape prints, batiks, tone on tone, and blenders. Plaid is also a great love of mine and yet no quilt either.

I have lots of blues in my stash--blue and yellow is my favorite combo, but have yet to do a quilt in it! I like small prints as I like to do minis, but the most beautiful fabric to me is a paisley. There's something sensual about the swirling colors in a paisley fabric

I like sooooo many colors. Earthtones, GREEns,blues, reds, yellows that are soft yellow, buttery or yellow gold but i cant stand bright oranges, but like apricot or peach. I dont like royal blue or deep purple very much. But have seen those colors used in smaller amounts in a quilt pretty. I tend to like soft soothing colors.

Margie

There isn't much I don't like. I really love pastel florals,
and fall type colors. I like blues and greens (except true green). I would say I didn't like to use black, but have used it and it really can make the other colors pop.

I am forever being drawn to fabrics with metalics in them. I know I can't use them for quilts as such, but they make lovely purses, totes etc.

I lean heavy on the pinks, blues, greens, purples, and tans.... I need more yellow;every time I go shopping for yellow, I bring more green home....hmmmmm. as far as deciding what color to use in a quilt , the idea always starts with " I think I'll made a purple( green , blue, pink ) quilt'. then I throw in every scrap, and colora I have. I may have to start thinking about ' making a purple & green' quilt; maybe that'll define it a little more for my brain.

I do NOT like green. I don't use much orange (except in fall items).

I really never cared for pink but I am finding ALOT of pinks that I like now when it comes to quilting. I don't think I really look for certain colors i just look around and I seem to like it ALL now

I don't like real bright colors, otherwise I use about any color, I love cranberry,mauves,greens, I have used a lot of colors in my log cabins and such. I love flowers, usually medium to small. I have lots I want to use, if I live to be 200 yr.s old I may be surprised at the combination I come up with. If not, my Daughter will inheirit my fab.s and we don't like all the same colors. Oh well.

I bought a whole stack of five inch squares at the flea market in Hawaii on our fiftieth anniversary vacation. Did my second quilt with them. I didn't like maroon at all but when I got my squares together, the only color that fit for sashing was maroon. And I made two of them for our two double beds. You just never know.

I love bright colors, so I am turned off by mutted, dusty, muddy shades of any color.

My critical mind does the same thing and overthinks all my projects which results in UFOs. I love all colors, shades and prints.....so I try to stick with the colorwheel and a mix of the 3 not exceeding 5 colors.
I watch the choices my quilting friends make of matching colors to their fabric and it always works but I don't have that kind of thinking, not eye, thinking. A true Aquarius.

I like bright true colors the best. While I like some of the designs of say Thimbleberries I don't like the muted muddy colors. The same goes for Civil war fabrics. If I make something from the more muted colors I have to add a small border of either black or something intense like true red. Brown is my least favorite color. I only use it when it is important for the design like a tree or wood etc. I love floral prints and stripes. The main reason I use solid colors of anything is because my handquilting shows up best on a plain surface. The mottled or tone on tone fabrics also work well for showcasing the quilting.

This is my first reply as I am new to this site. I enjoy many but especialy like batiks. Just picked out eight different ones for a friend's quilt. I also enjoy high contrasting colors, just depends on the pattern. I wish I was quilting right now!

I enjoy all colors...Okay, especially purple-not so much orange. However, I did a friendship braid top with lots of orange and green and yellow, and was delighted with the results. Funny thing, it started out as a scrap buster, and turned into a favorite!

I love earth and jewel tones with a bit of splash. No pastels, they drain my aura and weaken me. I am energized by the colors of the sunrise, sunset and earth.

I like blue and green together. Also orange and yellow together. But no one else does so I don't get to use them often enough.

I now look at colours in a different way since I started quilting, and also enjoy seeing how other people use them. I don't dismiss anything but seem to have more blues than anything else!

chris_quilts Your kitty is almost a twin to my Misty. Very beautiful.

Laura Li Welcome to the quilting forum.

I would have to say my favorite colors for quilts is red, black, white and gray. I was in a swap with some of the ladies from the forum and that was the colors I chose for my blocks.

I love all the colors of the rainbow except yellow. Yellow was my mother's color and she carried it to the extreme so I grew to dislike it.

I use mostly prints and few solids in my quilt projects.

I'm a scrap Quilt lover so I like lots of different prints of all colors. I would never make a bright quilt. I tend to love pastel colors. My favorite colors are blues and purples. as far a orange, I love the autumn rusts and pale oranges but bright orange turns me off.

Welcome Laura Li