Peckish

Hmmm interesting.

Well, I'm hoping Donna "d.rickman" also responds, as my question rose from her comment about colors and numbers. I'd be curious to see if this is what she was referring to, or if it's something else entirely.

danielgood

olive, chrome and all metallic colors, grey-blue

judykay

I am inquiring about neutrals, colors that will go with any color theme the bride might like now but change in a few years after getting settled.

klswift

I use the word subdued rather than neutral. My oldest daughter is very 'adverse' to color (I call her boring LOL) and very linear. I finally found the quilt pattern to make for her - the 3D Illusion quilt. I used a very slightly offwhite background and a medium charcoal for the shadows. All the rectangles were neutral/subdued - beiges, light greys and soft sage and very light mauve. It had enough color for me to enjoy working on it, but, so very little color that she liked it.

Rose_P

One way to think of it is just anything that wouldn't be likely to clash with other elements of decor when color trends change at a later date. It can be dark, medium or light, but not intense enough to draw the eye as the focal point. To me it would suggest something restful that works well in the background rather than making a dramatic statement. The lack of sharp contrast within the quilt seems important.

Just for some examples that are handy for me to post, if you go to this ebook link and then click "see more images", numbers 7, 8 and 11 seem like the kind of quilts I would consider neutral: http://www.shopmartingale.com/strip-smart-quilts.html With just a little more contrast within them, the same patterns could be much less neutral. It seems to me that neutral is hard to achieve without a quilt being more of a blur, but I liked those designs.

I thought I bookmarked one recently that would also fall into this category, but I can't find it. As I remember, it was made of just 4 very large triangles or trapezoids in solid colors, a grayish pink, a beige, a gray and a pale, grayed out green. It looked soft and serene, but still had a distinct pattern.

bearisgray

i think "neutral" is hard to describe.

i think of most pale tan or gray fabrics as neutrals.

i think of most tans/ ivories as "warm".

i think of "pure" white, gray, and black as "cool."

joe'smom

Low volume to me means a printed fabric where the print is sparse on a neutral background, so that the fabric functions as a background fabric from a distance, but the print adds interest close-up. This I differentiate from a background tonal, such as a beige on beige, which I wouldn't think of as low volume (though I know the concept of low volume is defined in many ways). This is Bonnie Hunter's concept of the 'neutral,' which is a non-traditional definition, imo.

The traditional concept of neutral means to me white, cream, ivory, beige, gray, black, and a very grayed shade of any color. Looking at a fan deck from any of the paint companies would be a great way to understand what is commonly meant by 'neutral,' as these usually contain a 'neutral' section, which contains shades from each color group.

cathyvv

I was just asked to make 20 neutral pack and play mat covers by my favorite charity. Seems that they give Used "pack an plays" out for newborns coming into the foster care system, but they can't predict how many of those sweet little babies will be boys and how many will be girls - hence, gender neutral!

I will enlist the help of one of the guilds I belong to for this project.

madamekelly

You meant gender neutral, I thought you meant neural color tones. For gender neutral, you just don’t let pink or blue dominate any quilt. I think “scrappy” is easiest to way to stay neutral. Check out the “Scrappy Quilt” forum on here, for ideas (93 pages of “scrappy quilts” all different ❤️). As long as it doesn’t make yo think, “Aw, cute little boy/girl”, the colors work. How about samplers too...they let everybody learn new skills, or teach each other. Fun either way.

cashs_mom

I understand that. It's easier to compose a picture with an uneven number of objects but I don't understand how that helps you pick colors.