Scrappy Quilts - Color Inspiration

I love to make "scrappy" quilts. My quilts usually don't have many actual scraps in them, but they generally do have a few dozen to a few hundred different fabrics in them.  Below is a current project on my design wall.

 

I was inspired to start this project when I was ironing and trimming scraps given to me by a friend.  There were some nice purples and blues, which inspired me to start a new project.

I decided on a simple design and began the project by choosing the colors, or palette. On this project I wanted watery colors and chose shades of purple, green and blue.  Different values of the colors were chosen so that the piece would appear to sparkle.  I started out with a lot of the scraps that had inspired me. The more I worked with the piece, the fewer of the scraps that remained and the more yardage that was cut.  I generally start with a few dozen fabrics and add more as I progress and see what is needed. 

Choosing the fabrics and arranging them for my design is the fun part. Sewing the colored fabric pieces together, maintaining horizontal lines, was the next step. Then I added the vertical strips of white to give a waterfall effect.  The next step is the quilting.  It isn't named yet, suggestions are welcome.

Below is another "scrappy" quilt, inspired by color.  It was made for a niece's high school graduation.  She likes purple and green.

 

A simple pattern was chosen. Then I gathered all my scraps in the palette of purple and green. Some aqua and teal colors were added.  I went through my stash of fabric and selected more fabrics.  Some scraps were eliminated, some yardage was added until I was happy with the assortment.  There is less variation in value for this piece. It is mostly medium to dark values of the colors.  The sparkle comes from the light valued cream colored pieces contrasting with the darker colored pieces.