When you see a quilt for the first time
 

what do you see first? The color, the pattern, the prints, the quilting? What catches your eye first?

For me I think it is the color first, pattern 2nd, quilting 3rd and then the prints. I have been thinking about this for a long time and to me is the color. How about you?

What I like to look at first. The quilts total design. Second value contrast. Third color. Forth quilting.

Some quilts are all about color or quilting or value contrast or the print of the fabric. When that statement is strong enough I'll stop to look.

PS: I'm a fiber artist.

Well that's a good question. I'm going to pay more attention to what catches my eye...I think it's color...maybe

i notice the pattern/quilt block design first. i've been fascinated by that since i was a young girl staying at my great aunt's house... her quilts were always on my bed

Color is always what I see first, then the piecing design , then the quilting.

Color. Fabric. Pattern.

It really has to depend on the quilt. Some are all about color, some are about the geometry of the piecing, some are a showcase for great quilting, some demand attention for the fabric prints (least often in my experience). There's room for all elements to be the star once in a while.

Well said!

total design, color, quilting. I tend to study applique as close as I can get, to see how tiny my stitches need to be if I ever go there...
Toni

Totally agree....never the same thing...totally dependent on the specific quilt! Every quilt is special and can be a star for different reasons!

I agree, but what I think I am meaning,lol, is what attracts you to a quilt right off. I am always attracted by color first then the others follow. I will go to the quilts at a show that don't attract me by color and look at the other elements and enjoy them too, but the color is what catches my "eye" right off in a room full of quilts. Even with just one quilt if it makes me ooooh and awwww with the color I have to get closer to view everything else.

And yet, color is the element that is most changeable, least stable in a quilt over time.

I think that much as I love color, I've learned to look beyond it when scanning quilts that I like, say on Pinterest or in a show. I get frustrated with friends and family who can't seem to look beyond the colors of types of fabric pictured when I suggest a design or style of quilt. So I guess for myself, actual colors are not the key element -- I'll be more about the values or the contrasts. It's reflected in my shopping too -- I am never one to spend a long time debating between 5 shades of beige or which white "goes".

Even as I say that color isn't the key for me, I admit I make exceptions -- there are some Kaffe Fassett designs where the colors are the star players, and nothing can alter that.

Color is definitely the deciding factor for me...if the colors do not catch my eye, I don't care for the pattern or the quilting.

Color, design, then quilting pattern. That was a good question. It made me think.

I have to agree. Overall design first, then break it down. Saw a quilt at a show and there was so much dense quilting on it, you could barely make out the design or the colors. Just that it was a light colored quilt. The quilting was also done with variegated thread that only added to the confusion.

I too see color first. If I like what I see, then I look at the pattern. A whole cloth always catches my eye for beautiful quilting. Some times heavy quilting takes away from the quilt itself as I don't know where to look.

I notice the colors, then design and the rest. Colors always catch my eye first.

For sure what RST said!

it's the visual impact first and that usually includes the design, color, and contrast. Sometimes it its the quilting. Since I began quilting I use all types of colors so color itself will not determine my interest.

But it's also what interests me. I am not interested in traditional applique so I won't spend a lot of time looking at a Baltimore album unless the colors, setting, and/or quilting are striking.

Since I got a longarm I pay more attention to quilting details than I used to, also.

It is simple, I see the total package: pattern, execution and fabric used.

The longer I've been quilting the more color is first, because if the quilt doesn't have what I consider 'proper' balance/contrast I am not interested. Then overall & pattern together.

I have to say color and contrast. I like strong contrast and if it isn't there it doesn't matter what color it is, I won't be interested

Balance and contrast are not equal to color though. You can have excellent contrast and balance in hues that may or may not appeal to you. What I hear most of you saying is that you are attracted by colors (hues) that you like.

I think color is an area where we quilters make big mistakes often. We fall in love with a particular fabric, usually because of the color. Then we make a quilt with the beloved colored fabric and some that we believe work with it. And then we give it to loved ones, who may appreciate it, but the colors are very taste-specific, and if they don't work well with current decor trends, that lovely quilt may end up being shelved for a long, long time. I'm thinking of a very beautifully made salmon and mint green quilt my friend showed me recently. Her MIL made it for her wedding, and while it's very nicely down, it just does not fit in my friend's home. She only gets it out when her in-laws are in town.

I see women (sometimes men too) in quilt shops agonizing over fabric selection and getting very very obsessed over just the right match of color, and honestly, I think it can all be a lot more fun if you stop obsessing over exact hue and embrace the fact that fabric is going to fade in the wash and in the sun. Those colors that you were so attracted to are fleeting. They are also not as appealing in a large concentration or without a range of colors near them -- often I think what catches your eye in the fabric store is the array of fabrics and how they interact, not just the one or two you pick out.

You can make a gorgeous quilt out of fabrics where not one single scrap was a color or pattern you like or are drawn to. Seriously. I think this is going to be my next big design challenge to myself. Using all the unloved and uglies in my big bin (most of them donated to me and probably dating from the 80s and 90s) I will make a quilt that looks modern, is visually appealing, and where the colors are not the thing that you notice or are drawn in by.

Some quilts are more about pattern (I think of these as traditional, with smaller pieces), and in these, I think the fabrics serve the pattern, holding a place and performing their parts like members of a choir. I gravitate towards bigger-piece quilts, which allow the individual fabrics to define the character of the quilt. For me thus far, the primary fascination in quilting has been with the effects of fabric and color combinations. But it depends on the individual quilt, as to what feature draws the attention first.

I look at the whole quilt, then other things.

What do I see first? I'd have to say my first reaction is more 'feeling' than 'seeing', but it's always the sum total of all the parts plus, in good works, the spirit and voice of the maker. The ultimate goal is to have all the elements of the quilt blend together so ideally that none of them stand out above the rest.

Specific color isn't as important as the way color has been used to make a statement, enhance a design, and evoke an emotion. Specific quilting isn't as important as the way it has been used to enhance the colors and shapes, reinforce the design, and entice the viewer to come closer. Specific prints aren't as important as the way they have been used to support the design, add to the mood, and provide some intimate details.

Separately they are just instruments, together they are a symphony. The design, the pattern, is what unites the other elements...the conductor if you will...and facilitates the music that is a quilt. So, to answer the original question...first I hear the music. :)

I'm with RST. It depends on the quilt.

The overall appearance catches my eye and then I look at the construction.

Mine is color first, and then pattern.

1. color and color 2nd .

Unusual design. Then workmanship and quilting.

I think for me it is the color and then the quilting as that is what I would like to be able to be able to do.

At first glance: overall impact of quilt pattern. Second, color. Third, fabrics used. Fourth: quilting.

Balance of color and contrast

I think when I walk into a room for sure it is the color, I have been thinking of this since I posted this thread. The color is what draws me first to a quilt when it is surrounded by other things, then the pattern, etc. I think it is very interesting how others see them.