on Kona and Color and Rainbows and such

So what do you know... I finally got some new Kona colors! Now in case I'm speaking Greek to you, Kona cottons are a collection of solid fabrics produced by Robert Kaufman.  I love them and you will too (if you don't already) because Kona has the most colors and a substantial, high-quality feel that's ideal for quilting and patchwork.

courtesy of Pink Chalk Fabrics

There are like... a million colors!  Ok, more like 240-ish, but it's a LOT.  And they just introduced 28 more.  In case you're thinking that if they have so many colors adding new ones is kind of beside the point, I'll have to disagree.  Yep, there should always be more colors.  In fact, I still want more!

Sadly, I don't have a new Kona color card.  Pink Chalk Fabrics has the updated one (now they're sold out, but it's in stock HERE) with all the new colors and Marmalade has the 28-color update, which is cheaper in case you already have an "old" Kona color card.  Color cards are important if you're like me and shop online for your fabrics.  You can't "see" color correctly online between photographs and your monitor settings, so when you want a specific solid to finish out a project, sash some blocks or whatever, you can reference the labeled fabric swatches on a color card to zero in on the ideal shade and then order with confidence!

So, without the new Kona color card, I was left to scrutinize the new colors in "graphic" form (as shown here) to try to figure out what holes these new colors might fill in my fabric stash.  In case you are in the same situation, here are some photos that might help you out.  Photos of fabrics make it so much easier to "judge" a fabric's color than those graphic swatches.  Plus, I've included other Kona colors so that you can compare with fabrics you might have on hand or with your old swatch card.  Here goes...



Here are the new colors Oyster, Bison and Mushroom.  They're pretty neutrals, but not quite what I expected in Bison and Mushroom.  From the online graphic, those two looked like variations on a "warm" gray to me, which sounded awesome.  Ash and Coal are such cool grays, and I like warm colors.  Mushroom may work as that warm gray I had imagined when combined with the right colors.



Next to "old" Kona browns, you can see that Bison is a lighter version of Sable and Mushroom is a bit close to Taupe, with a tad more gray. Looking around I found that Mushroom is virtually the same color as Essex cotton/linen in putty.



Yep, I was shopping for new neutrals, so here is a whole range of colors.  First is Kona Snow, a familiar favorite, and then from top down the new colors:  Parchment, Mushroom, Biscuit and Bison.  I hope that's helpful!



Of all the new Kona colors, I was about jumping up and down about Kumquat!  Kona was really missing a nice pumpkin orange or "burnt" orange.  Tangerine was the closest thing, but it's so, so fiery hot!  This swatch of Innocent Crush fabric is a good example of what I was hoping for.  Kumquat fits the bill.



Here's Kumquat with a few popular Kona oranges.  You can see it has more red for that "burnt" orange look.  Hooray!  Last year, during the Bottled Rainbow Quilt-Along, I was wishing for an orange like this for my Bottled Rainbow Kona bundles.  Many who joined in wanted to buy a bundle in the same colors I'd used, but Kona didn't have an equivalent for my burnt orange (which was some random fabric).  So, you can imagine that the first thing I did when these new Konas arrived was to lay them out...



But, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself!  Another "replacement" fabric for my Bottled Rainbows color scheme is the new Camellia.



Camellia looked a lot more "purple" online than it does in real life, but it's a really lovely pink.  I'm happy to include it in my new Bottled Rainbow assortment.



Do you like it?  I do!  In fact, I'll be cutting into this to make something real soon.  If you're just getting started building your solid collection, you can pick up a fat quarter or 1/2 yard set of these 16 colors at Marmalade Fabrics.  And... you may just want to check out the Bottled Rainbow Quilt-Along too.  It was a super fun way to use up scraps!



This is a loose mock-up of the Bottled Rainbow quilt design, which is easy to customize for the size quilt you want - just change the size of the blocks.  You fill in the center white space of each block with raw edge applique of teeny, tiny scraps.  It's a quilt-as-you-go thing.  Very addicting - watch out!  This mock-up also shows the color names of the updated Kona colors, just for your reference.



Well now... do you think I ought to go cut up some colors?  I think so.  Only, I do have one journal cover to finish up first.  Before I leave, you should know that you could sample the 28 new Kona colors via charm pack, jelly roll or fat quarter bundle.  So... in case you can't bring yourself to buy a color card, you could just jump right in with fabric!  Cause fabric is always good.   Have fun!

New Kona colors available at:
Fat Quarter Shop
Sew Modern
Marmalade Fabrics
Pink Chalk Fabrics
Fabricworm
Canton Village
Pink Castle Fabrics
Fresh Modern Fabric