Choosing colors is a task for a quiet moment when you are free to relax and explore. Ideally, choose colors for your quilt project in natural lighting. This is a great time to use the color swatches from my book, The Quilter’s Field Guide to Color. Or, use any other color library on hand, so long as it is broad and easy to manipulate.

This post is part of the After the Rain sew-along. Click over here for all the details!

using color swatches. Stitched in Color.jpg

Getting Inspired

Are you making this quilt for someone in particular or for yourself? I suggest you choose colors that represent aspects about that person or their story. Here are some prompts for inspiration:

A color he often wears?
The colors of a place they like to be?
A color associated with her livehood?
Colors that symbolize a recent struggle?
Her stormy colors?
His fresh and hopeful colors?
The color of their future?

At this stage, don’t worry about if the colors work together. Allow yourself to freely associate colors with meaning. Don’t shy away from dark shades, light shades and everything in between.

In short, be brave.

When you’re ready to stop, sweep aside your color library and look at the shades you’ve selected. Remove any that, on second thought, don’t feel “true” for your person.

for Example: the Colors of Liz

I’m making my After the Rain quilt for my dear friend, Liz. She lives in South Carolina, single mom to five spunky children. Children who have been home since last March(!), doing school online.

I’ll share some of her story here and then talk about how I chose colors for her quilt.

Before the pandemic Liz worked as middle management in an Amazon warehouse, where she was one of the first people in South Carolina to catch coronavirus. It hit her hard. She had trouble breathing and was out of work for about a month. When she was cleared to return to work, she found she wasn’t herself. She had trouble with concentrating, multitasking and physical endurance. Concerning, to say the least. And remember - after work she comes home to five children as the single caregiver!

Then in June she contracted coronavirus again. Well, actually, the doctors aren’t sure if it’s correct to say she got it again or that the virus flared up. Whatever the case, this experience was much, much worse. Trouble breathing, racing heart, unstable body temperature, too exhausted to walk to the mailbox, frequently almost passing out - that kind of serious.

Liz should have been hospitalized, but that’s complicated. In America that brings serious financial repercussions. Plus, who would be with her kids while she was getting care? Clearly the situation was not safe for her or for her kids, but there were no easy answers. Liz’s doctor certainly didn’t know what to do. The concept of long-haul corona was just emerging. Yep, Liz has it.

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Since that frightening low in June, Liz has very, very gradually recovered. She’s seen several specialists, who are learning about corona as we go. Some medications help her body regular automatic processes (like heart rate) which remain unstable. She’s resigned from her job, since she’s not physically or mentally capable at this point. The brain fog is serious. On bad days, she can’t hold a conversation. Liz wonders when or if she’ll ever be herself again. Who is she now? What is she capable of? Before she was studying to become a nurse, but now the future feels so uncertain.

I love Liz every year, but 2020 was a year for extra loving. Sadly, I can’t physically be there for her, but I can make her a quilt that says I love her, I see her and I have hope for her future. It’s a gesture, that’s all. But, I hope it will feel like a hug when she wraps up in her quilt.

These are the colors of Liz. First Iris and Eggplant, because she loves purple. Then Chili Pepper, Pomegranate, Sunrise and Rust - all bright, saucy colors that symbolize her passionate personality. Coffee, because Liz love dirt. Gardening is her heart-hobby. She’s never happier than when she’s digging in the earth. The pale browns - Chestnut and Oak - symbolize her distance from that hobby, as she usually lacks the energy for gardening these days.

Fortunately, her Tribe (aka children) can help with that. Look what they accomplished on some good days this fall, moving plants from their old house to their new place. Doesn’t that say it all? Clearly the woman loves plants. So, yes, I included several shades of green too!

The rest of Liz’ colors relate mostly to her struggle. Of course, Black. Graphite, Smoke and Shadow for the down days and dusty Cayenne for how coronavirus can dilute her personality, swapping her passion for enduring fatigue.

Expanding + Editing

Let’s look at those colors you’ve selected again. Hopefully the meaning is there, but do they work for your After the Rain quilt? Here are two questions to help you refine the palette.

What sticks out?

Are there colors that simply don't go with the rest, in your opinion? Set them aside. Ok, now does that look better?

For me, the Iris purple looked too blue and didn’t flow. I swapped it with Raisin purple, still a dark shade. I know Liz like’s that Iris, but it’s also really hard to find in fabrics!

Liz colors plus low value. Stitched in Color.jpg

What’s missing?

After the Rain quilt is most dynamic when you have the full range of values - from really dark colors, like black, to really light colors, like white. Expand your color choices by adding in more light or dark shades, as needed.

My Colors of Liz was heavy on the darks, so I’ve added a couple lighter shades that relate to the original colors. For example, I added Salmon alongside Cayenne, Mauve alongside Eggplant/Raisin and Taupe alongside Chestnut.

Bonus - adding related shades to expand the values in your color palette also makes it feel more cohesive!

I hope this helps you develop your color palette for After the Rain, if you’re feeling stumped. I’ll be back next week to talk about the next step - choosing fabrics.

Looking forward to sewing along with you, when we get started sewing at the end of the month!