The ones that got away

Working on new fabric colours today, I pulled out a few of the strike offs of rejected colorways from 'A Walk In The Woods' and thought you might be interested in looking at them too.  It's interesting to think how different a collection can look re-coloured and how differently it could have been percieved if I'd released it this way.  Above are mostly warm colours, browns and darker pinks (including super girly foxes on pink).

And here are more brown versions with a few olives and a different version of the blue colourway.

I kind of like that they are darker and more intriguing than the chosen colours, in line with the tale itself.  But I feel we went along the right lines with the more nursery friendly colours of the final shades.

But what do you think??????  Do you like the idea of stranger and less obvious shades in fabric or do you like to play it safe???  Do you think of colours in terms of seasons or do find you buy the same shades year round?

I'm looking at colours for new fabric today so any input will help me greatly :)

Comments

[Alexandra]

Hello Aneela. I am writing to you from Australia and have to say I love the more intense colours. With the light here being so bright, I generally like something with punch. I don't really know how to play it safe. I am a person who believes red is a neutral. I love the touch of acid colouring into a range, that quirky colour to make you take a second look and give the other colours a chance to shine a bit more. I found a couple of Brandon Mably prints to mix in nicely with Walk in the Woods.
So you just keep going girl, knowing we love your work and have a captive audience!!!

[Suz]

Love the 'mystery' of the second set of fabrics! The olives and browns may have looked better with jade or turquoise???????? They could handle a stronger shade, I think!

[michelle]

good morning (here at least)....i tend to buy colorways when i am purchasing fabric....which is starting to change...i am listening to my inner voice more and just buying what makes me happy...i think if it makes you all warm inside it is meant to be in your home and you will find a way to use it...
just my random thoughts as of late :)

[Jamie Lee]

How interesting! I've never seen a designers strike offs before. I kind of like those green blenders, but I think I prefer the line as it came out, but then again, I did buy a lot of it, so I might be biased.

[Laura Jane]

I REALLY like the second set of strike offs you've shown. I like the slightly more unnatural colours, and I love the greens and browns. I think I'm a fall/winter person when it comes to colours... pinks are very under represented in my stash and wardrobe.

[Ella]

I love the olives. Lately, I've been bouncing between extremes. Either really earthy or really bright. Magentas, Tangerines, coal, browns, and olives/grassy greans.

[randi]

I love the line as is, but I do wish the brown had gotten into the collection. I love them!

[Jeni]

Oh geeze they're all pretty! Those greens, I could snatch the blenders right out of the screen! :)

[Colleen]

The wine and olive colors really give the whole collection in that second set a grown up look. I like when two worlds come together, like nursery themes with mature colors. The collection then lends itself to all age groups, depending on how it is used. I really love those darker colors though, classy with a whimsical twist.

[Sally]

Hi Aneela! LOVE these colors. I often refer to the colors I'm drawn to most as the "bodily fluids palette"--warm, earthy, neutral golds, dark reds, greens, purples, grays, beige. I love your designs for adding more pink into my life (for just one of the many reasons), but these are gorgeous!

[Jen r]

I loved how your 3rd collection coordinates w the pips. That makes it make more sense for me financially to dive in and get some.... So revisiting colors is always appreciated. I also love kind of unexpected or funky colors, but on children's fabrics, it has to appeal to my kids or they wont want to wear what I make. So of course, pinks and purples are a hit! I guess the ideal is a color family they'll accept, but done in a way that still appeals to me too.

[Kylie]

I think as a collection, you got it so right. I do quite love the green and brown Little Reds, and oh my, those pink foxes!!
But Walk in the Woods as it is would have to be the most perfect collection for little girls. I adore the marshmallow tones and that gorgeous blue. I don't think I choose fabric with seasons in mind. I am often drawn to fabric when I see a mosaic of swatches of the whole collection and love the look of it all together. I can love individual prints but it also has to still look great in patchwork when the pieces are smaller. I think I might have bought pieces of separate prints of your strike offs, but getting the whole collection of A Walk in the Woods was a no-brainer for me!

[Tiffany]

I think you made the right choice because it matches up with your past few lines really well. That being said, I LOVE that mauve pink and the girlie pink foxes! The darker colors in the second picture are neat too, I love "fall" colors! Very interesting to know a bit of the process you go through. I think for me some of those colors above would have been more interesting but for the main stream masses and matching up with sherbet pips and little apples, you made a good color selection.

[Hen]

I would generally consider myself a 1930's colour girl, lovely clear pink, blue, green and so on, yes very girly! That said, during Autumn and Winter, I do find myself sewing with my stash of Civil War repro prints. It's probably no surprise then that I love your prints in the pretty reds/aqua/pink colours (Sherbet Pips) which I think suit the whimsical design style. It's interesting to read everyone's views above, many do like the olive colour (which I'm so sorry but I just can't like) so it's good that you seem to be designing for everyone.

[Bree]

I love the olives. I think of colors in terms of seasons and try to change out decor to suit the season, but am also apt to use less obvious colors. If I could somehow make it be autumn year round, I'd be thrilled. Part of why I loved Little Apples so much was because of the richer tones and the mix of the olives in with the less obvious aqua - it brings a pop to a very autumn-feeling line that's unexpected.

[Jessica]

I'm a huge fan of the unexpected color choices. Those are the fabrics towards which I gravitate. I do love the greens in the second photo, but while I loved that shade (to death) in "Little Apples" it doesn't quite fit the girliness of Red Riding Hood. The brown surprised me and at first glance I was hesitant, but the more I look at it, the more I like it and wish I had a ton of it!!!!

[Joy]

I always buy the same colors, not a seasonal person... or you could say I'm always in Spring/summmer. Fall colors make me feel depressed so I stay away from them. I love the line as it came out. :)

[Dolores]

I think I'm over that red, blue, grey colour way. I'd like to see something really different!

[Jacklynn Grimm]

I like brights all year long. I think the colors that you ended up with for A Walk in the Woods are great....the brown is a weird shade I must say, so it doesn't fit the collection.

[Courtney]

I love the line as it is, and have bought quite a bit of it! However the second picture with the darker colors knocked my socks off. I would love to buy the olive green red riding hood! Looks striking and just enough out of the usual to be really interesting! It is perfect for fall, but then it seems a woodsy, fallish kind of theme to me anyhow. I do find I like different colors depending on the season.

[Nicola]

I always seem to buy greens, aquas and reds. I love to have some browns and beigy-taupes in the mix, too. I tend to use pinks very sparingly (or for gifts and Pips and Walk in the Woods were perfect for my nieces!). I've struggled with all the greys that have been in everyone's collections lately as I don't think they look nice in our grey English light!! x

[Flying Blind]

The olives are lovely, especially the blenders. I like to buy sunny colours in winter, oh and then sunny colours in summer too!

[Barbara]

I love both sets! I LOVED the colors in Little Apples! I would love to see some unlikely colors matched with brown!

[Lucinda]

Love your work - but I'm with those who are a little tired of gray everywhere. Would love to see some brown added with more intense colors. Your designs are great and I've made my own "little girl quilt" -- for me!

[kerry]

The dark mulberry brown with the red hood and fox is lovely- feel like that is one that got away. I find the green shade harder to use, easier when the white is the base and the green plays a smaller part. I love brown, but I know many don't- brown and aqua one of my fav combos and I wear brown. I found in the Walk in the woods range that went through, the white with royal blue circle outlines was an oddity- I love the fabric, great for sky backgrounds, but the blue was not on any of the other prints!

[nbnqnbnq]

I love those dark reddy colours! It does give a very different, more adult feel. More Angela Carter than Disney. They're just a different kind of lovely though. You can do no wrong really.

[jodi meenan]

I love the bottom set, except for the blue, for some reason. too baby-boyish, maybe. I especially LOVE the burgundy-brown one!

[Mary Ann]

I do love this peak at the ones that got away! I am drawn to the darker colors an would have bought these pieces....of course I have the whole line as it ended up! Just now using a mix of your lines in a adorable pattern by Jaybirds quilts...Yummy!

[Tara]

I actually prefer these! At least the bottom picture with the olivey green in the mix. I love the thought of more obscure colors in a line. Something that makes it stand apart from the rest, you know?

[Sam Sainty]

I bought Walk in the Woods because I loved it so much...but felt it was too 'nursery' for me really, so used it to make a baby quilt for a friend. I would also want to buy the range in the 2nd picture (olive set) as I'd love to keep working with Walk in the Woods, I love the design / theme. I'd use it for an autumn quilt for myself.

[Hildy]

Honestly I'm not much of a darker color/brown person so if 'A Walk in the Woods' would have been released in this colorway I wouldn't have bought it. But I would love some green in your next, next line but in the shades of 'Cherry Christmas' than 'Little Apples'. BTW I'm always drawn to aqua and red and would love to see the shades of 'Cherry Christmas' with another theme. Hildy

[Mary]

It's amazing how different the line feels in these colors. A little more serious, a little less frolicsome. A little deeper into the forest, perhaps?
They are beautiful, but I think you went down the right path. Thanks for sharing!

[Jolana]

I love these colors!!!

I am a seasonal person :-) During the spring season I love more light colors, during autumn I prefer brown, dark red... I love autumnal colors :-)

Jolana

[Lisa C]

I am 50 and have been quilting a year. I have made several baby quilts this year because my friends are having their first grandchildren. I have chosen fabrics that I like vs. consulting them about nursery colors. I know this is probably not what most people do -- including the person I consult with when I have a quilting question. I have asked my nephews what colors they like because I'm starting to make them quilts but again, I've chosen fabrics I like. So to answer your question, I know designers sort of have to be in tune with what's popular at the moment but possibly there are a few of us out there who just love fabric and want to buy it because the colors appeal to us. (And being 50 that color could change day by day...)

[Ali M]

I really love the olive and wine too - pale colors aren't so much my thing since it's so dreary where I live, but I got some of this line because I loved the patterns and pictures and was making a quilt for my MIL who prefers cooler and more muted shades.

The olive color gives me a bit more of a heather ross "vibe" and turns the print less whimsical and into more of a serious exotic fairy tale theme for me, which makes me want to make stuff out of it badly!

Thanks a lot for showing this stuff, I love learning about how designers work and try to figure out just what a collection is going to entail.

[Christine-Sewandsomuchmore]

I'm in LOVE with the second photo! Those are amazing colors! Olive and wine really do work in that print. Its funny I should be saying this as I truly ADORE the aqua, pink and red colorway and have made 2 quilts from it. Aqua, red and pink are my fave colors together and my whole sewingroom is in those colors....that being said....I'd love to buy a line in that wine, olive combo. I think it would look great with a teal added.

[Caren]

Wow. I do like your final color choices best, but it is very fun to revisit the "rejects"! As for me, since you asked, I tend to like black with rich colors. When done well, you can cross them over from adults to "not so baby" and back again. I know those are not your typical colors, but I do love the more "jewel tones". They match my bold personality :)

[Sharon]

I am such a huge fan of your designs that I would have purchased them regardless of the color. I love these rejected colors and wonder why these aren't being released separately. They could be A Walk in the Woods, Series 1,2 and 3. I would buy them, no question!

[Julie]

I think the way you did it is fabulous! I'm working on a quilt with this line right now. I would have loved the foxes on pink but otherwise I'm in love. I think I pretty much buy the same colors year-round. It just really depends on the project, sometimes it calls for brights, other times, pastels. Lately though I find myself looking for projects to match the fabric I love rather than the other way around. Good luck figuring this all out!

[Jessica]

love the olives and browns!! :)

[Fran]

Normally greens and blues are my thing, but I have to say I love the reds and pinks.

[Lorena]

I love the stronger colours, the reds, browns and olives but I'm not sure if I'm the target market. I don't sew quilts/ clothing for little humans much anymore. I suppose you have to go with what the target market is looking for. I like strong colours, clever/ whimsical design and great geometrical patterns. I would have liked a little more punch in the Sew Stitchy line but I think Walk in the Woods and Little Apples were perfectly put together for the market. Thanks for asking x

[Anita]

Sound like I'm with the majority who like the second set, olive and brown. I would have loved to have some of that green print. Maybe Walk in the Woods part deux :)

[Ruth]

I'd have bought both of them too :)

[Ute]

I love the reds - I mean, she is little red-riding hood? I also loved the browns - very woodsy (and chocolatey - my favourite fabrics)Tnen again, maybe a quilt in this line would be a quilt for Mum? Perhaps they add a touch of whimsy to a grown up palette

[Cheryl - MA]

Thanks for sharing. This might sound crazy, but I just buy what I like. Does it usually turn out that it is someone's collection? Oh ya and probably at least 85% of the time. But then I might, let's say find myself buying nothing but blues and greens from all different designers. Although, I think I like collections because they are easy and someone I respect has done the work for me, but I'll also add, that sometimes I just love that unexpected color thrown in, like one of those greens or the brown...really can make the quilt POP!

[Cradke]

Just finishing a "walk in the woods" baby quilt and I really love the colors that you chose. I tend to gravitate to stronger colors, but I have really liked your pastel/lighter tones and that is why I chose to get Sherbet Pips & Walk in the Woods. And I just love your grays! I'm not really into brown for quilting for the most part. It just doesn't go with anything right now.

[Julie]

You are successful at what you are doing now so you must be doing it right already. I don't know that the darker colours would have had the same appeal to me or Miss E.
I also just buy what I like. Pre-cuts are the best thing since the rotary cutter, mat and ruler. I can get a lot of variation without a big layout and you designers have done all the co-ordinating for me.
I don't envy you deciding where to go with your next collection. Miss E and I are your fabric groupies and will love whatever you come up with.

[Carol]

I'm not sure whether I am answering your questions correctly but I tend to buy colours that would go with other stuff in my house. For eg I love the reds, whites and aquas I see on Christmas fabrics but they just don't go with my living room if I were to use these fabrics to make a christmas tree skirt, cushion covers, buntings etc etc I've got a huge persian carpet on the floor in very rich red, blue, cream, green - assortment of colours - that generally don't go so well with these sweet, modern colours I see in fabrics.

[Archie the wonder dog]

I love the girly foxes! I tend to lean towards fabrics that have a true white print/background to ones that use a creamier palette and I buy fabric that I like, regardless of season! Deciding which colours to go with must be an absolute nightmare but you get it right every time...I do like the ones you didn't choose as well though!

[Ramona]

It is so cool to think of some of our favorite designs out there in 'off' colors. LOL I really like a line that has a little surprise in them. In the fabrics you showed, I love the olives. Love them.
For this line though I think you did an awesome job with the colors. Great nursery shades and patterns.

[Catey]

I also think it is great to return to color previous color schemes. I've been working on a Sherbet Pips quilt for a long time (I work super slow) and realized I wanted to make it bigger, so the similar colors in A Walk In The Woods saved my quilt's life.
If I were to design fabric right now, I would use that beautiful eggplant, gold (maybe even shiny gold!), creme, red, purple, royal blue, and maybe black. I must be in the mood for a rich palate.

[Kerstin]

Oh, the olive tones are great, too bad they did not make it into the collection!

[Gertie Pye]

I have to say there isn't a print in the 'real' line or in strike-offs that I don't like - they are all lovely! I do like having a dark colourway in a collection to make certain blocks 'pop' and make your eyes dance around the quilt - Fig Tree always seem to do this very well. However I can see that if you wanted to keep it nursery-themed then keeping to the pastels is a safer option. You can then choose the stronger colours for other lines eg Little Apples. Something for everyone! Love your work x

[Sherry]

A little peep into the process you go through... neat!

[Annie]

I LOVE these colours but I think you made the right choice for the collection. Not that I wouldn't mind some foxes in hot pink to play with...