It’s the Value that Counts

I get so excited in those “ah ha” moments which I had just the other day.  I had a quilt hanging over the kitchen banister.  It was one I recently quilted and had tried all kinds of new ruler and free motion designs to the point of overdoing it a bit.  That’s not what caught my attention though.  It was the thread value.

When I quilt I want to see the design, not thread.  My dilemma on this quilt was that the blocks were several colors.  I didn’t want to stop and change thread with every block.   I have done that, but this time I decided I would use one thread color for all the blocks.  That was almost good, and lead to my “ah ha”.

While staring at the quilt over breakfast, I saw where the thread did just what I wanted on half of the block colors, but the other half of the blocks were a darker value. What did I see? Thread!  Not the design, but thread!  Just what I try to avoid.  I should have put a darker value thread on those blocks.  I didn’t need to change thread for every block, but follow the value of the color, dark with dark, medium with medium, and light with light.

My quilt is not a disaster, because of my poor choice it’s a learning tool.  I always tell my students the way you learn to quilt is to quilt your quilts.  Each time I do I take home a lesson.  Sometimes about the design, sometimes regarding the thread color, value, or content, but each quilt gets me thinking how I can improve the next one.  I hope this helps you to press on and keep quilting!