There has been so much talk of late regarding "low volume" quilts. Low Volume meaning quilts with soft colors and little contrast. The concept of low volume is definitely nothing new! The quilt pictured above is my version of a "low volume" quilt, which I made five or six years ago. At the time I made it, I called it "Blended Neutrals". It is my favorite quilt done in the low volume style. I didn't come up with this idea, believe me, I poured over a number of books and conferred with other quilting friends before constructing my own low volume quilts back in 2008.
There was a terrific series of books by In the Beginning (Sharon Yenter) on the subject of "blended quilts", which is precisely what I think of as "low volume"-little contrast, block colors blending into one another so that the block design is often blurred. I made several quilts from the In the Beginning Books, two of which I gave away, and a couple that I am still enjoying. Right now I have "Blended Neutrals" on my living room sofa, where the dogs tend to like to nap. It is like camo for the sofa, it definitely blends right in! Check out the bottom row of blocks. They are all the same star block, but some take on a very different look by the use of low contrast colors on the star points.
Here is another low volume example, done in pastels. This is called "Seaside Rose", after the 3 Sisters Moda collection. Moda had a free pattern they were giving out at the time the fabric was released.
This last blended quilt is actually done in medium toned fabrics, but the key to the "blended" or "low volume" look is the lack of contrast.
This quilt is called "Poetry" and is the first quilt I ever sold. The fabric line was Poetry by April Cornell. The quilt was purchased by the author of the book in which I found the pattern. Quick and Easy Romantic Quilts by Sandy Berry. I had put it up on an Etsy site for sale, and she happened to see it and contacted me. She was interested in purchasing the quilt, but gently chastised me for not crediting her as the pattern designer on my Etsy site. See, you learn something every day! Truly, it had never occured to me. I have not made that mistake again.
I digress. Back to low volume quilts. I love the look of them, and find them soft and soothing with their fuzzy boundaries and blurry lines. Can't you just feel your blood pressure dropping?
21 responses to “Low Volume”
It’s interesting that you posted about this because another friend and I were talking about Sharon Yenter’s Blended Quilts just a few days ago.
Your quilts are beautiful but I’ll confess to preferring contrast to the blur of blending. Perhaps that’s because of my trifocals – life is really blurry when my glasses are off!
Ah, yes, Seaside Rose and most every one of the 3 Sisters fabrics sets my heart aflutter. Love ’em!
Do you still have an Etsy shop?
4″ of snow late yesterday and overnight so am home today with the heater repair guy here (DH is dealing with him). Heat in all parts of the house again would be lovely but I’ve made a nest in one of the upstairs bedrooms where it is warm.
Hugs!
It’s interesting that you posted about this because another friend and I were talking about Sharon Yenter’s Blended Quilts just a few days ago.
Your quilts are beautiful but I’ll confess to preferring contrast to the blur of blending. Perhaps that’s because of my trifocals – life is really blurry when my glasses are off!
Ah, yes, Seaside Rose and most every one of the 3 Sisters fabrics sets my heart aflutter. Love ’em!
Do you still have an Etsy shop?
4″ of snow late yesterday and overnight so am home today with the heater repair guy here (DH is dealing with him). Heat in all parts of the house again would be lovely but I’ve made a nest in one of the upstairs bedrooms where it is warm.
Hugs!
It’s interesting that you posted about this because another friend and I were talking about Sharon Yenter’s Blended Quilts just a few days ago.
Your quilts are beautiful but I’ll confess to preferring contrast to the blur of blending. Perhaps that’s because of my trifocals – life is really blurry when my glasses are off!
Ah, yes, Seaside Rose and most every one of the 3 Sisters fabrics sets my heart aflutter. Love ’em!
Do you still have an Etsy shop?
4″ of snow late yesterday and overnight so am home today with the heater repair guy here (DH is dealing with him). Heat in all parts of the house again would be lovely but I’ve made a nest in one of the upstairs bedrooms where it is warm.
Hugs!
All beautiful quilts. I love low volume projects but oddly enough, I find them more difficult because I never seem to be happy with my fabric layout. I also have the same problem with scrappy quillts.
All beautiful quilts. I love low volume projects but oddly enough, I find them more difficult because I never seem to be happy with my fabric layout. I also have the same problem with scrappy quillts.
All beautiful quilts. I love low volume projects but oddly enough, I find them more difficult because I never seem to be happy with my fabric layout. I also have the same problem with scrappy quillts.
I’ve been admiring low volume quilts for awhile. I’m on the look-out for a great pattern to try one soon! Thanks for sharing…inspiration, as always!
I’ve been admiring low volume quilts for awhile. I’m on the look-out for a great pattern to try one soon! Thanks for sharing…inspiration, as always!
I’ve been admiring low volume quilts for awhile. I’m on the look-out for a great pattern to try one soon! Thanks for sharing…inspiration, as always!
I really love the soothing look of these quilts. I think the low volume approach allows you as the viewer to interpret the quilt any way you want. (Unlike their more contrasty brethren, who insist on being seen exactly the way THEY want.)
Really enjoyed your work- thanks for sharing!
Jo 🙂
I really love the soothing look of these quilts. I think the low volume approach allows you as the viewer to interpret the quilt any way you want. (Unlike their more contrasty brethren, who insist on being seen exactly the way THEY want.)
Really enjoyed your work- thanks for sharing!
Jo 🙂
I really love the soothing look of these quilts. I think the low volume approach allows you as the viewer to interpret the quilt any way you want. (Unlike their more contrasty brethren, who insist on being seen exactly the way THEY want.)
Really enjoyed your work- thanks for sharing!
Jo 🙂
Your quilts are beautiful. I think there’s as much of an art to choosing low contrast fabrics that look good together as there is to choosing high contrast ones. Looks to me like you’ve nailed it!
Your quilts are beautiful. I think there’s as much of an art to choosing low contrast fabrics that look good together as there is to choosing high contrast ones. Looks to me like you’ve nailed it!
Your quilts are beautiful. I think there’s as much of an art to choosing low contrast fabrics that look good together as there is to choosing high contrast ones. Looks to me like you’ve nailed it!
THey are all beautiful! ;p
THey are all beautiful! ;p
THey are all beautiful! ;p
It’s amazing, isn’t it? Everything old is new again – I remember Blended Quilts too, they were all the rage when I was just starting out on my quilting adventure!! (We’re showing our age now, aren’t we!!)
It’s amazing, isn’t it? Everything old is new again – I remember Blended Quilts too, they were all the rage when I was just starting out on my quilting adventure!! (We’re showing our age now, aren’t we!!)
It’s amazing, isn’t it? Everything old is new again – I remember Blended Quilts too, they were all the rage when I was just starting out on my quilting adventure!! (We’re showing our age now, aren’t we!!)