The Conversation Sampler Row of the Month Club starts January 1, 2019 right here. Are you joining us? Thinking about it? Today I'm sharing with you how I selected fabric for this quilt and... I'll give you a peek at the new version I'll be making in 2019 along with you. I will provide you with some additional ideas for coloring this quilt too. *hint *hint it doesn’t always have to be in rainbow order! So if you’re on the fence about joining, read on for some color inspiration!
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Psst.. the print pattern is an 8 1/2” x 11” book if you want to get this quilt done faster than the one row at a time pace. PDFs will email out one row at a time each month. Totally up to you!
CONVERSATION works “loosely” from a half yard bundle of 14 fabrics if you plan to follow suit with the diagonal color gradation across the quilt as shown in the sample. I say loosely because we don’t really need a half yard of all of the colors, but if you have bundles at home you are trying to work with, this concept will get you there. When I started designing this quilt, I had more of a random placement of colors in my mind, but as the quilt design came closer to completion AND as I planned to use Alison Glass fabrics, of course, the rainbow order color gradation became the stand out design.
KALEIDOSCOPE FABRIC These beautiful Kaleidoscope Wovens by Alison Glass for Andover are sweet. They are delicious vibrant colors and are perfect for this quilt. All the diagrams and instructions are based on this color way. If you would like to play along using Kaleidoscope, you can purchase a kit here from Stash Fabrics or have your fabric mailed monthly here from Pink Castle Fabrics.
CONVERSATION FABRIC SELECTION GUIDE
If you want to mimic the fabric selection used in this quilt, here are the design concepts I used to color the quilt.
14 COLORS for color gradation across quilt. (alternate suggestions below). Specific yardage and sky call outs are listed in the pattern when you purchase.
NEUTRAL BACKGROUND (WHITE) Conversation uses all solid woven fabrics in the sample. Of course, you do not need to use solids on this quilt. Fabrics that would work well are small prints - fabrics that are either tone-on-tone, tone-on-white or those that read as neutral will work best.
LARGE BACKGROUND (DENIM Yarn Dye Background) This fabric is an important choice. Here I chose a yarn dye that reads as solid, but given a lot of texture to this quilt. You may use a print here, but I would recommend keeping it small in scale and one that reads as one color. We don’t want to lose all the block work detail in the center of the heart because of a busy background. Fabrics that would work well are small prints - fabrics that are either tone-on-tone, tone-on-white or those that read as one color will work best.
The Introduction Document (emailed with purchase) includes a Fabric Chart so you can lay out your own fabrics and the Coloring Sheet for you to test out color options.
ALTERNATE COLORING IDEAS
RANDOM COLOR PLACEMENT This sketch shows the random color placement I originally had in mind when drawing up this quilt. Will someone make this version for me please??!?! I’m still smitten with these colors. This quilt has 8 colors with random placement on a cream background for the heart, and a mustard background for the overall quilt. You can see I hadn’t added the triangles in the corners yet on this sketch - like I mentioned, early sketch… I love the folksy feel of the colors and placement in the version. 8 COLORS | 5/8 yard each.
COLOR EACH ROW Thinking of doing the Row-Along in rows of the same color? Here is a sketch, using a similar color palette to the one above, where the heart shape is completed in rows of all the same color. Again, another coloring strategy - and it changes the feel of the quilt again. I love it! Another very distinct personality for Conversation… 7COLORS | See Yardage callouts below.
3 COLOR The sketch below shows a version of a simplistic design using 3 colors - 2 within the heart, and a third color outside of the heart to frame it’s block work. Crisp and clean, yes? I could totally see this quilt blowing in the breeze on a clothesline on a hot summer day.
RED AND WHITE I have always admired the red and white quilts of history. Classic. Elegant. Regal. This is the color scheme I have decided to use for my second version of Conversation. Conversation: Red and White. I’m so excited! I am using Scandi fabrics from Makower UK/Andover - a variety of holiday and seasonal prints. I’m using only the red and white prints from the collections (there are Scandi prints that come out each year for several years now…) with the Red Linen Texture fabric for the deep red background. I’m thrilled that this heart shape will also include Christmas-y prints done in folksy Scandinavian style. What if I back it in minky??!? Ooh la la! And it will be done for next Christmas!
I’m still gathering Scandi half yard prints to complete my bundle. Scandi 2019 doesn’t come out for a few months, but since we’ll be working for a year, I think I have enough to get me started. Here’s a look at some of my fabric selections so far…
I can't wait to see what fabrics you are using! Please tell us in the FB group.
I hope this helps you in thinking about your selections. And maybe convinces you to join us!
A Special thank you to Andover for providing fabrics for this Conversation Sampler Row of the Month Club. I can't wait to get sewing!
Ready to get sewing? START HERE
AnneMarie Chany is an author and pattern designer who teeters on both sides of the modern and traditional quilting line. She loves using bright colors and solid fabrics while nodding to traditional blocks. On the website, you'll find many resources to inspire and get you sewing right away like free quilt patterns, the Quilt Block Library with links to 350+ free quilt block tutorials, Block of the Month Clubs, and the Quilt Pattern Shop with clear detailed instructions to make your quilting easy and fun.
"all I need is fabric and coffee. and maybe chocolate too. yeah, definitely chocolate. let's create!"