Monday, August 22, 2011

Dead Simple QAL with Lily's Quilts

For some time now I've been wondering if I'd ever be brave enough to sign up to a Quilt-A-Long or whether I'd always feel not quite good enough.  Thankfully, during a period of fearlessness, Lynne from Lily's Quilts seems to have come to my rescue with her fabulous new idea, known as the Dead Simple Quilt-A-Long.

Dead Simple Quiltalong

The basis is inspiring and perfect for a novice like me - the piecing and quilting itself is to be quite simple (yay!) but the palette is to be adventurous and, hopefully, a knock-out.  Love!

Now... onto Step 1 - Choosing Your Colour Palette.  Thanks to some gorgeous fish prints my partner brought back from Fiji, and my love for purple, I straight-away knew which direction I wanted to head - purples, blues and yellows.  This combination has been bouncing around my head for awhile but I've never really known if it would work in actuality.  So, thanks Lynne for giving me an excuse to give it a go and find out for sure.  :)

This is the point that I thought things would get easy.  Afterall I knew what colours I wanted to work with.  I had figured out the hardest part.  Ha ha, who was I kidding?!  Once I went over to Colour Lovers for a play with colour palettes I quickly realised my mistake.  Soooo many shades... soooo many combinations.  I literally spent hours and hours fiddling... even enlisting the help of my (ever suffering) partner.  And still nothing is definite but here are three examples that we seem to like -


Yes, we both have our faves BUT I would love, love, love your thoughts.  Which combination do you like best?  Or... would you like to take bits & pieces of each to create another, fourth, option?  Or... do you only like 3/4 shades out of the 5 and think that 1/2 need to be altered?  Or... do you hate them all and think I need to go back to the drawing board?  Help!  Please.  With a cherry on top.  :)

E.

The Dead Simple QAL is scheduled to start in September.  If you'd like to join in the fun (and, really, why wouldn't you?) head over to Lily's Quilts now!

37 comments:

  1. So excited you're in! I like the middle palette the best but with the darkest dark added in so you have the gentle colours of the middle palette but with some real contrast in there but how about I send some readers over to say what they think?!

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  2. I like the middle one. It's "non-jarring". The bottom one isn't bad at all, that would get my 2nd choice.

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  3. Well I am going for the top palette but exchanging the acid yellow for the bright yellow in the bottom palette. I bet you are going to wish you hadn't asked for advise after we all say smoething different!

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  4. I agree with Lynne. I like the middle one best with the addition of the kona raisin type dark purple.

    Anything with purple in gets my vote though, to be honest!

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  5. The middle or the last one look the best for me :)

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  6. I like the top palette the best because of the contrast between the colours. One thing you might want to think about (and I mention it because it's something I considered when picking my palette for the QAL) is whether you have or can buy several different FQs in each of those colours. I'm a purple lover and can tell you that finding a variety of purple prints is tough especially if you are particular about what shade of purple. Having a bigger difference between the two purples will probably make it easier.

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  7. I quite like the bottom one - there's a nice symmetry between the yellow and the purple, in tone and saturation, and it works the best out of all three, I think.

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  8. Hahahahaa...now this is too funny. We are definitely meant to be friends! My palette post is scheduled for later this afternoon, and what colors was I playing with? Yellow/Purple/Teal. Great minds and all that jazz!!!

    I am loving Option #1...but I think you'll stay in love longer with #2 and I like Lynne's suggestion of adding a dark purple. The Kona Raisin is one of the colors I have been eyeing for awhile.

    I can't wait to see what you pick! Come visit my palette post later and let me know what your thoughts are...please... ;)

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  9. I like the middle one the best.

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  10. Hi...just popped over from Lynne's page to offer my opinion too!
    I agree with Susan... I like the top choice, but would switch out the lime-yellow for a clear yellow from the second pallette.
    I have never tried a QAL either, and have considered giving this a try, but have not gotten started yet!

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  11. The top one, except swap the yellow for the yellow from option 3.
    Or,
    The bottom one, but add in an extra purple (the darkest from option 1)

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  12. I really like the boldness of the top palette, but it's still all about how much of each color you use. Exciting to be picking colors and fabrics isn't it? I would say go fabric shopping with your palettes in hand. You may fall head over heels for a print that falls in one or the other and that can help you make your choice. Best of luck with your quilting!

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  13. First of all, I would add white to whichever palette you select. Secondly, I would choose the palette based on the quilt recipient. If it's for a baby, I'd go with the pastel palette in the middle. For a man, I'd choose the more masculine top palette. For a girly girl, I'd choose the bottom palette. Hopefully, that helps.

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  14. The top one, or the bottom...the middle is just too safe! I imagine (being a brights lover) that the top one would just always feel sunny and happy- I love how colour can do that, so try to maximise on it whenever I can :)

    I don't know if this is allowed in the QAL, but look at how fresh and poppy the white background makes the other colours- could you add white? Or make the cream you have even paler to enhance that?

    The yellow in the top one isn't really, to my eye, acid at all, (though the slight touch of greenishness does make it partner nicely with the teal), but a lovely, vibrant Buttercup yellow, would be a nice alternative.

    Anway, that's all just my 2p's worth! :)

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  15. Any of them would work, but the fabric you have available may make all the difference. Even if a print looks to be the color in the palette, it may have tiny spots of another color that makes it go better with one palette than another, or you may find you have a fabric just outside of your range that makes it zing once you start playing with fabrics. I'd use your palettes as a place to start, and now go play with the fabrics...that's the fun part anyway. ;)

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  16. The middle is my fav! This DOES sound like a fun qa, doesn't it?!

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  17. I thought the exact same thing Lynne was thinking (really, I swear!). Middle pallette, but exchange the last color for the darkest in the first one.

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  18. Hi! Lynne sent me ;-) I am all for the top one! Love the dark and bright :-) Good luck making your mind up!

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  19. My vote's for the bottom one, although a darker purple may look good with it.

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  20. I like the bottom best but take the teal from the top row. It needs that extra kick.

    And maybe instead of white you could go a chocolate or ash from kona just for something different.

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  21. Hi! I think your choices just have different personalities! The bold top one, the more subtle middle one are my two favorites, but which one has the right emotional feel for you?

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  22. I just finished a quilt with solids and it included black. While this is not something I would normally do - the black made the fabrics completely pop! SO, I would vote for the one with the dark plum, black that you have. Although, I am a huge fan of purple so about any of these options look great to me!

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  23. I would just call them all the SAME palette and let the fabrics decide based on what lights/darks/prints you find out there. As long as you have a range of several light, medium, and darks you'll have no problems. Fun palette!!

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  24. I love the bottom one, and the top one isn't too bad if you want a really dark color in your quilt. Good choices, those are kinda what I was leaning towards too.

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  25. I like the last one because the final color brings in a little difference and it draws me into the whole palette. I seem to be in a very small minority, but that is who I am.

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  26. Personnaly I like the top set, I am drawn to brights, however I am challenging myself to pick a color pallet for this QAL that I would not normally pick, just to get me out of the comfort zone. So I probably havent helped at all LOL
    let us know what you decide.........

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  27. I like the middle one best - lovely choices though.

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  28. I like the top palette best, but then, I like bold colors! That dark plum really stands out nicely next to the other colors. This is also my first quilt-along as I'm a newbie quilter/blogger too, and I'm also thinking of working with purple so I'm excited to see what you do with your palette!

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  29. I'm doing this quilt-along too! I really like the first palette the best, I think the deep eggplanty purple is beautiful. I think if you have one really pale shade like the yellow, you need a deep shade to balance it out!

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  30. If you want to choose just one, I'd go with the first one. It gives you the most contrast, with a very light, medium light, medium, medium dark, and very dark. Value is very important - more important even than color. The second group is two lights and three mediums, and the third is a very light, medium light and three mediums. (Squint at the picture and see how they tend to blend.)

    However, why choose? All of those colors work well together, and I would treat the whole thing as one big color palette. Just be sure to keep in at least one very light and one very dark, and you'll be fine.

    Great job, by the way! It's a fun color palette that works but is still fresh and original.

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  31. Popped over here from Lily's Quilts. ;)

    I love the dark in the first palette but something about the tone in the second yellow in that set is jarring to me.

    My favorite palette is the middle except I'd prolly throw the dark from the top one in it.

    So excited to see the other people in this quilt along!
    I love color palettes.

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  32. The bottom one with the darker purple a little bit darker!

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  33. I would say the middle - I love middle of the road - the Safeway. I am thinking of joining now.

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  34. Hello! I agree with Lynne but choose what feels right to you - it's going to look great!

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