I have found - I think - most of the fabrics I need to get started on my black/white/blue project.
Because I am working from a photograph for the color scheme and the basic design, choosing colors of fabrics is somewhat dictated. This blue works, this doesn't. This blue and gray batik has all the right colors, but even cut up into small pieces, the overall pattern with large prominent flowers probably won't work. Will this gray with small black text (actual words in French) and gold sparkle sunbeam-like stripes work? I hope so, because I bought it!
I found the rest of the fabrics in two places: Mill House Quilts in Waunakee, WI, and Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH (my local quilt shop).
We were taking our youngest back to college in the midwest, driving straight through - and I mean straight through, with no overnight stop. I was driving in Wisconsin, needed a break, and saw the sign for Mill House Quilts. What a really great shop! They create displays with wonderful colors and have a large batik section - heaven, especially at trip hour 17 of 22. I found a piece of fabric there, which might have too much purple in it for my current project, but I love it.
I am privileged to live just a couple of miles from Quilted Threads, a true destination for quilters. I raided their sale room, and found several good additions to my palette of fabrics for black/white/blue - and with more variety of texture and pattern than the batiks I usually lean towards.
You'll notice the red (a blue-red) - it may or may not end up working for a border or binding, but it seems like the right contrast color for the grays and blues, and its pattern is grays and blues, and it was sitting right there, where I couldn't help but notice it.
The lights - blue, gray, white - will be the hardest for me to work with. I'm not a lights girl as I like lots of color. I need to find a way to create that amazing light behind the tree, so I will have to use some light fabrics, and just see how they work out. A challenge!
The next time I'll tell you about my idea for the design.