After an initial burst of sewing Swoon blocks, I set this project aside to work on other things. However, in the past few days, I did manage to sew several more and re-learned a few things in making them. Nothing like discovering that some of those fabric pairings I selected didn't come off looking as good as I thought they would. Live and learn, right? ;o)
#1. Really small prints don't read the same from a distance as they do when close-up (mental note: remember to stand back to view and then decide on fabric pairings before proceeding to make a large scale block like this).
#2. Fabrics with large white areas can get a little "lost" when they don't have enough contrast with a mostly white background fabric.
#3. Fabrics with huge prints don't read so well in this block design because they get "chopped" up.
#4. Fabrics with a medium scale design work really well for this block design, especially ones with the right amount of colour contrast.
Okay, so I guess you know which is my favourite block out of the four I recently made. ;o)
Negatives aside, when I place 3 of my newest blocks with the initial three...
I think things aren't going as bad as I first thought. Funny, how a few "not so great on their own" blocks get a boost when placed with better ones. That being said, you can bet I will try to carefully consider the fabrics I select for the next blocks. LOL
Good lessons - it's hard to remember, sometimes, that quilts can be like a Monet: best when viewed at a distance. It all comes together in the end. I had serious reservations with my own Swoon, and with my Scrappy Trip, which looked like individual messes until it was all sewn together...
ReplyDeleteYour blocks are beautiful!
I kind of faced the same problem too in picking the right fabrics since the blocks are BIG! Haha. But your blocks look fantastic anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed perhaps on the lessons learnt but the variety really helps the quilt as a whole - I think you have the right blocks there for a super quilt - keep going!
ReplyDeleteI am always learning from every quilt I make! I always have problems with values and am constantly having to change things up. It is going to be a pretty quilt.
ReplyDeleteI think ALL of your blocks look awesome! It would be boring if they all looked similar.
ReplyDeleteI've been considering making a swoon quilt soon, so your fabric selection tips were very helpful. Thank you! But you are right...putting them all together boosts them all. Nice work!
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