Ask Joi: Quilted Green

Celtic Quilt (Image from Quilt Chat)

Here is a question I just got from a woman named Bev-

So, I was at a quilting workshop last week put on by my local guild. As I pulled out my fabrics that would be using in class, one of the ladies sitting next to me made a comment. She said, 'why do you always quilt with greens. Every time I see you working on something its always green. Looks to me like you are in a rut. You need to learn to use other colors and give that green a rest'. Well the thing is, I really like green. It's my favorite color. It is true that most of my quilting projects have green in them, but is that so wrong? Do I really need to put my green to rest?


Well Hello Bev,

Let's just make this clear from the start, there are no quilting police. That is just one woman and her one opinion, nothing more. 

I say, if green is your favorite color and it makes you happy to quilt with it, then by all means, use it! Make as many green quilts as your heart desires. Google search the words, 'green quilts', and you will find that you are not alone in your love for green. Limiting your color does not mean a limit on creativity. There are many quilts out there that explore tonal range, saturation and movement all while using variations of just one color. 

Some would argue that with so many awesome colors out there, why would you limit yourself to just one?  To them I would simply say hey, if Picasso can have his "Blue Period", then you can have your "Green Period". Green may become that signature color that shows up in all your quilts. I've heard Victoria Findlay Wolfe has a thing for orange and it pops up in many of her quilts. 

Yes, playing with all the colors of the rainbow is nice, but sometimes its good to take just one color and see how far you can go with it. So Bev, live long, quilt hard, and keep it green honey!


So dear readers, what's your favorite color to quilt with? Do you have a collection of quilts in your favorite color?


Have a question? Feel free to drop me a line. Leave your question in the comment section or email me at michellecalimattingly at gmail dot com.