I'm not sure about this sky background....I think that it looks too busy. I have a piece of pale plain blue that would work too. What do you think too much?

The sky is too busy. The slope of the ground is very nice and gentle. You may want to try using a plain blue and adding clouds. That is what I did with this one. Pm me if you want to know what I did.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-42323-1.htm

I think that a more subtle blue would probably be better for the sky, the fabric in your picture would be greatfor an ocean though... and I think that it looks great in the blocks so maybe it can still be incorporated in some way?

I agree - too much for the sky but great in the blocks. I fear if you sue it, it will distract from the rest.

Great piece of fabric but I agree too busy for the sky. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Softer blue I think , so as not to pull your eyes from the focus of the signature blocks :wink:

well I am stuck then. The only solid piece of blue I have is very light blue that I don't think looks any better. So I guess I quit for the day and do housework and hope I can squeeze enough from the budget to buy another yard this weekend. Oh well that's how stash is built right?

That is right, now you will have some interesting sky fabric for the next wonky house block swap! Happy shopping.

I bought a yard of a very soft blue with clouds that were soft and shaded.. one time I took a soft blue and poured deluted bleach on it to give it some visual texture.. worked great for a sky

96% of the sky patterns I have seen are way to dark. Usually you want the sky as background not in your face kind of.
I like the idea of a very pale blue and then add some clouds and a bird or two.

Go with the pale blue background, this one is too buisy.

Bet you've heard enough about the blue! I think your project is going to be wonderful...you really already knew that the business of the blue would take away from your subject...we just like to be reassured!...Would really like to see finished project! Happy Sewing. :) :) :)

I agree, too much

I agree.. A softer blue would make the blocks stand out

I agree with the blue to busy for a sky. It looks more like water to me with the deeper blues. More powerful then calm and relaxing like a sky. I think a sky would more of a robins egg blue unless it is a stormy day.

See? Trust yourself.

okay what about this one? I've been looking at it all afternoon and while it has grown on me I still don't think its right. I appreciate ya'll helping me....putting colors together is still an area where I am so unsure of myself. When I had to go buy fabric for the first quilt I made it took me three tries and I ended up taking dd with me! I found one fabric I liked but then....like now....had a hard time putting anything with it! The second pic is of one of the actual fields at the camp dd is at. The sky there is beautiful but I had camera settings wrong and it washed out. Oh and the white pieces might be clouds and the brown one horses....if you use your imagination! lol! Do you think adding some trees might help?

I like the lighter blue much better. I don't know if this would work or not..but if you mixed a little bleach in a spray bottle and sprayed here and there to lighten up certain areas so it resembles clouds.
Not sure if it would wreck the fabric. Maybe if it was super diluted? Do you have a scrap piece to try it on?

The fabric that you choose for the sky will work for this.

By the time you add the other elements it will not be standing out like a sore thumb!

If you try this remember that the sky is dark higher and gets lighter near the horizon.

Really good point...I guess it really is true that two heads are better then one. :lol:
Can't wait to see the finished project!!!

Lynn, I am struggling right now with a landscape quilt that I could not get right. I had one of those smack yourself in the head v-8 moments! You guessed it, the sky had NO dimention, someone else had to point it out to me, so now, AFTER it is heavily quilted I am trying to darken the top of it.

The old but true "stain" with tea will work to darken top

Ohh I have added a hot air ballon to the sky to give it something.. and birds are easy to add...

I agree. I love the fabric -- just not for the sky for this one. ;-)

What is the top design going to be? You may want the bolder print if your design uses a lot of space or is a bold subject. I think the biggest problem ia the sky takes up half of the design but your photo shows it at about a third. By time you add the forEground it will play down the blue.

what does the other side of the blue look like? I have turned my fabric around to use the "back" to get the right shade before.

I tried turning it around....it doesn't look good. Dh actually likes it. There will be appliqued horses on the front. I had planned on them being brown but he thinks lighter colored ones would be better and would downplay the sky. I am going to go by Hancocks this morning though after I pick up ds from the inlaws and see if they have anything that would work better. Course dh does not like the brown even in the siggie blocks. (See my thread about needing help getting my sewing area organized!) He just hates brown I think.

I was thinking the same thing as CarolJ. As it is in the first picture, it does look too busy. But if you are adding more landscape, details, maybe that is the best choice. I guess this is where your design wall will get a workout! Keep us posted! J

Lovely fabric, but I think it would make a better lake than a sky. Just a bit busy for me.

A softer blue would be better, but I want to say that is going to be a wonderful project. Keep going and keep us posted.

Give me a brush and paints and I can paint a sky...LOL Although that is another option to consinder. You would need the fabric painting medium. You could dry brush darker colors for the dimension.
I made a denim shirt for halloween painting the trees, sky, and foreground. Then I embroidered a haunted house...fence with pumpkins, tombstones and some ghosts. Turned out really cute and it is completely washable.
This quilting is new to me. I am having so much fun though seeing what others are working on.
I am wondering if quilting with varigated thread would add the dark and light dimension? Or maybe quilting over a darker organza. The only FM quilting I have done is stippling. I have seen so many beautiful scenes that people free motion trees..flowers...etc.
I am working on my first quilt w/o being paper pieced. A bargello heart. I love the paper piecing because you never have to worry if you are cutting your pieces straight.

The pale blue would work, do you have some white fabric to make some clouds out of? Maybe a few wispy ones in the sky to add some interest?