I had a question in a comment from Denise about my color choices. She wanted to know if I had a plan or do I just feel what color I want. I sometimes have a plan, sometimes not. In the photo below you can see I took a focus fabric and then chose several others that I like with it.
In the photo below I changed the proportion of the focus fabric to get a better idea how they would all look if used in equal amounts. This method of choosing is one of the most popular but isn't the one I use most of the time.
In patterns like Strips that Sizzle (leftover blocks from a previously shown quilt) you are working with 2 colors, pick any two, they just have to contrast enough with each other so they make a dramatic pattern. I could have chosen purple and yellow, black and red, blue and orange. Then after you choose your colors you choose many values of each color.
I might find my color combination from several pieces of fabric that are laying on the cutting table together or in my scrap bin together. I have a natural color sense given to me by God. I think the more that you look at my quilts though, you will realize that it isn't just the colors I used but the fact that I use a full value range too. That is what gives the pep (or pop) to a color combination. I could lay all of the medium to dark reds and blues on the table and there isn't a spark until the lighter values are added.
In the photo below I changed the proportion of the focus fabric to get a better idea how they would all look if used in equal amounts. This method of choosing is one of the most popular but isn't the one I use most of the time. In patterns like Strips that Sizzle (leftover blocks from a previously shown quilt) you are working with 2 colors, pick any two, they just have to contrast enough with each other so they make a dramatic pattern. I could have chosen purple and yellow, black and red, blue and orange. Then after you choose your colors you choose many values of each color. I might find my color combination from several pieces of fabric that are laying on the cutting table together or in my scrap bin together. I have a natural color sense given to me by God. I think the more that you look at my quilts though, you will realize that it isn't just the colors I used but the fact that I use a full value range too. That is what gives the pep (or pop) to a color combination. I could lay all of the medium to dark reds and blues on the table and there isn't a spark until the lighter values are added.So to sum this up, I don't always consciously choose a group of colors. I just pull one I like off the shelf and then try some others with it until I have a combination I like. I am more interested in playing with color as a visual treat than I am in learning all of the technical terms to name what I just did.