Arleners

I enjoy picking out fabrics and color schemes. One time a student of mine said to me - You can take the ugliest fabrics and make them work. I guess that was a back handed compliment, but I'll take it.

Get a color wheel and play around with it. Another oldie but goodie hint is to find a print that you absolutely love. On the selvedge there are usually dots that are used by the fabric printers to create the print. Each dot represents a color in the print. Use these dots to find coordinating fabrics that have those colors in them. Sometimes, I don't even use the original print in the quilt.

rob529

I love the idea of cutting up the catalog and playing with the swatches.

jitkaau

Picking the colours is most of the fun for me - my friends even get me to do it for them, so we have a nice arrangement where I get them to choose the focus fabric and we do it together after that. I look on it as a time to teach them some colour theory and that's really what they want me to do.We have stages of "graduating" and doing it independently along the way. Perhaps you might have a quilting friend who can assist you at times?

sewingsuz

My Quilting Guild has a library of books and you can check them out at the meetings. The color books have help me. try that, and you will get better at it.

Sparky

Do you ever go to a quilt show and just enjoy looking at quilts from a distance, forget the details for a moment, enjoy the color! Do you get that same sense of excitement when you walk into a quilt store, do some fabrics "speak to you"? Let yourself go and enjoy color, don't over analyze. I think the difference between those who say they enjoy picking colors and those who don't is self-confidence.
Let yourself be a kid again. There are too many color police out there that will stifle you. You will get everyone else's reactions but not your own and you owe it to yourself to see what pleases you.

neeng

Sometimes (for quilts and for glasswork) I print out several sheets of a colouring page and get out my pastels or crayons....or you could use the Paint program on your computer to do the same. That lets you audition some choices before heading to the stash or fabric store.

Rose_P

[quote=grammy Dwynn]Picking colors for me, is fun. (I guess I was in the correct line :) )

Another thing that can help you, those colored dots/numbers that are in the selvage. Use them to help you choose your color(s). Line up your choices, stand back 5 feet or greater and SQUINT (or remove your glasses). The squinting helps you see just the colors and not the prints.
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I love finding fabrics that have those colored dots. Wish they all did.

Another helpful way of looking at your work is through a peephole device from the hardware store (designed to check out visitors before you open the door). I saw that hint on Simply Quilts one time, and it's a good one for anyone whose sewing room is smaller than a basketball court. Also, I have a red cellophane values finder, which was another suggestion I saw on Simply Quilts years ago. I don't know if they're still being sold, but it does help you decide if there's enough contrast among your fabrics. If you can't get one of those, you can take a digital picture and change it to gray scale on your computer. That will reveal the levels of contrast, both of color and pattern variations.

distar2

i love to pick colors and coordinates. generally i fine one main print that i really love and then work around that finding other pieces that work with it. i usually end up putting in one solid with 5 or more prints around the main piece. and i usually end up making the body of the quilt first and then going and getting fabric for borders and backing that i like with it.

tmsrich

that is actually one of my favourite things!!

People tell me i have a knack for it

I am not sure I do but I still get excited when I lay out the fabrics and imagine them in a quilt.

Shorebird

Wish I lived closer to you....I LOVE to pick out colors, prints, etc. I could spend all day in a quilt shop just pulling fabrics together for people...........so much fin for me.