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skjquiltnut 03-23-2010 05:41 PM


Originally Posted by skjquiltnut

Originally Posted by tkhooper
I have a few more minutes.

A nice addition to the red and green would be one or more of the neutrals. Now so far we have one cool and one warm color so the red is going to have the pop factor. If white is added it will become the pop factor. But if black is added the red will continue to dominate the color scheme. And again if a red print has a white background it will take center stage. But if you add a green with a white background it's going to come in conflict with the red and they will fight for dominance. So if those are your color choices placement is going to become incredible important.

Thanks for your effort, energy and knowledge. Color will be so much easier from now on.
The lesson here is constantly pay attention to the value of your colors/fabrics.

Triad - I think we have all seen primary color quilts done for children they are bright and charming and eye catching. But triads can also be busy and fight with one another. There will always be two colors on the same "side" of the color wheel. So you will either have two warm colors (dominate) or two cool colors (submissive). A neutral will "control" this color combination and help make it into the color scheme that will pop. If you have two warm colors and choose White that will become the dominate color and will calm down the yellows and reds. If you have two cool colors and choose black or brown then your warm color will really dominate while the blue and green will blend with the neutral.

Tetrad - This one is fun lets say you choose yellow and purple as your complementary colors. You won't use either of those colors. Your color palette will consist of orange and green, blue and red. Here the orange and red will dominate and the green and blue will be submissive in the color scheme. Varing the value of the colors in your fabric choice will enhance the wow factor but placement of the different colors requires very close attention.

Analogic - This is one of my favorites. I think it can make some very elegant quilts. With three colors next to each other you can have Yellow, Orange, Red combinations where all the colors are dominate with yellow being the "lightest" value and thus taking the main stage. With red being the darkest and thus falling to the background color. A large focus pint with these colors can make some fantastic medalion quilts. The addition of neutrals can definitely add drama and impact.

Accented analogic - 4 colors with a complementary color as a part of the mix can make for just about any combination you would like. Add neutrals and the sky is the limit. Just watch out that it doesn't become chaotic.

I'll try and look up any questions that you have and get you answers. I hope this has helped.


--------no idea how my msg disappeared and only my name came through.....feel like a "dork" Thanks for all your hard work, with this info I may just be able to put together a few colors that feel great together.

tkhooper 03-23-2010 06:48 PM

Well while I was working on my sampler I found out something interesting that I had not realized for those who like to do stuffed applique or trapunto.

I had a poppy motif done with a small blue monochromatic print. The trapunto has just about disappear. It is totally overridden by the print on the fabric.

So I would suggest that for this type of quilting technique you might want to stick with a solid tinted fabric. Those are the light pastels. Since the trapunto will create the greatest shade/contrast.

The other option with the stuffed applique is to use the lighter/dominate color for the stuffed portion and then a darker color or pattern for the background. An example of that is the lady that makes the great quilted bowl. I can't remember her screen name at the moment.

no1jan 03-24-2010 12:57 AM

Thank you TK, this is great! Very informative.

As a newbie, I need stuff like this.

no1jan 03-24-2010 12:58 AM

Sorry hit Send twice. Need another cup of coffee!!! :oops: :oops:

alageeps 03-24-2010 02:06 AM

Thanks so much for your color expert advice. Now if I could only remember this when picking out my material. I usually ask someone else at the store for their input. Sometimes I think I am color blind..... :thumbup:

k3n 03-24-2010 02:36 AM

This is excellent! Thanks so much for putting it together. Now I'm going back to read through it a couple more times to try and get it permanently etched into my brain!

tkhooper 03-24-2010 04:06 AM

I think cut, paste and take along probably works better. I can't hold all of this in my brain.

quilt queen 2 03-24-2010 09:32 PM

THANKS FOR THE COLOR INFO IT IS VERY HELPFUL . THIS IS AN AREA THAT I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. THANKS AGAIN

wvdek 03-24-2010 09:44 PM

Great post.

GailG 03-25-2010 03:48 AM


Originally Posted by tkhooper
I think cut, paste and take along probably works better. I can't hold all of this in my brain.

That's one thing I can't do. I'm "puter-tarded."

:lol:
Thanks for the thread.


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