Show Us Your Fabrics

[Bernice A.]

I have a large collection of civil war /reproduction fabrics that I am thinking to use for Pick a Petal. The way that these fabrics are put together is amazing especially by Judi Rothermel, but I might need some help! The blocks speak of the old style patterns. Since last years projects were done in the modern fabrics, I want to use the civil war fabrics from my stash. Any suggestions ?

[Angie W.]

Hi Lynnanne, I am fortunate to be able to have the templates but I have worked on applique before where I needed to make my own out of template plastic. One huge tip Karen Kay Buckley told me in her class was after you have cut your template, take a fingernail file and go over the edges, it will get out those areas that are not as smooth as you want and will help with your final applique piece having crisp edges. Enjoy!

[soniasimone]

If you want to bring out the vibrancy, you can pair these with a background of white or black. if you want them to "meld," gray is your friend. I think it would also be amazing to find some solids in one of the colors found in the prints. A selection of solids from yellow to gold to amber would be very beautiful!

[soniasimone]

I predict you will love it! My first quilt was Jen Kingwell's Wandering Wife. You can absolutely do this.

[Beverly C.]

Beautiful fabrics, Amy. I used Liberty prints when making my daughter and grandaughter dresses when they were little. Soft and classic colors. I bet your quilt will be gorgeous.

[AmyE]

I used Kaffe for the last two BOMs, so I thought I wanted something different this time. I am thinking about the Liberty fabrics I've been collecting. I think they look like nice prints and colors for this quilt. i have a lot of low volume creams and whites I can use with them for the lights.

[Lynnanne]

Thank you Helen! You are an inspiration for us all.

[Helen W.]

Barbara, What an inspirational post!!! Just love it. And what a magnificent rooster. HelenW

[Helen W.]

Lynneanne, So glad to have you back in the BOM part of the forum. 2024 is going to be a really fun year. HelenW

[Lynnanne]

Thank you so much Barbara. Those are terrific ideas! I will start looking through pictures.

[Barbara B.]

I often use photos with colors I like to pull fabrics for my quilts. Here is an example, this rooster has inspired at least two quilts.

[Barbara B.]

This quilt is so scrappy it’s perfect for using your scraps/leftovers. I have used photos to help plan a quilt fabric palette. I have a photo of a beautiful rooster from Kauai that I used for two quilts. Another good place for inspiration is the paint section at the hardware store. There are paint flyers showing complementary color themes. Once you settle on 2-4 colors, simply pull a wide variety of each. All greens go together. All reds work together. All purples, etc.
Here is a blog I wrote that shows the rooster and a fabric pull from it
:
https://bbquiltmaker.blogspot.com/20...-finishes.html

It will not be too difficult to make Pick a Petal with your own templates, you will simply have to make yours from template plastic, taking care to be as accurate as possible. You will trace around them and cut out the pieces with scissors or rotary cutter. I will have more information on my blog that will post December 31, 2023.

[Lynnanne]

Thank you Barbara for your generosity in helping us with another BOM. For those of us who live abroad and have to make the quilt with our own scraps, would you have any suggestions on how to pick out the fabrics? I’m having trouble trying to figure out what colors and how many to use. Also, will it be too difficult to do without being able to buy the templates?

[Helen W.]

Evelyn, Kaffe and Tula fabrics will be perfect for this quilt. HelenW

[Helen W.]

I got these African prints from a lady that was clearing out her stash. I'm wondering whether or not these would work for thePick a Petal project? Any advice, Barbara or fellow quilters?

Monique, I agree with Barbara, some fabrics that are tone on tone that read solid, like grunge fabrics, or solids. Some of your African fabrics look
like they are really big prints. That can be hard when the blocks have a lot of small pieces. You might find it a challenge to
get a pleasing look to the block unless you fussy cut so the pieces look like they came from the same fabric. You will be
spending a lot of time doing all the curved piecing. It would be a shame if the design of the block got lost because you can't
tell where one piece ends and the next begins. It is the same as doing fancy quilting on the fabric with lots of color and design,
you don't even see it but you spend a lot of time doing it. If you separate the African pieces with solids or contrasting
colors you will see the design of the block. The only person you really need to please is yourself because you will spend a
year making it. You should love the fabrics because you will work with them for so many hours. If you bought the templates
and already have them, you could see if you can cut out a block that you really like the looks of. You don't have to sew it
together. Cut out a Block 1 and a Block 2 to auction fabrics. Just an idea. If you are committing to it, see how easy or hard
it to work with. Could you take a picture of one or two of the big design fabrics so I can see what you are working with?
HelenW