Sunday, March 11, 2012

Weekend Blocks

It's been another rather pleasant weekend here in the FairyFace house, involving a little bit of sewing, swimming, playgrounds and hurling. All that outdoor activity (them, not me!) has led to 2 very tired children in their beds early tonight, never a bad thing.

Block 2 all on line


I completed my first batch of blocks for the Stained QAL on Saturday. I decided that I wasn't ready to face the mammoth Block 1s, so I skipped them and did Block 2 instead.


After more thought about my sashing, I bought 2 lots of yellow yardage in different shades. One was a lemon solid, but it was too pale when I put it against the fabric, so I decided to try this buttery yellow dot print for it. I like how it picks up the yellow in the clothes in this block:

First of block 2



But I am still not 100% sure that I love it. I don't know if it's because yellow would not be one of my fave colours of itself, or whether it so different to the colours in the fabrics. I was going to go with Kona Coal, but decided that it would be too dark for this baby quilt because the feature fabrics are not bright tones. It does need a lift in the sashing, but I wanted to avoid a baby pink which was the other obvious option. So, what do you think of the yellow? I'm not sure these two blocks work as well, as there are no yellow accents to pick up in the feature fabrics.

Two of block 2


Opinions please! What do you think? Will it be ok, or will it be too much when the whole quilt is sashed with it? Not making any more blocks until I decide! I kind of like them in the bottom picture, so maybe I am just being funny about it. (And, if you don't think it's right - what would you replace it with?)

5 of block 2


Hope you had a lovely weekend!

37 comments:

Susan said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the yellow! try not to look at the blocks individually but the quilt as a whole! The yellow will make this quilt and the colours around it GLOW! It is an inspired choice! Please keep going! I LOVE IT!

Kylie Lloyd said...

I agree. The yellow makes the other colors pop out. The sashing is nice a thin so it doesn't take the emphasis off the blocks.

Megan said...

I don't love the yellow sorry. You could try Kona slate. Its quite a nice blue/grey, way less dark than coal but makes brights pop.

Canadian Abroad said...

Another vote for the yellow here. I think the grey would make these colours look drab, but the yellow provides a brilliant contrast and brings out the touches of yellow that are in some of the prints.

Karen said...

I think the yellow looks lovely, as you say it brings out colours in the other prints, and you can never have too many bright colours for a baby quilt! :-)

Cherie said...

The yellow works really well with the blocks. Against the light it looks kind of golden against the other fabrics.

Nicky said...

On the washing line they look great and it will work like that in the quilt - keep going on!

Sarah said...

Its certainly a different choice, yellow dotty, but I do actually like it a lot!!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Well I love it! Have you laid all your pieces out on it, with a sashing width showing around them?

Glad the consensus is pro-yellow, or I would be shuffling off into a dark corner of the web!

Anonymous said...

I kinda like the way it makes them look like lots of little windows - you almost expect Bosco to jump out in front and introduce where we are all to today... HL

Richard Healey said...

I like those blocks they look fun and I love that line of fabric.

http://richardquilts.blogspot.com
http://trackmyshows.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Sorry, i don't vote for the yellow-- but i can't quite say why. Please try a darker shade of the light turquoise-- maybe Kona cyan or caribbean or turquoise--i can't tell which would match best. Not sure how it would work, but worth a try. I'd try a darker shade of something already in the quilt, not a whole different color.

Katy Cameron said...

I love it with the yellow, it lifts the other colours too :o)

Inspiredbyfelix said...

Oooo now I'm not usually a yellow fan (I think I had a yellow knicker phobia as a child!) but I think it works in your blocks - it makes the quilt brighter and it feels more like primary colours, kids tones - know what I mean? x

Marci Girl said...

I am/was in the same mess, and wanted to use yellow also, but after fooling with my blocks for quite some time, I couldn't get the yellow to look right, so I ended up with Kona Charcoal. You can see my blocks here: http://www.marcigirldesigns.com/1/post/2012/03/quatrefoil-love.html In my case it was just to much yellow, and I think the charcoal color highlights the outline of the characters!

Rachel said...

I am not a fan of yellow, but I totally love it here! Keep in mind then when the blocks are together the yellow will play with all of the blocks, not just the ones that have yellow in them :-)

RenoRx (Watch Meesh Run) said...

Well, I love yellow 100% and of course I think it looks fabulous! Usually I would like something dark to make your focal fabric stand out, but I think that your yellow is just dark enough that it really works. I also like it because it is so different from anything I have seen recently!

Svetlana said...

Oooh, I like the way your blocks look. That yellow adds a wonderful touch of specialness.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

I like your little apples blocks just the way you made them.

Charlotte said...

I think the yellow works really well, I would definitely stick with it

Laura said...

Keep the yellow. Don't changena thing!

**nicke... said...

i love the yellow. don't change it. i love this!

Judith, Belfast said...

I really like the yellow; keep going! Jxo

Mareenchen said...

I'm not a "yellow person", either, but I think it works just fine with these blocks. It really makes them a little brighter and more baby. :)

BendingPins.com said...

I really like the yellow sashing, I think it's a perfect match with this fabric, it reads like a neutral IMHO.

Anonymous said...

I have an idea for you-- go to Aneela Hoey's blog http://comfortstitching.typepad.co.uk
and in her archives,under categories, find 'little apples'. You will then be able to see various things she has used with her fabric-- (some sashing & some binding), but it will give you ideas of how different colors work with that fabric line. There are examples of red, white, light grey, pink, turquoise, and even some quilts by others using her fabric line-- there is one with navy and one with some sort of yellow. Hope this helps. If you wonder why i am spending so much time on your sashing question, it is MUCH more interesting than the housework i should be doing. Good Luck, i can't wait to see how it turns out.

Cindy said...

Keep it! Keep it! I know there are some blocks w/o the yellow, but you're not going to look at individual blocks in this quilt, but the overall effect. It's just perfect! xx

Marcia R said...

Oh Sarah - Keep it! The yellow dot is just precious with the little apples. Especially for a baby quilt! Anything else would be sooooo predictable!

Kirstie said...

I think it`s completely perfect, and unites the other fabrics with it`s yummy yellowness!! Please continue-I can`t wait to see finished quilt

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I love the yellow!!

Live a Colorful Life said...

I'm very partial to the yellow, especially because it has dots. Super cute!

Anonymous said...

I love the yellow, just not with the olivey/khaki fabric. It's gorgeous with the rest though!

Shannyn said...

I'm not a huge fan of yellow either, really. But your choice for the quilt is PERFECT!!!

Heidi Grohs said...

I like yellow for a baby quilt!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

I do like the yellow, it's cute for a baby quilt. I know what you mean though and I think I don't really like it against the khaki. It's hard to tell from the pictures though. I would maybe try white, that way the fabric itself stands out. I'm not sure!! I hope it's grown on you, that'd make life easier!

Anonymous said...

I love the yellow, I think they all look great so far :)

Misslizzy said...

This is stunning work. It's like a piece of art work for the wall. I just love the contrast between the yellow and the darker colours.

I'm not as fond of it together with the turquoise material with the white pattern. Is there an alternative fabric you could use here? Otherwise, can I buy one????