Ugly Fabrics..

When I first started quilting 15 years ago, I remember being told that I needed to use 'ugly' fabrics in my quilts so my 'favorite' fabrics would shine. The concept, apparently, was to keep the competition down. I also remember being told that you can't use all 'favorite' fabrics in a quilt. Hmm...not that I necessarily agreed with this concept, it just never occurred to me to question it.

I didn't actually go out and buy 'ugly' fabrics for my quilts. In fact, every fabric purchase I have ever made were all 'favorite' fabrics. And I noticed that the trend in fabric usage has changed in recent years. I read blogs all the time that show absolutely gorgeous quilts where the maker claims every piece of fabric is a 'favorite' to her. I'm thinking specifically of the Australian quilters right now. They just have a flair for bright, happy, gorgeous quilts. And there isn't an 'ugly' fabric to be found. Of course, this isn't limited to Australian quilters, we have lots of quilters around the world that are making quilts that are filled with 'favorite' fabrics.

So, what's this got to do with anything? Well, I've finally finished all the blocks in my Candied Hexagons quilt..


I'm currently working on those last 6 side pieces to square it up. At least, I think I'm done making blocks...it turned out a lot more square than I had anticipated. Anyway...I'm rearranging blocks every time I stand up and I'm realizing I have an 'ugly' fabric in the quilt. I'm not exactly sure how it got there. Notice the 2 whole hexagons on the bottom row? The pink roses on the brown background? I think I was hoping the roses would stand out more. And being that the fabric colors fit the quilt colors, I figured they'd just blend right in. They're not. Those 2 blocks are the first thing I see whenever I look at this quilt.

Oh wait, there are 3 of those blocks! I just realized there's one on the top, too. And another bit of this 'ugly' fabric is in one of the pieced blocks. I think I can handle the pieced block, but those 3 large hunks of 'ugly' fabric are driving me to distraction.

What's the consensus? Should I take them out to follow today's trends of "No Ugly Fabrics Allowed" or follow the trend I was taught in the beginning of "Use Those Ugly Fabrics to Allow the Gorgeous Ones to Shine!"

I don't know...

Here's a close-up of Felix sleeping - seems like that's all any of the pets are doing these days since it's started to turn cooler. I actually turned on the furnace yesterday just to get the chill out of the house. It's been alternately raining or sun shining here today, so a perfect day to get a lot done in the Sewing Room :)