always more Kona

Solids have this awesome ability to increase contrast.   Their intensity can magnify a design, making me feel energized, alive.  I'm excited to be piecing together this quilt top today, not that there's much to that job.  The Love circle made BIG blocks a la my go Anywhere Stripe tutorial.  The result is pretty dynamic, yes?  And I even have blocks leftover for the back!

I do love working with solids - in blocks, as sashing, as backing, as binding.  I use Kona cotton solids by Robert Kaufman, because they have the biggest selection of colors and are most widely available.  Since I bought a color card, I've been able to order from home with confidence.   Always more Kona.

So, when Kona releases new colors, I tend to try a few.  This time it was super ironic that they released Kona Wasabi so soon after I'd lamented that Kona had no "citron" yellow.  Here's Kona Citrus (a warm bright yellow) with Kona Wasabi.  The Wasabi has a tinge of green.  I really like Wasabi with shades of blue right now. 

I'm always curious about new neutrals too.  I'm not such a liberal user of Kona Coal and Ash as some folks, and I think that's because they're not really "me".  But I'm feeling pretty drawn to this new Kona Pewter.  It's darker than Kona Iron (which has a blue tinge) and more brown too.  Really, it is pewter-ish and I don't feel its color displays really well in my photos.

I also bought Kona Kale, looking for a true "jade" green.  (Remember that jade + peach color story?  Kona had no "jade" at that time.)  I think Kona Kale is pretty much what I wanted.  Happy to add that to my paint box!

Canton Village Quilt Works has all the new 2013 Konas and all the old Konas too at $6.25 per yard!  If you need a solid fix, take a look.  Oh, and I've been meaning to tell you about some of these collections on sale at Marmalade fabrics:

She has Anna Maria Horner's Sketchbook and Social Climber prints in both colors on sale.  Psst... Marmalade also stocks Kona cottons!  Yep, I'm being an enabler.