OK, my SIL gave me a complex last night. I'm working on a more brightly-colored table topper than I usually do (always make browns, tans, golds, etc.), and when I showed it to her she said "Oh, it's nice but it doesn't match anything in your house". I said I could put it in my sewing room, and she looked at me like I was nuts.

I'm wondering, is it 'proper' to add quilts to your home that don't necessarily 'go' with your color scheme? I'm not talkin' total chaos, but a table runner or coasters and such. Is there some sort of rule that I should be following that I should maybe add at least a color that matches?

I'm curious (and a bit paranoid),
Trna

To heck with proper ;-)

There's supposed to be a color scheme throughout a home???

Huh, imagine that.

Do what you want to do, bright cheery colors never hurt anyone.

If all your quilts totally "go" with your color scheme then then what keeps them from blending into oblivion? I want my quilts to stand out. I want them to vary enough that when you enter a room they're what catches the eye rather than the dusty table by them.

I'm a bit eclectic so anything goes in my house!! I do try to put things in one room that kinda go together but for the most part if I think it looks good I do it.

My mom is a matchy matchy person so my house drives her crazy when she comes!! I listen to her "fixes" than do my own thing.:)

Keep your quilts, give away your SIL :)

I think a quilt is just fun. I don't think it has to match the decor. My favorite quilt at my house is a predominantly pink one. Nothing in my house is pink. But it has colors I like and it is snuggly for watching tv.

Maybe subliminally I'm trying to express that I'm still fun. Turn the big 4-0 in a few weeks, and it's possible I'm now trying to say "I'm not afraid to do something I've never done before" with my quilting. That's about as wild as I get. tee hee

She's actually typically a 'keeper' (it's the other one I'd give away!). I think she's just a non-quilter just like the rest of the family. Seems like nobody "gets" me in the family.

If there is a rule then I don't know about it.

I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with adding color to your life! :)

I have 2 bright quilts hanging in my sewing room & they don't necessarily match anything else, but I love them because they are so bright & happy!

I make the quilt I want to make, and I've never once worried if it went with anything.

Make what you want, in the colors that make you happiest, and don't worry whether it matches anything.

All of the quilts I have in my home were made by family members and either given to me as gifts or I inherited them. I don't know if they match my decor or not, don't really care. Most of my house is furnished with odds and ends I have collected because I like them, so I guess my house is like a quilt. I love going to bed, turning back the covers and "pow" there is a pop of color, or pattern or something unexpected.

I think the rule is that if it makes you happy, it's OK. I want my quilts to stand out in my house too. I do have a couple of table toppers that match my kitchen (my walls are a lovely green-blue called "mountain stream") so you can see that I'm not a "beige" kind of person. I would be tempted to make something really off-the-wall and serve your SIL coffee on it, but that's just the rebel in me!!!

It's your house. Do as YOU desire, not what others deem to be proper.

This is what kind of started me on the 'add some bright colors'. Notice the small miniature quilt block on the old sewing machine. My whole house is painted latte, and is pretty much decorated neutrally. Hubby's a plain-kind of guy. I thought color might be a little fun for a change, and he wouldn't be happy if I painted.

In home decor matchy-matchy is out.

I love a pop of color. I got called on the carpet by a granddaughter for changing my decor from Southwest to 'flowery'. In her defense, she is from the Southwest and it was done in a sweet way.

This month's First magazine arrived yesterday. It's decorating feature this month is a cottage or apartment belonging to Barbra Striesand decorated totally with quilts. Interesting. Check it out the next time you're in line at the grocery store.

There is only 1 rule: decorate the way YOU like it!

Color scheme in one's house??? I didn't get the memo.

If they don't "get" you all the better. Keep 'em guessing, it makes life so much fun. I'm 57 and my own family will admit that I baffle them. I just turn and walk away as I'm laughingly on my way to do something else they'll consider outrageous. :lol: :lol: :lol:

And yeah, I'd definately have to add some WILD colors to that room.

I love bright colors, so she doesn't have to look if she doesn't like it!!!

William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". He said nothing about matching. So if you like it and think it is beautiful, display it in your house. You have to live there, not your SIL.

I used to work as an interior decorator. It always made me sad when some women wanted to throw away beloved items because they didn't "match" their new Tuscan kitchen. I think that pops of individuality is what makes a house look like a home, instead of a magazine page. In fact, if you look at decorating magazines, there is frequently something in the room that makes it less matchy- it pops the decor.

I think you should have what you love around you. Just like the quilt police, you need to ignore the interior design police. Bland is not always the way to go.

Oh, I hope I didn't make my SIL sound like a bad guy (non-quilters are OK sometimes!). She's really sweet, really. ;) I just think our whole family gets hung up (over-the-top) on matching everything. Like "so what color is your master bedroom going to be?"-type things. I think they all are very conservative in their tastes, and tans and greens rule in their homes. Maybe my blue & purple topper just threw poor SIL over the top.

Now, I CAN look at it a different way and say that after it's finished I could show her how nice it looks and convert her into think color's perfectly OK, too!

Or, I could just not care what anybody else thinks. ha ha

Oh my goodness......there are no rules. If you make it and like it keep it. If you make it and don't like it give it away.

I think I'll have to remember this one. ROFLOL.

If I like something I leave it out. It only has to please me.

ali

Quilters love all of their quilts....just because they are quilts and they are show pieces of our art. Do what you want and as everyone else has said....there are no rules other than do as you please. It is your home.

Happy Treadler,
I have the same sewing machine as you do. without box on the right. Is this the machine you use in quilting? I bought mine 45 years ago at an auction for $3.00. Have not used it but tested it after I got it home. I have been thinking about seeing if it can be used , now that I've become a quilter. This board and my new quilting buddies all seem to be reccommending the old machines.

This is the first time I came accross another one like mine.

By the way regarding your color delima. In short go with bright, you may be changing your color tastes. This is a good way to start. Colors reflect our emotions and physic. Sometimes we need bright colors for a reason.

Enjoy you beautiful quilt. your SIL does not have to live with it.

agreed.

when you're w/ your ils start wearing mismatched loud colors and the last thing any of them will ever talk about is your quilts!

lol

As long as you are the one making the payments--you can put any color you want--anywhere you want.

It's your quilt and your home. Do what you want!

Lots of people use quilts to add a splash of color to a room. Do what makes you happy.

A splash of color added to your current decor would make the quilted item a focal point. That's a good thing if you want to draw attention to it.

Bev in TX

Go for it and enjoy! :D :D
"It" won't hurt anyone. :D :D

When I was taught to quilt by my very patient neighbor and friend,she told me to...Always pick the colors you love and never worry about matching them to anything. There is always a home for a beautiful quilt, no matter what the colors.

i hope so because I have a lot that don't match. But they make me happy.

I hope so because I have a lot that don't match. But they make me happy.