Value Added QAL {Quilt Top}

What a FUN project this has been!

I had been wanting to do a chevron quilt when I saw that Rachel at Stitched in Color was planning a quilt along (QAL) with Leila (Where the Orchids Grow), Amy (Badskirt), and Jolene (Blue Elephant Stitches).  I thought joining the QAL would be a great way to make that chevron quilt.  

I learned so much about value from these amazing quilters! 

Converting a color photo to black and white, I learned, is a great way to see value.  Isn't that cool?

 

Until making this quilt, I didn't give value a thought.  I would just choose fabrics that I loved - usually bright, bold (and relatively dark) fabrics.  The way I chose to study value in this quilt also involved a color study.   I wanted it to have a simple and clean look.

The inspiration for this quilt came when I saw a very bright and colorful Mexican serape blanket like this.   I wanted to do something similar using colors I loved and a chevron pattern.

Learning something new  in sewing (in this case making a chevron top) takes so much mental energy for me that I didn't want to have to also worry about numbers.  I just purchased the smallest cut of fabric my fabric store would cut and that determined the size of the quilt. I chose a dark in value patterned fabric then 3 solids in the same color but each differing in value for each color:  orange, green, blue, purple and pink.  

After using white in my last quilt and not really loving it (love the quilt, not the white), I knew I was going to use a natural linen to make the colors stand out.  Linen isn't soft and isn't that much fun to work with, but I absolutely adore the rustic and natural look next to the bright colors. 

I will set this quilt aside for a week or so while I work on some Christmas doll orders.  In the meantime, I'll decide how to finish the quilt.  I am trying to decide whether or not to add a linen border.  Do you think I should add a border or leave the top as is?  I'd love to hear your input.  

As always, the kids and I had fun taking quilt pics!  

Here they are throwing rocks in the desert:

 My quilt holder finding a good spot to stand:

 My totally-not-photo-shy 14 year old:

Thank you Rachel, Leila, Amy and Jolene for hosting this QAL!

The next value quilt I am going to make will focus more on value and less on color.  It is the second picture in this tutorial by Sew Katie Did.