My Adventures in Quilting: {Part 2--Choosing the Fabrics}

Welcome!  Yesterday we began talking about quilting!  I explained the process I went through of choosing a design for my quilt, but the next decision, the one which I learned makes or breaks any quilt, is choosing the right fabric!

After choosing my quilt design, my next plan was to head off to my local quilt shop for some inspiration fabric.  With just about any project involving color, an "inspiration" piece is a must...something on which to base the rest of the room, outfit, etc.  The "inspiration" fabric that you choose will be the foundation for the rest of your quilt. 

Now just a word about fabric in general...my knowledge of quilting is pretty much zero, but I knew that buying fabric from a place like Hobby Lobby was not a good idea.  Why?  Two reasons: 

1) Quality.  The quality of the fabric is not the best.  It's fine for crafting and for most apparel, but for a quilt or something you want to last a really looooong time...not so much.  If you've ever felt high quality quilting fabric and regular ole' fabric from the chain store, you'll know what I mean.  The "nice" stuff is soft and almost silky smooth, while the cheap stuff is rough in comparison. 

 2)  Help.  I knew I would need it!  Since I was really inexperienced, the sweet ladies took their time and helped me pick out coordinating fabrics for my quilt.  They were so much fun and seemed like they really enjoyed what they were doing!

Okay so back to inspiration!...here is the fabric I chose.   (Moda Fabric,"It's a Hoot.")  I was instantly in love!  The owls are adorable and not too "owly", if you know what I mean.  (Don't you think some owls are just scary?!)

Most fabric designers will make a complete line of coordinating fabric to make the process really simple.  Unfortunately, most of this particular fabric line has been discontinued so doing that was not an option.  "No problem", I thought, "I'll just pick coordinating fabrics in the matching colors!"   Sounds easy, right?  But for me, it wasn't.  I would get completely overwhelmed by all of the choices!  I just couldn't seem to get anything to look right!

Then I read this article at  Make and Takes, which talked about the "scale" of the fabrics. I learned that I needed a mixture of small, medium, and large prints. While I had obviously thought about the color aspect, choosing the colors based on their size of print (scale) had not been on my radar.  Knowing that, I set out again to find my coordinating fabrics.  

For my quilt pattern, I needed 10 fabrics in all.  Complimentary fabrics in green, pink and yellow were my favorite choices, but it still felt a little flat.  Then I found that turquoise fabric and I just really, really loved it!  It's a little crazy and unexpected, but I think that's why I like it so much.  It seemed to add just the right "punch" that the quilt needed.

I bought some of my fabric at our local quilt shop, and some at Mary Jo's in Gastonia.  When shopping for fabric I always took what I already had with me to see how it all worked together.  Fanning it all out or stacking it all up (see below) really helped me to see how the fabrics were working together. (Or not!)

Once the fabric selection was finalized, it was time for cutting the blocks {gulp}, piecing and sewing.  Just for fun, here's a sneak peak at my pile of strips waiting to be made into a quilt top!

Can't wait to show you the finished product next week!!

Is picking fabrics for a quilt or any project difficult for you?  Are you like me and get completely overwhelmed in the fabric stores?  I would love to hear your tips for making this process easy!