layout advice

On Row 6: move the purple background that's next to the red (#5) and the blue with blue center (#8) that is below the other blue with blue center. Anyway, that's the way the colors look on my compie. They get 'lost' where they are. Maybe move the purple to the left one space and the blue to the right one space. The bottom 2 rows are way too dark for me to cipher. HTH

Butterfly

Well all the fabrics are gorgeous so it is hard to quibble. But I think you are trying to make a gradation so here is my 2cents: When I sort of squint at the layout (to try and get a feel for the values) I notice that some of the ovals contrst with their backgrounds and some do not. You might want to take that into account......(I think that making the image greyscale (or making a photocopy) is supposed to make it easeier to see this) So I would try to group or align the blocks no only from light to dark backgrounds but also according to their "contrastiness" HTH Allison

I think I agree with Butterfly. It seems you've done a gradation. I'd be more inclined to mix them up differently and not do a gradation. The bottom

I'll take some black and white pics and see if I can do more sorting from that perspective. Good idea, thanks!

Well, Kathyl, you asked so I'll have to climb in too. The orderly arrangement of light to dark disturbs me. Somehow, it doesn't seem to play nice with your beautiful fabrics. I see that there's a happier arrangement picture when you were just making them. Except, of course, for the 2 zebras side-by-side, the random placement seems joyful. I would explain if I understood. Polly (hating that we're not close enough to come play with your wonderful blocks)

I may spend a day just shuffling them and throwing them up on the wall now that I know how many I want. I have a reject pile of a 8 more blocks that just don't play nicely with the others. By taking the digital pictures, I can go back to a previous arrangement a lot easier than without one. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not locked into any one setting yet. Though I'm kinda glad it's inconvenient to take them to my small group meeting. That's too many opinions all being voiced at once! Then people start picking them up and moving them to the point you don't know what goes where. And since it's on someone's living room floor, it's darned hard to replicate it when I get home. This is much better. Putting the picture up, reading the suggestions and responses, considering them, and then doing whatever I want in the end. Thanks!

Well . . . see, Kathyl, there's this - a design wall is a wonderful tool. You'd get hurt trying to take mine away from me. However, I was thinking how the arrangement would look on a bed. Maybe that's what you ought to play with. Sack 'em up and go put them on a bed in whatever happens order or disorder until it sings. I feel your pain. My heart strings quilt has something nearing 200 heart blocks. Getting them placed took some doing and I needed it to be the melody I was hearing. Nope, I don't think I'd want a group taking that away from me. It's MY quilt. It's quite something to be in a position of 'help me, help me' and 'leave me alone'. Let them rest. Your blocks will tell you when they're happy. Polly

I would mix'em up - darks all mixed in with the lights and mediums.

Do you have a digital camera?

Photograph each quilt block, and trim the picture. Then you can load all the blocks into a drawing program and shuffle them around like tiles - much easier on the back and legs lol

I loaded my last lot of blocks (about 2 years ago) into EQ. It was fun to play with them there, but it would have been real hard work for me to shuffle the real things around on either a board or the floor.

Taking up that idea of Allison's, perhaps the grading could be done with 'light to dark backgrounds' going from top to bottom, as you have it; and 'level of contrast' from left to right. However, that might make the colours 'all wrong' - two blues together etc. BUT, I do think that with this kind of task, you could work on it endlessly, and still find a reason to move one or two >gg

My design "wall" is the double bed in my S R. The walls slope on 2 sides so not possible for it to be on the wall! It works for me though!

Kathyl, I'd mix them up instead of grading them. There's not an even distribution of light to medium to dark, and the bottom looks too heavy.

I had the same problem when I tried grading the blocks in "Floating Four Patch." I mixed them and continue to be pleased with the results. (It's the quilt on my bed right now.) The photo is over-exposed, but you should be able to get the idea:

I'll never admit that I was laying in bed playing with your blocks...but as long as we get to sit here pointing and pontificating, I might as well be REALLY obnoxious. (Got any chocolate? I must keep up my strength... ;) How about borders? Aren'tcha gonna have borders, Charlie Brown??? You know, black borders? Or maybe a border of elongated triangles in some of those black and white variegated prints on black...Or you could sash odd groups of the ovals, say, 4 to a square, some in groups of 2, 3, or four grouped horizontally and vertically. (Bordering these groups in a black/white strip would be fun!) You could have an inner and outer border of something organically twiggy or geometrically angular to play against all the lovely ovals for contrast. (Personally, I love stripes, so I'd have some black and white striped border in there somewhere!) Or you could even border,say, three strips of vertical ovals the length of the quilt, and place the rest horizontally between the strips. (or vice versa) Maybe the top is too big to add to without splitting up into two quilts?? I don't know, but if you're gonna play, pull out all the stops! They are really pretty blocks!

OK! Who's next? I'm on a roll! Somebody STOP me!!

chipper

There quilt in QNM had about 5 borders of varying widths. Nothing pieced, just several solid fabrics. I was going to play with that. The borders weren't the same fabric all the way around and not even the same width on each side. That will be the next dilemma. :-) I'm sure I'll do a black and white in one of those just to reflect the black and white blocks that are thrown into the oval blocks. I did lay out some of their side and some "standing up" but it just got too out of hand. But I might try again and fold some strips between the rows to see what happens. You're right...any more blocks and it's a very awkward sized wall quilt. I might consider makeing two smaller quilts if I don't find the combination that I like. It's interesting how many people have verbalized thoughts I've had while making this. Thanks!

I don't think I have the patience to photograph 80 blocks and edit them. But it's a great idea. If this were something I thought would be a competition quilt, that would certainly be an option. Thanks for writing.

I've taken a black and white digital photo and I'll see if that helps with the shading. You're right about moving the blocks and getting two blues together. It's amazing how one move can turn into about 8 more just to shuffle the colors around.

Wow, I can tell I typed this while blurry-eyed and coffeeless! "There" instead the "The", "makeing" instead of "making". Sheesh!

I LOVE IT!!

Musicmaker

I like it! :)