Neutral colors
#21
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Michigan
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I frequently read the advice on here to make a neutral quilt if you aren’t sure about colors. I disagree. I quilt because I love playing with color. If I was given a brown or white or cream quilt, it would just get put in a closet. Not everyone likes neutrals. Whereas, I would be thrilled with any “color” of quilt.
#23
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Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
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I think any light color contrasting to a dark fabric is maybe considered a neutral. I remember hearing that Freddy Moran called Red a neutral so I think whatever you like as a neutral then it is.
#24
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Join Date: Jan 2011
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This is a subject that is dear to my heart. I teach color theory and there is little information to be found for the concrete use of neutrals. Let me say this....A neutral is any color that is not on the color wheel. The color wheel only contains pure color and those pure colors that have black, gray or white added to them. Neutrals are bias with colors from around the color wheel. The key to using neutrals is the same for all colors. That is to make sure your selection has varied value and the largest proportion of color choice shares the warmth or coolness of the neutral.
So.....are we discussing neutrals here? Or low volume? What is the difference?
I have a low volume quilt on my bucket list, and have started collecting fabrics for it. Many of them are not what I would have called neutral. They're just very pale colors. Maybe it doesn't matter so much to me as long as I like the combination.
Always love to learn something new.
#25
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Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
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I have a quilt, made by a member here, that uses multi colors of deep burgundy as the background, and bright celery as the foreground color. I love it. Truly, any color can be used as your neutral unifying color.
#26
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Location: Pacific NW
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Wait, now I'm confused. How do uneven numbers help you choose colors? What's the correlation?
#27
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Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
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#30
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Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
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You are right, they are beautiful. The odd number idea is about the artistic thing, not a law. It is your art, do what you like. As pretty as two color quilts are to me, I also know that having only two colors to work with, would keep me from being able to finish it myself, so there you are.
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