a lesson in contrast

 i have 30 fall-colored liberty prints i was pairing for nine patch blocks. many pairings i liked, but as the pile thinned, inevitably i had to make less desirable choices with what was leftover after my favorite pairings were made. these two smaller-scaled prints seemed different enough in color that i thought they would be okay together.

however, just look at them worked up in the block - they get completely lost in each other. they flow right together and you can't see the pattern at all.

this is for two reasons: value and scale.

the size of the design in both is quite similar. this is scale. since there's no difference in the scale of the prints, they read the same from a distance.

secondly, and more importantly, the value - relative lightness/darkness of their colors - of the two is the same. neither one stands out from the other because their color tones are the same medium colors with a lot of white mixed in. the "betsy ann" print (blue and brown flowers) is colored flowers on a white background and the "feather meadow" (white flowers) is the opposite having an olive colored background. it wasn't so obvious until i pieced them that they were so completely similar.

the lack of value contrast is primarily responsible for the two fabrics reading the same and the pattern being lost. the scale also being the same, the two are virtually indistinguishable in a block pattern.

i didn't fancy unpicking all those little seams, but the longer i looked at those blocks throughout the day, the more they bothered me. i finally gave in and undid them. then i went back to my remaining prints and broke up some other pairings to find better mates for these two prints.

you can see the contrast is much better now and the pattern is clearer in these blocks. the top set has the highest value contrast and the pattern is distinct. the second set is still closer in value, but because there is so much white in the "betsy ann" print and the "ciara" print is more densely colored, there is just enough contrast to distinguish the pattern. the difference in scale between the prints also helps.

sometimes you want a more distinct pattern to emerge through contrast and sometimes less is desirable. i'm going for a range in this quilt, but the original solid-looking blocks set was too subtle. i'm getting better at spotting the contrast before i make blocks, but obviously i still misjudge and have some learning to do.