Learning about color values

Values Quilt for Mom
Completed June 2019 - Given as a gift November 2019

I found some charm packs online. When I saw the colors, I immediately thought of Mom White who likes green and teal in her home.

I've been looking at values quilts online and so I put this quilt together with that concept in mind: divide the fabrics into dark, medium, and light values rather than fabric patterns and colors.  

Normally, I would combine colors by looking at the adjacent colors. The fun in this quilt was combining values rather than colors. Doing the quilt this way took away the stress of matching colors which was liberating since I am a structured person.

Because the blocks shrunk when sewn together, and I didn't have a plan when I started sewing, it was necessary to order a more charm packs.  

After putting together the additional fabric squares, there still were not enough.  It was time to return to the computer to order additional fabric. Yet another problem surfaced when I found the charm packs had been discontinued.  I managed to find some of the fabrics in yardage to finish my quilt.

Because the charm pack contained colors that coordinated, this isn't a true values quilt where multi-colored scraps are used and the focus is on values only. For my first quilt of this type, I learned A LOT!  

Putting together my blocks, I realized that some of the values that I read as dark were actually medium.  I used the black and white feature on my phone and found out after the blocks were finished that I had not gotten my values correct. The beauty of a values quilt is that the colors don't have to match. Some of the blocks I seam-ripped and some were left alone. Nancy showed me a ruby-beholder that will help for the next time I work with color values.

My friends often hear me exclaim that I loved making a particular quilt. This is definitely one of those times. I'm learning that my favorite quilt is always the one that has just been finished!

Now that this one is completed, I found more information on dividing my medium fabric colors better. Next time I will take my mediums and divide them further by putting the darker mediums with the light colors and the lighter mediums with the dark colors.

Every quilt tells a story. This is the story of making a values quilt and looking forward to making one again.

Every Quilt Tells a Story

Whether it is the fabrics chosen, the design, the colors, the occasion, the recipient, or the people I quilt with, every quilt tells a story. This blog captures in images and words what has been created through the hum and stitching of my sewing machine.