Video below added 3/29/2020

Today I am back in 27 degrees and snow showers, but for a few days this week I was, gratefully, sitting on a balcony and looking out at the beach and listening to the waves. I was honored to have my quilt Genesis accepted into my first national quilt show, the AQS Week Daytona Beach and my trip to the quilt show supported with funds from the NH State Council on the Arts. The question as to whether I would travel to the show didn't take long to answer - Florida at the end of February? Warmth and sunshine? I'm there!

I spent most of Wednesday at the quilt show, viewing some amazing work by quilters from around this country and others. I learn so much from seeing other quilters' work. The quality craftsmanship was stunning - the attention to detail. The sheer number of hours quilters spent working on these quilts is amazing.

Maybe you have arranged your life so you can spend hours and hours every week stitching, or maybe you are like me and find not nearly enough time to be in your sewing room. We make quilts, and we want to make them the best they can be, to look like ours and ours alone. We want to love the finished product, no matter how much time we spend on each one.

One thing that I believe you shouldn't skimp on to save time is choosing your fabrics. No matter how skilled or unskilled your stitching is, people see the fabrics in a quilt first and foremost. “Fabric first.” Maybe it should be our new mantra.

I spoke with a long-arm quilter at the Daytona Beach show. She talked about quilting quilts from a class. "I love getting the business, but quilting 16 of the same quilts from the same kit one after the other?!" Then, she just laughed.

I, of course, advocate for choosing all the fabrics in your quilt. However, if you are making a block of the month quilt or taking a class that uses a kit, take a look at which fabrics you could switch out for something in your stash or from the quilt shop that are similar but different so that your quilt is unique, even among others made with the same kit.

Do you really want to make the exact same quilt that 15 other quilters are making? You might love the sample quilt so much that you answer “yes.” That’s fine.

But, if you have been thinking that maybe you don’t want to make a total quilt clone (!), think about substituting a fabric or two. I find darker fabrics are often easiest to substitute. I'm not sure that there is a logical explanation, just that similar darker fabrics that don't change the "look" of the quilt (unless that is your plan!) seem easier to find.

If the kit has a light background, you could take a leap and trade out the white or ivory for a tone-on-tone white or ivory or one with a tiny print that works with the color scheme. You could be really daring and choose a different light instead, maybe blue, gray, pink or yellow…

The possibilities are endless!

You can make your quilt yours, whether you are choosing all of the fabrics, or using a kit. I challenge you to take a little time to think about how fabrics can help you make your quilt your own so you love your finished quilt even more.

Looking for some help? Here are some resources to help you choose fabrics:

Conquering Color and Fabric, my book on color, value, fabric characteristics, and how to put them all to work in your quilts.
Blog article “How do you make your quilt your own?”
The Dynamic Quilting Color and Fabric Plan TM, a downloadable pdf tool to help you choose fabrics for a quilt, using what you learn in Conquering Color and Fabric.
My free Mirrored Reflections quilt pattern, a good wallhanging pattern for practicing fabric combinations. Join my email list and get the downloadable pdf pattern.

The video below was inspired by this blog article. I hope you get a chuckle out of it!