Saturday, October 17, 2015

Help! I need to decide on a background color for the Dresdens....

Ok. I need help. I know I need about 2.5 yards to do the background squares, setting triangles and corner triangles for the dresden quilt. I am avoiding pinning (ok, the top and backing for the 16 patch stars are pressed and laying on the living room floor waiting to be rolled on the boards....) so decided to see how much of a cream and grey I had in the stash. 3 yards of the grey marble from Connecting Threads, 2 yards of a dark creamy yellow marble from Connecting Threads and then I tried a light cream print that I am using for the RSC Sampler. I can get that at Joann's.

Cream print

Dark cream

grey - not as dark as it is in the photo.
Or... should I try a Kona white? Maybe white background for the blocks and then the setting triangles (8 total) and 4 corner triangles as the dark cream or grey? Thoughts?


14 comments:

a good yarn said...

I'd use the paler cream for a traditional look or the grey for a modern look.

Julie in GA said...

My first thought was to go with the grey, but the more I look at them, the more I like the darker cream. It's going to be a stunning quilt!

Angie said...

My first thought was to use the gray as it's so striking. But because you need it for background AND setting triangles, I think the gray might overwhelm everything. So I'll agree with Julie and say the darker cream. Definitely going to be amazing!

gayle said...

I like the darker cream, but I'm pretty traditional. (Not into gray backgrounds at all - too gloomy.)

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

I love the gray! I say follow your heart since you are making it!

canuckquilter said...

I agree with Ann. The grey would give it a modern look, the pale cream a more traditional feel. Depends which one you're shooting for. So I'm really not helping here. Your beautiful Dresdens will look lovely either way.

Jennifer said...

thanks for stopping by! I love your dresdens- I've never tackled a full sized quilt in that pattern- maybe someday.... personally, I'd go with the grey, but that's just me. I always seem to tend to the wacky and/or unexpected...

scraphappy said...

I didn't think that I would like the dark grey, but it kind of contrasts nicely with the blocks. It would be a darker quilt though, maybe too dark? What about a checkerboard of darker and lighter cream? Or lighter cream for the blocks and darker for the setting triangles to act as a kind of border?

Ray and Jeanne said...

I do like the gray. It does give a more modern look - not sure if you want modern or traditional. If you want traditional, the dark cream would be ok or maybe something a little darker almost a tan. Choosing colors is always hard for me. Good Luck! ~Jeanne

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

I think I like the darker cream, but then I always prefer a more traditional look. I don't think that there's a wrong choice here ... I can't wait to see what you decide.

Julierose said...

Boy this is a tough call--I kinda like them all--but I think that dark cream sets off the plates nicely. Hugs, Julierose

CathieJ said...

All I can say is not the gray. I don't think there is enough contrast to show off those pretty dresden plates. I like the darker cream better.

VivJM said...

I really like them on the grey!

Ellen said...

I almost always have difficulty deciding on which fabrics to use for backgrounds, borders, etc. Just as you have, I usually end up pulling out all kinds of fabric to test and eventually I get to one that I know is the right one. I agree that the gray is more modern and the other two more traditional and they all can work. Will you be adding a border, if so, what will it look like? That may help you to decide which fabric to choose as the background.