What attributes does a really great scrappy have?
 

I'm in process of making "Cobblestone" scrappy quilt and am using a variety of prints from brights and geometrics to calicos to civil war era. this just feels odds to me. Most of the quilts I see online utilize what I think might be current fabrics across a line or lines. They look nice. I don't see many that include just every color of every type of print and wondering w/ all the work involved, if I'm going to even like it! I've got a lot of time in cutting the units and only a little sewing - I'm using up to 4-5 of same print and thinking that may be too many for a "scrappy"? well, as you can see i'm confused and yes, i know its "my" quilt but i'm looking to hear what you strive for (if anything) ..such as guidelines for a happy end product.

I think that many quilters are drawn to certain colors or lines of fabric. I think that is why their scraps may be more cohesive. That's not the way I roll. I collect scraps from many sources and have a stash collected over many years. I think that is why my scrappies are more varied in fabrics. Here are two of my latest http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t286754.html and http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...r-t286703.html

I agree with QuiltnNan. I look at my stash & I have lots of cool colors, earth tones & for some reason reds. No yellow, orange or pink or purple. So my quilts (and scraps) sort of are within a few color groupings. Folks, however, do give me scraps, which round out the color wheel. I personally like controlled scrappies where one or two fabrics are repeated in each block. Also, when I make a scrap quilt, I do lay out and arrange the blocks. Blocks that stick out color-wise are dealt with in 2 ways. I either remove the blocks or make additional blocks with the 'offending' color/fabric and sprinkle more of them thru out the quilt to distribute the color.

If it feels wrong to you , change it until it feels right.

^^^^^^ What bear said

I would just try to spread out the different fabrics so I didn't end up with one side being the Civil War fabrics and the other side being modern prints. In other words, make sure they are mixed up.

To answer your question: Lots and lots of different fabrics!

I would lay it out on a design wall (or bed, or floor), and see how it looks. If you like it, go for it!

When I make scrappy quilts, I like to group the colours to make it a bit more cohesive. I searched for Cobblestone quilts, but there are a lot of different patterns by that name, so I'm not sure what yours is like. If the pieces are assembled into blocks, try making each block out of different fabrics in the same colour.

I like the the look of different types of print (civil war, modern,etc) together in the same quilt. Don't let other people's quilts deter you from making your own!

I just sewed plain or nearly plain squares to about 100 of the 240 units and I now notice the pictured quilt has low volume prints in those lighter squares!! that may be what appealed to me or a part of it. so now i'm scrambling to toss in some of those. I like the idea of more is better, laying it out and removing the ones that offend. having the low-volume prints mixed in i think would help the scrappy feel and help me resist trying to "match" ...i want it to "clash in a good way". Its fun reading everyone's preferences on these types of quilts. I've not really ever seen a bad one anyway. Oh! And the tumblers are GREAT!! I'm now feeling more secure in forging ahead w/ my scraps and resisting the urge to control it which is for me VERY difficult!!

To me, the best looking scrappiest are 'controlled' scrappies---they have have something that ties them together in a broad look. For example, they are primarily dark jewel tones, or light pastels, or bright primary colors. I guess the type or style of print doesn't matter as much as the overall color theme. I have just never been able to put a "true random" scrappy quilt together.