…marching down the path to spring, the “’Pieceful’ Border Path,” that is! Yes, we’re on our way. Those of you in cold states might not be believers, but we’ll soon be up to 80 here in sunny Wetumpka, Alabama. My last pattern, “Winter Border Garden” was jewel tones; this new border lap quilt is soft, mellow beige and tan, or could be made with a restful gray, and frankly, just about any color floral or pattern border. It’s a nice tranquil throw to gently go with a décor without standing out too much. Just cozy. It pieces quickly, too, because of large 7″ triangles and a lot of border print.
On sale for just $3.50 until the end of March, it’s a nice restful quilt to make. Click here for more information.
While I’m generally most drawn to really brilliant colors like the jewel tones in the last pattern (“Winter Border Garden #CC2315), there are times when a more subtle approach is warranted. Years ago, one of my friends made her mother a gorgeous quilt in shade of beige and gray. While normally those colors make me yawn, it dawned on me that in a BEDROOM, maybe you want to yawn!
I had just enough of this brown/gold border print in my stash to make a throw (about 42″x55″), so I searched for really tranquil creams, beiges and tans with a slight gold tone to go with it. Colors beside each other on the color wheel are called “analogous,” but usually that refers to three colors, e.g. yellow, yellowgreen citron, green. In this case, my choice was almost monochromatic and differed more in shades than in colors.
Actually, to be technical, I should say “tints” and “tones.” A tint is a “hue” (clear color on color wheel), such as yellow, that has white added to it to lighten it, giving a yellowish cream. A “tone” has gray to darken it, like maybe a gold shade or taupey beige. Whoops. I stand corrected–a “shade” has black to darken it. If you’re painter, that’s good to know. If you’re choosing fabric, it’s OK with me if you say “shades” of a color. After all, you buy what is available and unless you dye, you don’t change it.
Using softer toned monochromatic colors can induce a tranquil look. Imagine soft, misty blues or heathery muted purples, or maybe pale sage green and gray. Those give a very different feel than stark primary colors, bright red, yellow and blue. When decorating, sometimes tranquility is better. Other times you want a pop of bright color for accent.
Speaking of accent, I did use a strip of medium brown with gold leaves as a narrow folded border and as the binding, for a little contrast. It’s in the same color family but darker. That’s for just a little pop without going to a bright orange or clashing blue. Also, note that the cream is not a solid. It’s actually a soft white with a tiny swirl of beige, but it reads like a cream. That’s a fun thing about fabrics–some are tone-on-tone, some mottled, some with pin dots, which add richness to the project without changing the tone (or tint or shade)!
