I made good progress on my batik challenge blocks this weekend. I think I have nearly 40 blocks made out of 50! I found myself in a bit of a quandary though. Some of the blocks have high contrast, which in small doses, makes your eye "dance" over the quilt top from light spot to light spot. That is a good thing. I was concerned that I not end up with a preponderance of blocks made up of light fabrics because I feared it would detract from the design as a whole.
After making around 20 blocks with both a dark and a very light fabric, I began to worry that I had too many lights going on. I made the next dozen or so blocks with lower contrast. I don't think I needed to worry too much though. When I rigged up my design wall (more of a curtain really) and put up the blocks to see how they looked together I was pleasantly surprised.
I like the lights so much, I may have to make more blocks with them now. Luckily I have lots of fabric! I may end up with enough blocks for two quilts if I keep playing with these color combinations! When I look at the blocks on the wall, it is the murky dark blocks that stand out in not such a good way.
9 Responses
Nicole, your Batik blocks are looking beautiful…I adore all things purple so this quilt really speaks to me. When I worked with Batiks, though I only needed thirty 15″ blocks, deciding on the block placement took me longer than making the blocks. Then with a 10″ wide rich brown border it added another issue. But once I figured out the arrangement, It went together very quickly. When I get caught up on current projects, I would love to do another Batik in the brighter hues.
Those purples are really pretty! The lights do make the blocks “pop” for sure.
This is coming along beautifully. Actually, the low-contrast blocks are the ones that appeal to me the most. They make me want to look more closely to see what is going on.
I love how this is looking; I think I will need to put it on my list of quilts to make. I think I would even have enough purple batik that I could make it from my stash.
That’s going to be beautiful!!!!
These are really pretty! I’m a prim girl, but I enjoy looking at the batiks because they have that beautiful watercolour look. This is going to be an awesome quilt!
Your quilt is looking fantastic, I love the contrast blocks.
Nicole, your blocks are gorgeous! They remind me of a blended quilt.
Jeez, have I really not read your blog since a week ago?!? I must step away from the sewing machine more often. I like the way it’s going. Just like me, you’re picking on those dark fabrics! I think it looks great!