Solids or batiks ?
 

I am going to make a king size quilt using a lighthouse panel in the center. The surround is "storm at sea"
Colors are black, grey and red. Just got the idea to use batics. Do you think it will make you seasick?

You don't have to choose one or the other. I would use both tonals and batiks that coordinate well with the panel. You might want to put a few light tans in with the mix. I find when doing scrappy to have all three values, light, medium and darks for a well balanced quilt. Good Luck

Not at all. Batiks often look watery and would work great. So would "marbles" fabric.

NO! I love batik storm at sea quilts. I have one on my to-do list, and have collected most of the fabrics. If you look at google images for storm at sea quilts there are many batiks. SAS is such a versatile pattern. Color placement can really change the look of the quilt. If you don't have EQ7, this post has a grid that you can print off & color in to get an idea of how your quilt will look:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...n-t119519.html

I'm a batikaholic, so that gets my vote... lol

Go with the batiks...much more fluid looking and it's now easy to find 'reads as soild' batiks so you get the best of both worlds. Black and gray batiks are now pretty easy to find, too. A welcome change in my opinion. Your quilt sounds awesome!

One thing to consider if you're thinking of mixing solids and batiks together is the difference in thread count of each of them. Batiks have a very high thread count while most solids are much lower. The result of combining them in one quilt can look much like mixing silk and burlap.

It depends on how busy the batik prints are. Agree with the others that combining batiks and non-batiks is perfectly acceptable. Audition everything beforehand, maybe get a second opinion from a trusted source, and go for it!

I made a Storm at Sea with batiks and it turned out beautiful. It had shades of lime greens, turquoises and browns that blended well. A gift for a friend & she loves it.

Me too batiks are what got me started quilting again. I have mixed them with non batik fabrics to get the look and feel I want with beautiful results. I disagree that a mix of cotton and batik looks like a mix of burlap and silk I think that would only be true if you are using an extreamly low quality of cotton.

I love batiks too so I usually vote for using them when there's an option! And I agree with mixing them up with solids and other fabrics too, if that gets you the look you're going for. I do it all the time.