Since we’re almost finished with Quilter’s Color Quest, I want to move on to the next chapter in The Quilter’s Field Guide to Color: A Hands-on Workbook for Mastering Fabric Selection and then on to quilt top assembly later this month!

Experiment 14 begins on page 98 in the book. “Determining Style” is a chapter about a highly subjective topic. I present five fabric style categories styles: vintage, modern, pretty, youthful and handmade, along with clippings of example fabrics from my own fabric stash.

You might wonder why categorize by style at all? I agree that art is all in the eye of the beholder and there is no need to assign labels for the sake of labels.

But, have you ever selected fabrics that match beautifully and yet something still seems so very off about the combination? Sometimes different fabric styles can create friction between fabrics, even when the colors delight. I share two examples of style friction on page 100, but I suspect you’re quite familiar with the problem, even if you hadn’t yet put it into words.

There’s no need to put yourself or fabric designers in a box by rigidly applying style concepts. However, style can be a useful filter from which to view a problematic fabric pull with fresh eyes. You just might untangle a challenge or two.

And speaking of fabric pulls, I walk you through one of my own, step-by-step on pages 104-105. I hope you enjoy taking that visual journey with me!

The Patchwork Challenge in this chapter (pg 101) begins with a closer look at your own fabric stash, if you have one. Try to discern what fabric styles you most enjoy. Also think about which styles you might have, but struggle to actually use. That could help you shop wiser in the future!

As prompted, I made some blocks today by beginning with fabrics in my favorite style category: pretty. I wanted to make blocks in similar color schemes to some already created, so I started by identifying “pretty” scrap fabrics that would suit.

In most of these blocks, I ended up combining a “pretty” fabric by Anna Maria Horner with a coordinating helpful fabric. That’s actually often how I roll.

So here is my latest batch of lux green bear paw blocks. I’m looking forward to taking this project to the next stage soon.

Take the Challenge

So pull out your favorite fabric styles and sew some quilt blocks this week, in response to the Style Patchwork Challenge on page 101. Isn’t that a fun assignment? Yessiree!

Don’t forget to share a photo of your results on Instagram with #QuiltersColorQuest and #QuiltersFieldGuidetoColor. Each month I’ll be drawing one random winner from those who use the Color Quest hashtag. Each photo is a chance to win fabric!

There’s still a few weeks left to qualify yourself for our very last prize - to be announced soon.