Becky Crafts

Mostly through nature. Occasionally from gemstones.

VickyS

Mostly from nature, but I've found the computer color coding on the fabric selvedges to be a pretty good choice for tones of complementary and opposing shades to match my main color.

Buckeye Rose

My color inspiration comes from the recipient of the quilt when finished. I rarely make a quilt "just to make one". I almost always discuss the use of the quilt and where it will be and try to color coordinate. Once in a while a collection of fabrics all work together very nicely for me, but not often. I LOVE brights, but will often gravitate to the natural colors.

joyce888

I watch a lot of HGTV designing shows for color inspiration and color combination. Also two of my favorite magazines, Southern Living and Better Homes & Gardens are great inspirations.

bigsister63

I think that most people gravitate to color range that they like. I personally pick fabric that I like and work with colors that are in the fabric. There are little dots on the salvage on most fabrics that thell you what colors are in it. You can use that to find the right colors. I also think that there are 2 kinds of quilters. Those who lean toward blending colors and those who contrast colors. I tend to be a blender. I also get color inspiration from the pattern itself. I am a red head but I still make quilts in purple and rasberry colors.

redmadder

Funny how they just occur to me. Like the log cabin top using wine, navy, brown, and beige, made it 15 years ago, sold it two years ago on ebay. Glancing through a catalog of home goods and there was my quilt, being made in China. Guess we know where some designers get their color inspirations.

LadyElisabeth

Lots of books and nature......but I like to spend time in a LQS and just walk up and down the aisles until fabric jumps out and grabs me.

jayelee

Anywhere and everywhere Just look around you God made a very colorful world use it

Krisb

For gifts, I go with the colors the intended recipients usually wear (or, for one niece, the close up of the living room wall she sent me). For charity quilts, colors that aren't too personalized. For other quilts, the colors in my favorite photos of my favorite places and things in nature.

gramma nancy

I have to agree with what others have been saying -- everywhere!

But I also keep a loose-leaf notebook. It started out being clips of quilts I would like to make or just enjoy looking at. But it changed over time and became a color inspiration book. I cut pictures out of magazines, catalogs, just about anywhere if the pictures feature color combinations I find pleasing. They mostly aren't pictures of quilts, but of fabrics, clothes, interior design, gardens and plants, just about anything that has an interesting color combination.

I refer to the notebook when thinking about a new quilt to get color inspiration. It's great to see the colors in an exotic plant leaf, for example, become the colors in a quilt. Inspiration is everywhere but I find it helpful to clip and save it when I see it so I have a record of the actual shades that struck me initially.