Fabric! Fabric! Fabric!

I love, adore, cherish, can't stop searching for....FABRIC!  Really the fabrics out there are so gorgeous I can (and have) spent hours shopping for it.  Thankfully, for my pocketbook, I rarely pull the trigger unless I have something in mind for it.  So sadly, I really do not have much of a stash.  I think because of the mountain of choices I actually feel a paralyzed by the enormity of the selections.  Do people usually by an entire line?  Or purchase just individual selections?  The baby quilts I have worked on thus far have all been from pre-cuts and from a single line.  I must say, I'm not really in love with that look.  I think there ends up lacking depth to the end result.  I don't know if it is from a lack of value difference;  it might just be my own personal aesthetic where I really prefer high contrast quilts.

I have really enjoyed shopping on Etsy, where they sell fat quarter bundles that have been coordinated but not necessarily from the same line.  Some also let you pick your own fabric bundles.  I never anticipated that learning to choose fabric would be just as important as learning the techniques of quilting.  I thought you just picked out some pretty fabric and made your quilt.  But value and color placement are sooooo important.

My X and O quilt

http://kechquilts.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/less-ufo-sightings-reported.html

 

Above are two X and O quilts. The top one is mine, and the fabric selections are light and medium tones.  It makes the the overlook a bit muddled and the pattern does not stand out.  The quilt below is made by Annabell, and see what a HUGE difference fabric selection makes.  The bright contrast in her gorgeous quilt, really make the pattern sing. Clearly, I need to work on picking fabric that compliments a pattern.