Help me pick a color, please?
 

Or maybe two colors. I have so many UFO's and WIP's that, of course, I've been happily playing in my scraps and avoiding all those projects. I started out to make a crumb quilt, inspired by Bonnie Hunter http://www.quiltville.com and by a "Crumb Along with Me" project on the blog Jo's Country Junction (http://www.joscountryjunction.com/?page_id=4906).

So, out come the crumbs and strings. But I had trouble just sewing pieces together randomly....and I made a bunch of four patches, wonky flying geese, etc. My only rules were: (1) 6.5 in blocks and (2) some red or blue (or both) in each block. Now I have almost 70 of these blocks and had a lot of fun playing with scraps. The first photo shows the blocks on my design wall.

The second photo is from a Bonnie Hunter quilt and it is the setting I want to use....a 14" block composed of four of the crumby blocks plus sashing, and then wider sashing between the 14" blocks. I wouldn't do the HST's around the blocks like Bonnie did.

What I can't decide is the colors for the two sashings. To my eye, the dominant color in the blocks is the dark blue. To DH, his eye sees mostly the reds. I don't care for the gold in Bonnie's block but I'm thinking maybe a dark or burnt orange for the sashing within the blocks. And I'm clueless about what I want for the sashing between the blocks.

Help me out with color ideas, PLEASE!!

AnitaSt

Sorry I agree with husband I see red frist!!! Sew love your blocks!!! Good luck

i would use maroon or navy blue. can't wait to see the finish pic :thumbup:

I see a lot of red too. :) What about a tan, khaki, or a brown for your sashing? As for your border(s), you could do a thin red border and a thicker navy border. Hope that helps some. :)

Or you could use a gray for the sashing...

blue, but go light, not dark!

I see red first. I also suggest a lighter sashing to highlight the blocks.

I would take a dozen or so of the blocks and head for the quilt store. I don't think either red or navy is the right color for either of the sashings but I'm not sure what would work. A green might even be the right choice since it's complimentary to both red and blue but you'd have to lay some blocks out and find just the right green.

Red appears to be the dominant color to me. I agree with a grey or Tan sashing... Unless you want Blue to be your dominant color. Then use Blue - it will drive the red back.

I think the dominant color is red. I like the idea of a dark tan for sashing, the burgundy suggested by quiltnan sounds good too.But sizzle queen had a great suggestion, audition different colors, and see which looks best. lay out a color and put your quilt blocks on it, take a pic, repeat with other colors, the look back at your pics. Sometimes its easier to flip between pics for a comparison.

You could use blue with red corner blocks - but I think that would make the quilt too dark.
You could use red with blue corner blocks - that might make the quilt too bright.
You could use tan with red corner blocks - that would be my choice.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I probably will take a bunch of the blocks to my LQS. I had thought maybe a burnt orange for the sashing within the blocks, but that might be too much....maybe just the cornerstones as MdmSewnSew suggests. Denim blue is a good suggestion too. I have something in that color..a tone on tone...that might just work. Gotta head to the stash to find it!

You think like me, MadQuilter. When I had only about 30 blocks, all of them looked too dark to me so then I started making lighter blocks. I like the idea of tan with red cornerstones.

Keep the ideas coming!

I've had good luck with a cream or white background with tiny blue print. Not sure why but it lets the blocks stand out while making the whole seem coordinated.

I think ScissorQueen has the idea. Take 2 or 3 blocks to the fabric store. Lay them on 2 or 3 colors. You'll know in a hurry what you like best. Just my 2 cents worth.lol

Ditto. Light blue.

I would go with red or a light blue, depending on whether you want the blocks to pop(red) or to calm the quilt. (blue)

I see mostly reds too.

I see red first, would go lighter for sashing.

audition several different colors. If you are going to use this on a bed then lay the top down to audition your colors.

I see lots of red and lots of dark. I would use sashing in a light color, tan, beige, even light blue with black corners.

Scissor Queen has a good idea, go to the quilt store and lay the blocks on some different colors. The blocks will tell what color sashing to use.

Red or blue.

The red seems to jump out at you. I think it's a good idea to audition fabrics at your LQS. If you use red, it will focus on the red in the blocks, and if you use blue it will focus the eye to the blue. It would be a tough decision for me. By the way, your blocks are so pretty, and the quilt will be very nice. Can't wait to see what you choose.
Sue

What about black to rest your eye. I too see a lot of red.

What is not to love about your blocks. I would keep with the happy colors and use a friendly yellow.

I think something light, whatever it is, would really make your blocks stand out.

Wow, I love your blocks and thank you so much for sharing the Crumb Along with Me link. As for the color that ties it all together, red seems the obvious color, but I think that it might overwhelm the blocks too much. What about a neutral tan, beige, off white? It will give the separation without imposing itself on the gorgeous blocks. Can't wait to see what you decide.

I see red,:) decisions, decisions!!!!

Decide what color you want to have 'pop' out of the blocks and use that for the sashing

Black I love black for these types of quilts.

I see red as the dominant color and I would use a yellow to make everything pop.

I think navy blue or a dark green might be really nice. No more red!

I agree with light to medium blue for sashing then some of the other colors for borders. It will be very nice!!

Thank you, everyone. I made about 15 more blocks (they can be sort of addicting) and included more medium blue and colors other than red. I also dug around in my stash and found some tan marble for the sashing within the blocks and some denim blue tone-on-tone for the sashing around the blocks. For the cornerstones, I have a very dark red with a small black geometric design to use within the blocks and a burnt orange with a small dark blue and gold print for the larger cornerstones. Both look good with the sashings.

You helped me so much....I would not have thought of the tan sashing at all and needed to break away from the red! I'll post another pic when it's all together.

denim blue with khaki. perfecto! love your blocks. It will be beautiful whatever you choose!