Moving Out - Cityscapes

Andrew got his first job! And now his own apartment. He wanted a quilt for his first home. I had this pattern, Cityscapes by Cherry House Quilts, and he really liked it. I asked what colors he liked: cream, khaki, gray and black. With maybe a little orange, red and/or blue. (not my faves)

I wanted to do it all in batiks but quickly learned that single color batiks are tough to find in some shades. I found 1 red and 3 orange and one gray, but none of the other neutrals. Holly helped me sort it out at Quilter's Heaven. Our plan was to do the neutrals in Kona solids while using the batiks for a pop of color and texture. Finally, I was excited. The pattern is modern and high impact, but not a lot of piecing. It went together quickly.

The top photo is my first attempt at a layout. Ugh. I knew I didn't like it, but wasn't sure why. Holly, Michelle, and 2 quilt shops later, the diagnosis was too much orange and not enough neutrals. I added more batiks in dark gray, brown, and gray/brown/rust and removed half the orange, some cream and a lot of the light gray. The bottom photo is the final layout. It's at the quilter now. Andrew really likes it. Hurray!