Many get obsessed about putting just the right combination of fabric together for their "give away" quilts. Mostly the charity quilts. Let me tell you about last week.
A local shop has a drop off place for receiving donations of fabric to be used for charity quilts. All kinds of cloth is dumped there - drapery, polyester, blends, cottons, 1980's and 90's cottons and prints, dress fabric etc. Various groups take certain types for projects - one of the churches take the dress fabric and use for their mission projects.....
I picked up a box of the mostly cotton quilt type fabric. I sorted in groups of three for rail fence blocks. I sorted roughly by color and print size. There was not enough for "pretty" qults but there was sort of a color and scale blend. We would never put the colors and prints together if we really thought long about it. HOWEVER, when they were made the quilts are wonderful. I didn't hear anyone say that the colors didn't go together but rather how wonderful the finished quilts look.
These will be going to Alabama and what may be lacking, in some minds, in artistic quality will make up for warmth this winter.
SO lets us up that ugly fabric and put it to good use.

Love your common sense messages, Holice!

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" forgot who said that but have heard it all my life. Thanks for reminding us. :)

Isn't it amazing how ugly fabric becomes the spark when it's put into a block? Now I don't see ugly, just interesting.

Funny, that works with people, too.

Remember the Ugly Duckling story. Something beautiful from something not so pretty.

Thank you for ALL u do!!

Thank you for ALL u do!!

Great post! Another thing people fuss a lot about is that they try to exactly match colors in each fabric. The colors don't need to match...they just need to blend nicely. Don't be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone. I had one that looked to me like pea soup. It was the only one I could find that went with the rest of my fabrics. It turned out gorgeous and no longer looked like pea soup to me! Don't be afraid to experiment!

I don't consider any fabric ugly. once you start putting the blocks together it is a mazing how much it comes together and shines! Color complaments color.

Thank you, Holice...very well said.
The scrappy 4"squares quilts that I have sent may not be the prettiest quilts that are received...but they will be used. Quilts don't have to be perfect to be loved...

I once read something that I've tried to remember and use since. We should add 10% of an ugly fabric to our quilts. Typically, they work beautifully. besides, what is one person's "ugly" may be someone else's "fabulous"

Great advice!

I agree! Some of my friends want to make quilts but are afraid to do it without a kit because they "can't" figure out the fabric choices.

I like to just sort into lights, mediums and darks and then go to town :D In scrappys it is the contrast IMHO that makes the quilt, not the individual fabrics :D:D:D