Backgrounds: A Jewel on Velvet

blue and off white

For the next several posts we're going to talk about backgrounds. We spend a lot of time looking for patterns, and searching for the right pattern. And we know there needs to be a background color of some kind. Probably white. How important can it be?


How important can it get! Your background color is the velvet your other colors shine out from. It makes a HUGE difference in how our colors look together.

blue and black

There is an illusion that only your pattern colors count. But, in truth, colors are always seen in relationship with each other. We perceive them as different with different colors around them. We usually perceive one of them as being the background and the other as the foreground, but that perception can shift in a heart beat.

The old saying about 
fabric selection is
"You can pick one  fabric for your lover. And then every one else has to dance with him."

blue and khaki

It's true. Find one color or fabric you are head over heels in love with and every one else has to show them to their best advantage.

It's also true that white isn't white and black isn't exactly black. Walk into the paint store and you'll find at least 50 different whites at least. 

Do you need all of those? 
Actually yes. Different whites will change how you see your color combinations. Ecru and Khaki are also neutral. And they change the look completely!

For the next couple sessions we'll look at how we pick up backgrounds, what they accomplish for our finished quilt, and how to pick the prints that will make your lover shine.

Reach for the Sun: The Warmth of Yelllow

Color is more than the color wheel. The color wheel maps the relationships between colors. Some of us don't care about that at all. How does it make you feel? 

We have cliches about color. We feel blue, we're green with envy, we're having a purple day. We're red hot mad.

But past that, we all have our private feelings about color. We'll be exploring a number of colors and combinations.

by Deaux Petite Souris

When I was younger I used to call it my enemy color. It's not pretty on me. But now I know it's light and heat in my quilt. And right now those sound kind of good.It also can be just goodness. And it brightens everything it's near.

Modern Pickle Relish

Of course yellow comes in a range of shades. Once we stretch a bit, we're into yellow orange, or yellow green. How marvelous!

Black and Yellow Chevron

Notice how much our neutrals change the feeling. This yellow against black and grey feels more dramatic and less sunny. But I still love it.

Use this time to think about colors differently. Reach for a color you never use. It could become your next best friend