Color Crush: Cream, Aqua, Chartreuse

Have you ever had that one fabulous piece of fabric that inspired a whole quilt? Well that happened to me recently, but it was a spool of yarn! 

 

In addition to my quilting addiction, I also love knitting, so I will swoon almost as hard over lustrous, hand-dyed yarn as I will over beautiful fabric. I was shopping at my local yarn shop (Gauge in Austin, Tx) and this wild limey-chartreuse practically leaped off the shelf and into my arms. It is not a color I often gravitate to, but this one grabbed me. It is a kettle-dyed wool and as with most kettle or hand-dyed textiles, it is ever so subtly variegated. Oye!

 

So I brought this fellow home and knew I wanted to use him in one of these GLOBE quilts I was making samples for. I've been having a lot of fun lately couching yarn to finish my appliqué edges; it takes about the same length of time as my typical satin stitch, but adds a lovely texture. 

 

Since this green was SO bright, I wanted to pair it with a really soft, neutral palette. So I grabbed lots of creams and a creamy-gray to start. I decided that I wanted a little color in the appliqué pieces, so I added a couple chartreuse fabrics and this great, light aqua. To add a bit more depth, I added pops of a black and cream print. 

 

I really like how this fellow turned out -- it is a very different palette than I often do, which made it a lot of fun.