I just returned home from my LQS with seven pieces of fabric that I just had to have. Don't have a project in mind yet, but will eventually. They have been laundered now and gently folded. Went to put them in my fabric cabinet and realized that I am constantly buying "green" and "rose" colored fabric.
I have small piles of yellow, blue, brown, and neutral colors, and then there are the greens and rose colors. Never realized I had twice as much of these colors. Am I in a rut??? Should I go out and buy more of the "skimpy" color piles?? What would you do? It is still light outside and the stores are still open!

I buy purple and green. To step outside of my color comfort zone, I must SEE the project done in that colorway and then buy similar fabrics. I can imagine almost any project done in my favorites of purple and green! but cannot imagine it in another colorway.

Another suggestion is to go shopping with a friend. My GF loves neutrals, olivy greens, browns, etc. When I am with her, she helps me out of my rut and I do the same for her.

I also do this but they are reds and blues!!!
And, YES go out and fix the problem, just stay away from the greens and roses and you'll be fine. :roll: :D :D

I do tend to gravitate to certain colors! There for a while it was masculine ones --- civil war, navys, browns, etc.

Now I seemed to have moved on .... I am trying to widen out my range.

I like finding patterned material with lots of colors (like a paisley) and then working the other colors of a quilt out from there!

I am a sucker for all colours but purple! For some reason they just usually don't get picked. However... for some unknown reason purple has popped into my basket over the last few months. Not a clue as to what I am going to do with it, LOL! other than add it to the stash.

Would you use the other colors if you bought them? Probably you'll sew what you like the most. I have a few colors outside my comfort zone and I'm not even tempted to do something with them. Plenty of ideas and can't wait to get started on the ones I love.

Be happy that you can find great fabrics in your favorite colors and let the skimpy stacks take care of themselves. You will get more of them when you see something in those colors you really can't live without. Happy quilting.:)

I do the same thing. I finally got around to organizing some of my fabric and realized that as time passes, my color preference has changed too. When organizing I found lots of navy and pink. Now I am buying blues and greens and purples...

But... I have told myself no more purchases until I have the next few UFO's completed. We'll see how long that lasts!

I seem to buy blues/greens/Christmas prints. I always carry a notepad in my purse, and I've told myself, as soon as I get my sewing rm straight I will make a list of colors I need/ am low on. I think if I carry notes with me I could at least buy things on the spur of the moment that I could use, or lack. sharet

I went through the pink/dusty rose and green stage. Now I am into browns and fall colors. I have no idea why. I have enough Christmas fabric to sink a small boat so I finally trained myself to stop buying snowmen and penguins and gingerbread men and angels and Santa, well you get the idea.

I would start to sew up what I had and fill in with others as need be.

I just love teal , I just can't get enough! But lately ... I have had a tendency to buy yellow.. and its soo out of character for me.

A friend of mine always makes real complicated patterns and says " never make that one again, you can't see the pattern". I always try to tell her to put some color in them.
Every thing she makes turns out a pale shade of white.

I have given her fabric assortments with a pattern to try and they when they're finished they are as pale as can be. She just thought a differnent color would look better! She refuses to think it may be her and not the pattern or fabric.

Try making one simple block of your choice in one color combo. Now go to the next color on the color wheel and do the same. keep repeating this till you go all the way around the wheel. this is just to practice using colors out of your comfort zone. Now put them together for a lap quilt.

Put your teal and yellow together! Yellow is a gorgeous complementary color for teal. Add a little plum and you've got a near-perfect palette. :D

I have an array of colors, just need to work on buying baticks!!!

I am pretty good at having all colors, but never find myself buying florals and I see beautiful quilts made with them. I made myself buy soft florals and made a mini. Liked it,too. But still don't pick them.

Buy neutrals so you are able to combine with your favorites and sew them up!

I tend to lean toward certain colors. But I figure if that is what I like, so what.

probably would if I had a stash, But I love purples and blues

Great idea!!! :thumbup:

Most of the fabrics in my stash are one stack in my closet but when it comes to blues they total almost 3 stacks. I also always buy lots of WOW and Creams for background but they seem to go faster than all the blues. May in Jersey

I go for blues and fall colors. If they happen to have a floral print I can't pass those up.

I tend to go for colors that work with our decor, so no bright pinks or purples in my stash.

If your stash gives you green and rose, make a green and rose quilt! :-)

I gravitate towards black, white and brights!

Absolutely have this problem....browns, browns, and more browns. I think it's a normal phenomenon...at least I hope so. :)

I have a good balance of all colors in my stach and the only colors that I don't use to often is white or black. I tend to buy a lot of flowered fabric.

I think a lot of us have color favorites and buy more of these colors than any other. I love purple/lavender, etc. In my case this worked out well when my granddaughter asked me to make her a quilt and reminded me that she likes purple. So I do often get to use purple in my quilts. If I buy anything else, it's usually for a specific project.

Although I know there are colors we are each drawn to, I really believe that marketing has a huge influence on our
"choices". Just as in marketing clothing, what is promoted (and available)changes so that new colors/style look fresh or exciting. Thus, we buy.
(This is coming from a woman with 3 red quilts for every 1 of an other color! ) :oops:

I love (and buy) pinks and lime greens. One time I was in a quilt store while on vacation and picked up some fuschia and lime green thread. I mentioned to the lady that worked there that I seemed to always be running out of those thread colors. She said she wasn't surprised since it was similar to the colors of the bow tuck I was carrying! Until then it had never dawned on me that I always bought those colors.....I'm trying to buy more neutrals now....

I seem to buy and buy and buy what I see that I like and is on sale with no project in mind. I am now in the process of making some scrappy quilts. I have a Accuquilt cutter so the cutting is a lot easier. Some fabric I bought a long time ago I was wondering why I even bought that.

Definately!!! Most of my reds and greens are Christmas fabrics! If you need blue or gold, I'm your girl!!

I'm thinking of going strictly red and white from now on, if that tells you anything. :lol:

Actually I've been thrift shopping (via Craigslist) and gathering diverse colors that way. It's helping me to envision something other than red and white!

Yes, I use to buy more of one or two colors than I did of other colors. I did that when I made quilts with the same block in the entire quilt. Now I like to make sampler quilts with different blocks in them. Because of this, my choices have expanded. I was pleasantly surprised one day as I folded my fabrics on their little boards that fabric that I had bought at different times really did blend together well. I believe it is because I look for colors in a certain color intensity and also buy co-ordinating fabric to go with that color intensity.

I do that too. But, for me, it seems like I go through phases. I currently have a good stash of blues and pinks. I've never been a "pink" person but lately it seems that's all I buy. I have a very small stash of yellows and greens. I love purple but have a very small stash of that too.

I force myself to step out of the box when I look for more fabric so my colors are getting there.

Don't know why I do this.....weird.....

Do you buy locally so you can check the fabric? Or, sight unseen? I'm curious. Never thought of checking there.

I just recently sorted and organized my stash..lol..I have enough Purple for the board..lol..and don't know why !!

I buy it all, must be a sickness

Funny you should say you have gravitated to the pink and greens.... I just bought a lovely green with pink and blue flowers on it and a pink plaid to go with it. I'm not a green fan, but I HAD to have this. Will make it into a baby quilt, but I need one more print to go with it. I only have 3 fq's... Good luck with stepping out of your comfort zone.

I'm of the mind - pick up what feels right. Sometimes when I inventory (translation: let's get organized) the stash, I have lots of blues. Lots and lots. Other times....lots of red...lots and lots. So - my two cents worth: don't go out to buy low stash colors. I think you'll have regrets later.