dpendleton

I finished blocks 1 & 2. What fun!

I very much enjoyed making them and learned some new tricks. Aby's instructions were excellent for the block-within-a-block and four at a time flying geese. This newbie succeeded on the first try!

I also thought Aby's choice of colors for these blocks were spot on. ETA: I could use a diff "low volume" fabric, what do you guys recommend?

With this winter storm keeping me housebound I'm excited for the next blocks already, LOL.

Quossum

I think we have the same cutting board! LOL

Your blocks look great!

Dedemac

I was able to sew the first block tonight, I'll press it in the morning and post a picture. Mom's doing much better but still in the hospital.

ibex94

dpendleton -- looking good!
You have to audition the low volume prints against the colors you're using to make sure they play well. Take the blocks you have finished and hold them against the low volume options you are thinking about using. Are the low volume too busy for the chosen fabrics? Are they too colorful? It just depends on what appeals to you.

The white background you are using are letting your piecework be the focus of the block. Your colors and piecing pop on that white. I worry that a low volume print may interfere with that clarity.

dpendleton

Thank you for the advice, ibex94. I did use a very neutral black dot on white background as my low volume print (you can see it if you expand the picture.

I agree with you, if I had a loud polka dot or pattern it would compete.

I searched "low volume" on Missouri Quilt Co's website and got a much better idea of what "low volume" means.

Dedemac

Good Morning,

Love the blocks I see each pretty but so different, Quossum, I am also using black for my background but will use mostly blues for the quilt. I may throw in a splash of color but not sure yet. Here is block 1 from last night I should be able to get block 2 done next week. The block is a little darker than the picture.

dpendleton

Quossum & Dedemac, I *love* the black backgrounds. It makes your blocks look very modern.

Off to look at quilts like yours - maybe a future project for me!

Quossum

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I love seeing the variety with projects like this! @Dedemac your version with the blues is very cool!

platyhiker

Jinny Beyer is a (recently retired) quilt maker fond of black and dark backgrounds, so searching for her quilts will show you lots of examples. (She had a business selling fabric, patterns and kits, so you will see many other people's execution of her ideas.) I love her book Color Confidence For Quilters for explaining her approach to color. It was originally published in 1992, and you may be able to find it at your local library. Amazon sells both new and used copies of it.

I was blown away the first time I saw her Lotus Quilt. To me, the colors just glowed against the black background. I was amazed how the quilt broke the color "rules" I was taught for dressing while growing up: don't put red next to pink, don't put orange next to red, etc. I bought the kit, and had so much fun working with such "daring" color combinations. One photo I saw of someone's quilt made from the kit was a bit overexposed, which made the lightest blue fabrics have even more glow; so I substituted in a few lighter fabrics for that sections to game the same effect in real life. Here's what the kit picture was on the selling page (I didn't do the applique, as I don't enjoy large amounts of it):

The background looks solid in the picture, but the kit had a print with subtle gray dots on it:

What looks like solid black diamonds in running through the star are actually a purple on black print:

Dedemac

Platykhiker I was lucky and was able to visit her shop in VA before she retired and I loved all the quilts on the walls. I did my first dark quilt back in 2015 with Jinny on the Craftsy website. I have done as much as possible by hand, the paper piecing needed the machine. I still have not put the blocks together but they are all finished, they are on my UFO list.