Need help deciding a back ground
 

Hi quilting family! I need help deciding which back ground to use for a baby quilt I'm working on. The colors are pinks and teals. The two back ground colors are a solid pink and the the other is a darker pink with little white swirls going through it. You might not be able to see them in the pics. I put the tumbling blocks on both the fabrics, and I hope you will be able to see enough to help me decide which back ground will look better.

The picture is dark. I am going to sound like "Negative Nellie", but I don't see enough contrast in the background fabrics. Of the two, the lighter is definitely better, but not a personal choice I would make. Your piecing is so pretty and unique that I would really think about a contrasting background to allow the 3D blocks to show up better.

Thanks so much for the input Tartan and Barb!! Not a "Negative Nellie" at all Barb! Can you suggest a contrasting color? I have never been very good at matching of colors. That is my big downfall with quilting.

Tartan, I was leaning toward the lighter color myself!

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

Yes, the blocks will be appliqued to the background. I really didn't want to do it that way but I can't figure out how to piece in other pieces to the sides of the blocks that will not be more tumbling blocks through the entire quilt. If that makes any sense.

The way I figure out what fabric to use is to lay the fabrics together and back off about 6 to 10 feet. Sometimes what looks good up close, looks really bad when you back off. Since this is for a baby, I would look for a light print that has either of the colors or both in it. A white with a swirly teal or pink would probably look good. If you have access to a Joan's or Hancock fabrics, take one each of the blocks in and test them with different looks. For a baby, you might want something light, even a white tonal, then surround it with a piano key border with a lot of colors in it or just alternating the colors that are in the blocks. You've got such a good start, that there is so much you can do with it.

Edited to add: Since you are going to applique the blocks down, why not think about adding some little ribbon loops and some other interesting, tactile things for the baby to play with? I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Oh, I love your ideas Barb! I do have a Joanns and a Hancock close by. I am going to look for a white with a swirly color and the piano key border is something I've used before. My problem is solved!
Thanks so much!

this was my first thought as well

I agree with a lighter background for contrast. A lighter pink, or think about auditioning a pale grey--pinks and greys look good together. It will be cute!

Thank you all! I just knew I could find help and get the answers I need from this board!! Just love it, love it, love it here!

OMG!! You are so talented and have such good ideas!! That is a fantastic idea. I will look for a few little baby toys to attach.

I agree that you need a completely different color for the background. My first thought was a light gray, or if you don't like gray for a baby, maybe a warm cream color?

I have to agree with Barb!

I did not appliqué mine down. I just chopped of the overhanging half blocks to make a straight egde and bound as normal.

I'd go considerably lighter.

Thank you all! I now have some very good suggestions to try out! This is such a great place for some great ideas!

I agree with Barb, there is NOT enough contrast between what you have chosen for the background and the colors in your blocks which I do really like.

Just a thought- How about putting the "baby blocks" on a lighter pink or white squares and surrounding them with the brighter pinks?

One good way to find a good color to use for contrast in a background is to pull up a color wheel, then find the colors you are using, in this case the teal and pink, then find the color on the wheel that is midway between your two colors. On my color wheel, it comes up to be a golden yellow color.
You can't go wrong using your color wheel, especially if you are like me and not fond of using white much in a quilt. I do use it some, but I just seem to shy away from it in general.

I usually don't use white in my quilts either. This is probably only the seond time I have. The white I chose has little pink and green dots. I like the idea of the color wheel but I'm not sure how to use it. Golden yellow sounds pretty. I'm gonna have google color wheel and learn how to use it. It's been too long since high school, I remember using one, just how.

I think I'm going to use a white that has tiny little green and pink dots and I was thinking about making a few more blocks to scatter around the stacked baby blocks.

Thanks so much eveyone for your help! I have so many suggestions to work with. it's gonna be easy to get it finished.

Awesome book from QB member
 

I got an awesome book on color wheels and picking out colors for quilts! I was looking for suggestions on a back ground fabric for my latest quilt and WildYard messaged me about a book she had about color wheels that would help me in picking colors for my quilts. We decided to do an trade and I got it last week! It is a fantastic book and I have learned so much from it already, just by glancing through it.

Thank you so my WildYard! I hope you like the fabric scraps I sent in trade and are ones you can use.