Scrappy Quilts - Monochromatic Color Schemes

I think monochromatic color quilts can be very appealing, especially if many different fabrics are used for each color. In the quilt below, I used only two colors -blue and white. But it has dozens of different blues and dozens of different whites in it. I limited the range in hue and value of each color, which gives the overall monochromatic look.  By adding a few darker blues and darker whites (beige) and a few lighter blues and pure white, there is more for the eye to look at. I call it sparkle when the eye wants to move all about the quilt. So take a look at all the different fabrics/colors used to represent blue and white.

Midwinter Blues

 

Next let us look at two different red monochromatic quilts I made.  The one below is just two fabrics, chosen to blend with the border print used for the border. 
 

Morrocan Floor

 

Whereas, this next one uses similar shades of red and beige but in 20 different red and 20 different beige fabrics, also chosen to blend with the border print used for the border.  Which one do you prefer?  For me, the quilt with 20 different shades of each color is more interesting. I think it sparkles, gives the eye more to look at.  While when I look at the 2 fabric piece I can see the whole thing with one glance.  It is really nice, but doesn't hold my attention quite the same way.
 

Red Wind 

 

 The next quilt is not monochromatic, but look at the sky area. There are many different shades of blue pieced together to give some sparkle or movement in the sky.  Similarly, the grass area has many shades of green.  

 

3Egrets

 





Imagine if it was simply one blue fabric for the sky. If the fabric is a solid or even, overall print, the sky would look flat. If the fabric is an uneven print or hand dye with several shades of blue/white, the sky could look similar to what I put together. Would you prefer one of the fabrics shown below?

Even overall commercial print

Hand dyed with movement of colors

Hand dyed with some variation in color

 

I might like the 2nd fabric and the 3rd one is better than it looks in the photo.  But neither piece of fabric was large enough or quite the right color. I could always try dyeing another larger piece of fabric, but I really like digging into my stash and cutting up fabrics to create my own cloth.