Getting ready for the Hearts in bloom QAL! Today I’m sharing some tips to help you choose fabrics that’ll work beautifully for this project and many others you take on later.
If you haven’t heard about my QAL or maybe forgot, here’s all you need to know.
- Download the pattern now – it’s just US $5 or 40% off. Or join Patreon as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 member and download it for free.
What to expect:
- A sweet 32” x 42” table topper or wall hanging quilt designed for confident beginners and intermediates.
- A short and relaxed schedule (25 Oct to 28 Nov), perfect for stitching along without pressure.
- Step-by-step video tutorials for each block.
- A friendly, no-frills way to quilt together, share your progress, and enjoy the process.
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Fabric tips
So, when it comes to picking fabrics that go well together, you’ve got a few handy methods to choose from.
- Pick a colour palette
Start with 2–3 main colours you love. Add one or two neutrals (white, cream, grey, or black) to balance the palette. - Use contrast
Mix light, medium, and dark fabrics. Contrast helps the block design stand out. - Mix prints and solids
Combine busy prints with calmer solids or blender fabrics. This keeps your quilt from looking too crowded. - Use fabrics from a single collection
Fabrics within the same collection are designed to go well together. Choosing from one collection makes it easy to ensure your fabrics match. - Consider the fabric colour palette.
Use the palette of a fabric you love as a guide and select others that coordinate with it. For example, if you have a busy print, pair it with solids, tones that match, or less busy prints to create a harmonious combination. - Select a background fabric
A unifying background fabric ties the quilt together. My go-to backgrounds are white and cream, as they give “breathing space” and make the quilt design pop. - Stick to a theme
Floral, geometric, modern, or traditional—keeping a theme helps fabrics look cohesive. - Check value, not just colour
Sometimes two fabrics are different colours but share the same value (both light or both dark). They’ll blend together too much in a block. Using value differences helps highlight the quilt design. - Audition fabrics
Lay your fabrics next to each other. Step back and squint—if one fabric dominates too much, swap it out. - Shop your stash first
Before buying new, see what works in your stash. Mixing old favourites with a few new pieces often gives the best results. - Trust your instincts
If you keep coming back to a combination, go with it. Quilts look best when you love the fabrics.
Using applications to help with color selection
There’s this great tool called Adobe Color that I absolutely love. You can check it out on the video. It lets you create your own color scheme from scratch, or if you’re feeling lazy, you can even upload an image and it’ll generate a color scheme based on the colors in the image. It’s super fun to play around with and try out different color combos!
And if you’re still scratching your head trying to pick a fabric collection, check out some of my favourite designers: Heather Bailey, Bonnie and Camille, Valori Wells, and Jocelyn Proust. Their fabrics are always beautiful.
Hearts in bloom table topper / Wall hanging
- Dates: 25 October – 28 November 2025
- Quilt size: 32” x 42” table topper or wall hanging
- Block size: 6”
- Technique: Traditional quilting
- Level: Confident beginner to intermediate
- Bonus: Step-by-step video tutorials for every block
Hearts in bloom QAL schedule
- October 25: Heart petal block
- November 1: Flying mini hearts block
- November 8: Sawtooth star block
- November 15: Nine patch block
- November 28: Finish the quilt
Share your progress by uploading photos in my Facebook group, or send them to me directly and I’ll feature them on my social media.
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My book and other publications
You can now purchase individual chapters from my book as bundles of 4 unique quilt patterns.
If you prefer to own the complete book, Turnabout Patchwork, please note it is currently out of print. However, you might still be fortunate enough to find a copy on Amazon.
Explore all the quilts from the book in real-life projects!
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