Fabric Palette Friday #13: Blue Calm

Happy Fabric Palette Friday! It feels like we’ve had a number of iterations of the rainbow theme recently, so this week, I thought I’d zero in on (mostly) a single color — my favorite color — blue. Honestly, this palette started in a totally different direction, but it wanted to take me somewhere else, and I listened. I find that’s usually a wise move. I’ve had that teal Essex linen and Aneela Hoey “butterfly” print there in the middle together for some time, an obvious pairing. Then, I reached for the scrap of Potted in Polar from Rashida Coleman Hale's Whatnot collection that I had left over from the backing of my Adventureland quilt, plus an Essex yarn-dyed linen (Peacock, a favorite blue/teal blend), a chambray, and a lovely light aqua floral print I have reserved for a baby-quilt backing.

It was starting to be too teal-heavy, so I thought about pulling in some navys, but the first ones I grabbed were too stark. I needed something with green and gray undertones, and I found it in an Art Gallery solid and that fabulous Carolyn Friedlander crosshatch print. Once I grabbed it, I knew Carolyn’s blue leaves needed to join the pile, too.

I like to balance out prints in a palette with textured fabrics and solids, so I filled in some gaps with a few more solids, notably that sage green, which adds a nice, subtle pop (is a “subtle pop” a thing?), and then topped it off with the light pink speckled Essex yarn-dyed because it’s always fun to add something a little unexpected. I keep thinking this would make such a lovely Heart of Hearts quilt, no?

Leave a comment and let me know what colors you’re working with this week. Then join in on Instagram using #fabricpalettefriday to share your own creations!