Working with colors . . .

Now, here is a random thought for you rookie quilters --- are you ever hesitant about what colors to put together?  Does the idea of choosing really different shades give you cause for alarm? How about using your scraps -- which ones play together happily?

Well, to be honest with you, it bothers me a lot! I second-guess myself all over the place! At first, I would only put fabrics together if they came in a bundle by the same designer! 

I wanted to let you know of a way that I found to help with this problem: a color palette generator.  There are several good ones on the web, and you may already use one, and you may have a favorite one.  If you're not familiar with this, read on!!

We use Adobe a lot around here, and I particularly like "Kuler" as a palette help. It's quick and easy to sign up for, and they don't ask for a lot of intrusive information. Once you are signed up, you can click on "Create" and then choose "From an Image" to upload a photo.

Check through your files for a photo that you really like - something that appeals to you. Upload it, and see what Kuler suggests. You'll have your choice of a bright, muted, colorful, or deep palette, and you can switch with just a mouse click. You may be surprised at how much you like the colors and combinations that it shows you --- but why not? It's from a photo that you like, so it should be a good match!

I chose a photo that I like; it shows a brick wall and some lovely irises in front of it. Here is the photo:

And here is the color palette that it generated for me:

Here is another example from a photograph:

And here is one of the color ranges that Kuler chose:

Here's another way to use this: You can easily take a quick photo of two pieces of fabric that you love, upload the photo, and come up with colors that play together nicely with your choices!

Play with it and see what you think!

I'm linking up today with Katherine's Corner and the Thursday Favorite Things hop....because playing with color and fabric is definitely one of my favorite things!!  Katherine's co-host this week is Paula, so stop by and see her, too!

Love,