Carol - love your choice of lighter/ pastel colours. I hope you continue to post as I'd love to see how the quilt progresses with those colours. Thanks all for the reminder of values. I used to fret a lot about that, but then realized that a bright colour next to a dull colour (like brown) could have the same value but still show well together. I hadn't considered the contrast of the brown and gold, but I think it will be fine. There is so much brown (grey) in this quilt I didn't want to use a darker one. I turned the flash off and I think the colours show more true to life.

I'm having a hard time including gray. Is anyone else? I just can't picture it with the other ones.

Belfrybat, shown that way I think your colors will work well!

Susie, I can see the gray, whether as asphalt roads or Seattle skies with splashes of (fall) color....With Frolic it was the bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle. This year maybe it will be California Dreaming where all the skies are gray. My Tuesday group ladies have come through and have presented me with many options/additions to the very few I had in my stash. I've got a load going in the wash right now.

I'll have to start collecting the other color groups out of the stash.

I'm going to go ahead and pull a group of single fabrics for a potential half sized juvenile project. Not going to cut until I know a lot more... might not be the right project for them but when I find the right one it will be fun :)

SusieQOH, I think the gray does look odd when put with the colors, I guess because they are all warm colors, or because gray is kind of flat when compared to the richness of the colors. You could google 'quilts with gray background' and check the images; if you don't like the way those look, you could substitute for the gray. Several people on Bonnie's Facebook page are using brown, purple or dark blue for the gray.

Belfry, it's amazing what natural lighting will do in a photo. I think that contrast will be fine.

I pressed a few burgundies to add to my red.

Here's a link to a gray background quilt with several of the colors we're using.

http://www.sewblessed.us/module/news...letterId=35708

Yeah, I’m not loving the gray either and I swapped the gray and the red to what my eye likes. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress from the sidelines!

I think a lavender or periwinkle could be easily substituted for the gray -- but I sort of used up most of my purples as year or so ago. One of my early single fabric only options was a slightly slate toned medium blue but it turned out I didn't have enough yardage, it looked really nice with most of the other colors too.

I have problems with the Parakeet... I'll probably be shifting to more aqua or just a different green.

Didn't get back in time to add this to previous post, but here's the view out my front door. We've got the grey wet concrete, the gold and brown and the green. When we finish the rock wall (which I was going to do this year before my knee went bad) there will be a bright red maple on that corner near the silver-grey of my neighbor's car.

I'm not so sure about half the quilt being gray... but it works with the other colors.

Thanks for the responses to my gray query. I can picture it in real life, as in your photo, Ice, but not for my quilt :)
I ordered the colors from Sherwin Williams and then I'll start choosing. I'm not really a lover of purple so that's not
an option. I really like gray fabrics that are so popular now but not with this..........\
Ditto with parakeet- nope!!!

An idea just crept into my mind -- find a neutral print I absolutely love and buy 3.5 yd, to use as a constant in the mystery quilt. (Maybe I'm just missing the shopping I normally do for the mystery, LOL.)