No, this isn't a casting call for movie extras. I'm trying to decide which of three fabrics I should use as the background to the diamond in the center medallion of my quilt inspired by Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited.The topmost fabric is a shot cotton, which means the warp is a different color than the weft resulting (by means of optical mixing) in the viewer perceiving the fabric as a third color. It is almost impossible to capture the awesomeness of shot fabric in pictures.
The above background fabric is a print that was on INSANE sale at Material Possessions. I bought this in case the other two options I bought were too blue and insufficiently green. That is CLEARLY not the problem. And the mottling is too busy to serve as a calming backdrop for that eye-searing center diamond.
Though this picture doesn't quite do it justice, this background fabric is a VERY subtle ombre. In this picture the ombre travels from top to bottom because I just laid out the pieces I have on top of the uncut yardage. Unlike the diamond fabric, this ombre only has three changes and it only changes among three saturations of the same hue. Also each change occurs over about six inches, instead of the one inch increments in the diamond fabric. The changes only occur along either selvage edge. 
I laid out one corner with the ombre parallel to the edge of the diamond, which you can barely make out in this picture. For the small area it would have to cover, the ombre is too large to see all three color changes. Also the color change is so subtle it is almost imperceptible in this small space. I think I'm going to save this ombre for a larger area where I can really make the most of it.The winner is: shot cotton (the top photo). Thank you for letting me work through this with you.
3 comments:
I like the way the shot cotton gives it a very subtle luminosity that is restful but still interesting in contrast to the spectacular center medallion.
Thalia, you hit the nail on the head!
"Luminosity" has been my mantra of late. I've been playing with shot cottons and ombres to that very end.
Restful, interesting, and contrast were also goals for the background. It is so nice to have my choice confirmed and with a much more articulate explanation for the decision than I could produce. Huzzah!
Yay, high-five!
And it is a stunning piece.
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