Thursday, August 19, 2010

Little House Quilt - Choosing Construction Materials #4


We are starting to have some fun now.  What is your Little House made out of?  Brick, Stone, Wood, Siding, Stucco, Adobe?  What color is it?  What about your roof?  Is it Wood Shake, Tile, Shingles, Gravel, Metal, Shale, maybe it's flat and you can't really see it?  This is the time to explore your fabric stash and think about what your Little House will be constructed of.
Our Little House is made of wood siding that has been painted.  I could select a pin stripe fabric but then I would have to be concerned about all the various angles on my Little House.  We have bay windows on both ends so that would present a little challenge, not insurmountable.  But what I will choose to do is use a solid color fabric for the siding and later during the embellishing stage, I will stitch lines to represent the siding.  (besides, fresh out of pin stripe...LOL)
Below are some examples of construction fabrics, some would work well for a roof, some for the body of the house.  I have hundreds of fabrics, I just pulled these for an example...look through what you have and be creative...if your house is brick, but you don't have "brick" fabric but you do have a solid or very small print that is brick color, use that, you can always stitch the "bricks" on after.

Depending on the size of your project, generally speaking, very small prints work best when you are trying to "read" as a solid for siding or roof.  The black and white print above is very electric and could work as a roof fabric but your house better be just as dynamic.  Some of the center fabrics in the gray range work well as both house or roof fabric.  The plaid could work well for a brick house or a barn, the pattern next to it is a little to blocky for my taste, it would cut up the lines of the house too much.  The fabric on the far left would work well for a brick house.  The wood grain fabric, although interesting, might be a bit too large for a house, it would depend on the side and whether it was placed horizontal or vertical.  Play around, your house can be very vibrant, color crayon like, or it can be very realistic...your call.
Next weekend, we will get started on constructing your Little House, so have your construction materials at hand!

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