jgriinke

I was going to say the same thing that Lori S. did. Show her the salvage on some fabric and tell her about the dots. That may be a starting point for her. Once she does that a few times, it may help her out. That said, if she is happy with them - well, we don't all like the same things.

Steady Stiching

Beauty is really in the eye of the beholder...look at the Gees Bend Quilts. Its a subjective art form. Your friends quilts might be priceless in someones eyes.
Maybe your friend might get some ideas if she spent some time on Bonnie Hunters site....the queen of scrappy IMHO.
http://www.quiltville.com/

SueSew

Dunster, love your quilt - great example of how to put it all together. You have color, value, scale and a wow pattern. A picture my be worth a thousand words in this case. I'm saving this post for when I'm ready to try scrappy!

MDMPanther

I absolutely love this book...I bought it for myself because I struggled with coordinating colors or just trusting what I thought looked good and have found it extremely helpful to me, esp when I want something to look just so or I'm trying to create a particular feel.

She's asked for your help so I think it gives you some freedom to lovingly share your knowledge about color, scale, and hue!

MDMPanther

I think the Bonnie Hunter site is another great suggestion, esp since she likes scrappy!!!

dunster

The book I started with was Color From the Heart by Gai Perry. http://www.amazon.com/Color-Heart-Se.../dp/1571200711 She presents fun projects that help you with fabric selection.

QuiltE

I'd never heard of the book .... though am sold on it by reading the large preview in Amazon!

MarthaT

Different ones have mentioned color-blindness. I learned a few years ago that there are different kinds of color blindness, not just red/green. My nephew has a form that keeps him from distinguishing between yellows and purples and maybe even brown. My sister wondered about some of his comments after he learned his colors and she thought he was getting some colors mixed up. One day he was looking at a book to test color-blindness while she was getting her eyes checked and they discovered his color-blindness. So your friend may need to get her eyes tested for all forms of color-blindness. But it could be she just has different ideas about what goes together than most people. Does she like the combinations she puts together? I've seen some colors put together in quilts that I don't like, but I'm sure the person who made them likes them. Or they may be like my grandmother who just put together whatever she had because for her, buying new fabric and cutting it up was a waste. You only made quilts from scraps.

Wunder-Mar

First off, I am so very impressed by all of the thoughtful responses - they are a pleasure to read.

Second, it could very well be that she is NOT colorblind, but simply has bad taste (it does happen). She seems to be quilting "in the closet" like a Lone Ranger, not really asking for help, simply company, when she selects fabric. Also, her "going cheap" on supplies may be either a cultural or ingrained behavior based on a life long before or not concerning you.

How about this: buy a colorwash quilt kit - or other quilt kit that is particularly good for learning color value - and begin working on it yourself. Share with her AND SHOW HER what you're learning as you go - it'll be a sideways manner of teaching. Since you don't "do" scrap quilts, it'd also be a way for you to get outside of YOUR box for a good cause.

When I first started quilting, I took the Keepsake Quilting catalogue and used it like a technical manual - the fat quarter bundles they sell are coordinated (or solidscolors are gradated within the bundle), and I learned a lot about the skill of soft matching of patterns and colors.

Ask Keepsake Quilting to send her a free catalogue - when your next one comes in the mail, it'll be something to share, discuss ("I really liked this quilt/FQbundle because of [whatever] - what do you think?" "I really like the softness of this quilt -I don't usually like [whatever] but this really struck me") and slowly percolate between your chats. She'll be poring over the catalogue in her free time looking for ideas, and the visuals will imprint their own lessons.

Baloonatic

Perhaps introduce your friend to the quilt style of Freddie Moran. Her neutral is RED, her quilts awe-inspiring! I'm stuck in my box, but truly admire the imagination of her quilts!