Value Added: Using Value in Modern Quilts

Welcome to a quilt-along for everyone: newbies, quilt-veterans and all of us in between.  I hope you'll join my friends Leila (Where the Orchids Grow), Amy (Badskirt), Jolene (Blue Elephant Stitches) and I on this quilty adventure.

Using value (light and dark fabrics) with intention is a great exercise that's sure to inform your quilt designs and fabric choices.  You might even decide that value makes the difference between your "good enough" work and those blissful eureka moments!

Value Added is a 2-part quilt-along.  This week we'll each pitch in to share a lesson in value, starting at the very basics (whaaaat?) and getting down to the nitty gritty of all the many ways value is useful and transformative in quilting.  Because value is not just for half-square triangles!  This is a skill that traditional quilters use to their advantage all the time.  Let's add some value to our modern quilts!

Next week we'll launch into tutorials, with each of us sharing step-by-step directions for one value-oriented quilt.  Would you like to see them now?   I thought you would!

Boy's Nonsense


Value Dance for Value Added QAL


Bargain Basement




You could choose one of these as a path for your value exploration or make something entirely your own.  Either way, we hope that the Value Added Quilt-Along stirs ups some quilty food for thought.

Have questions?  Want to see some other value quilt examples?  Or, eager to share your value fabric stacks or works in progress (the sharing is totally the best part!)?  Please hop on by the Value Added flickr group to get in on the action.  Leila, Amy, Jolene and I will be visiting often to see what you think.  And since we're from all different parts of the globe (we were thinking international on this one), you can probably catch one of us at any odd hour!

Ok, here's what I think you need to know...

**Value Added lessons
             Tuesday 23rd - Understanding Value at Where the Orchids Grow
             Wednesday 24th - Leading the Eye at Badskirt
             Thursday 25th - Value Patterns right here at Stitched in Color
             Friday 26th - Value Dynamics at Blue Elephant Stitches

**Quilt Tutorial Posts begin the following week, with my last Value Dance quilt tutorial post planned for November 7th.

**On November 30th, we'll celebrate with a Link Party to see all you've made inspired by Value Added. Hope you can finish your quilt by then, but even if not we'll be happy to see your stuff!

**There's a Button!  Check it out and grab one for your blog.  You can copy and past the code in the box below into an "html gadget" on your Blogger blog to easily add this button to your sidebar.  

Value Added
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/valueadded/" title="Value Added"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xiBvwDhIiB4/UIMKDruDm3I/AAAAAAAABQo/jVleSw0u9PY/s150/Value%2520Added150.jpg" alt="Value Added" style="border:none;" /></a></div>


So, are you in?  
Tomorrow I'll be sharing more about my quilt.  Hope you can stop by then!

this corner