If all else fails... bribe the judges. I think it looks fabulous whatever your decision, and if the lol's (little old ladies) tsk, come stand by me and we can make fun of their quilted garments. I'll be looking for your entry!

hey kim - have you already put all the pie circles on the original blue? if not...

if you did it right you could vary the old fabric with the new fabric so that it was part of the design too - so there was the old blue and new blue alternating through the center squares. you could then back it with the new blue and it would all look like it was done on purpose -

i did something similar with a granny square crochet thing... two different yellows... so i dispersed them throughout the blanket... totally fooled the eye and it looked like it was on purpose.... otherwise i vote for F :)

Lisa's idea is a good one. Another idea would be a blue monochromatic print for the border that is a similar color to the blue solid. Also, I think I might like a dark inner border like in the circles rather than a white. Whatever you choose, I'm sure it will be great. Often, the best ideas come out of a challenge like this!

I vote for option F, but I would like to see the small interior border be the same as the border around the pies instead of white to soften it up. It really frames the pies nicely! But if you really want to go with a blue, then I'd vote for Anita's idea of getting a subtle blue print that matches the interior blue background rather than try to fight with the dye lot issue. Either way, very cool quilt.

i voted "d" but wanted to comment as well. i really think keeping the same blue solid colour for the borders is key to maintaining the DS Quilts look. A thin white border to separate the two dye lots would break it up enough to fool the eye into thinking it was the same blue,while still keeping true to the original solid fabric only look. By adding a different colour border altogether, I think that it will look too "traditional quilty" (which isn't a bad thing, but would no longer have the DS aesthetic.) And I'm not too keen on a print because the rest of the quilt is solid. sorry that was a little wordy but hopefully helpful.

holy moley... i have no idea. i just came to look at your plainspoken quilt for the ten billionth time, thinking i might make one. now i know that when i order my solids i better make sure they are the same lot. who knew??

ps. am i the only one that thinks a flea market fancy border would look nice?

I vote for not introducing another color to the border that hasn't been used already in the quilt. It feels like it loses the more graphic quality of the circles. In option B (which I voted for), what would you do for binding??

It's OKAY in quilting if your fabrics don't match exactly. It gives it character, dimension, shading,and texture. If you study the Amish quilts (especially the vintage ones) you will discover this. And remember, THEY were the original quilt artists using solid color fabrics. All shades and tones of red, for example, used in one quilt make for a more INTERESTING quilt that just one tone of red. All quilters know that a quilt with only three colors (and no variations of the colors)makes for a boring quilt. Live dangerously and use the slightly-off blue. But I also like the idea of another narrow inner border, and possibly a print.

Eerily I was going to say the exact same thing as Shelley above, how strange. Many Amish quilts have multiple version of the same color and they look fabulous. They were real scrap quilts, and the different version of the same color are used creatively and thus contribute to the quilt rather than distracting from it.

And yes, they were the original solid color artists.

I'm with Blair, I voted for option B.

I'd also like to add that, although it seems incredible, I'd never thought of the dye lot thing for fabrics. It really does make sense though. I'm so glad you've shared this dilemma with us.

I vote for using the fabric that you have. There are dye lots for fabrics--there is no industry that deals with dyes/colors that can match things 100% of the time. I think (in my opinion) that the judges would not fault you for having a slightly different color--but hey, I am an amateur. I think it would read as having been a dye lot issue, not a quilter issue.
I also agree with Lisa that mixing the blues would be good if the circles have not been sewn on (which I think they have been, right?
I just think leaving the circles in the open field of color like that gives it different feeling than enclosing them with a border.
Well, all the best. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

I would retain the original design. It will make your quilt stand out at the show amongst all the other quilts that have the traditional border. I think the difference in dye will look less so after it is quilted. You also might try calling all the quilt shops in your area and seeing who might have a bolt of your Kona cotton color. I just purchased some Pink Kona cotton at a local shop. There were two bolts both the same color and I thought they were significantly different, sounds like it's common.

I voted for F, but I can appreciate the point of view of the folks who think the more "organic" look is fine. In most quilts, I'd agree, but this one is so graphic and modern, I'm torn.

I agree with sarah, use the blue from the original design...but seperate using a thin border of another color.

Am I right that those basketballs are done in a template-free random piecing technique? Have you considered doing that with the entire border? You could mix both blues you have with the black veins.I would do a black or red inner border and match the binding to whatever looked best for the inner border. Disadvantage is that the outer border would be on the bias so you would need to be very careful about wavy edges.

on the matter of WWDSD, I think the answer would be to leave the different blue as the border. I think F is quite nice looking but adding the border is a more traditional quilt look that departs from the DS aesthetic. give it a few days of looking at the quilt and it might grow on you. things that annoy me with my projects right after finishing them tend to diminish in importance over time.

So, what's the verdict? I gotta know! Also, check out this quilt: http://isobe.typepad.com/photos/quiltshow2006/dsc00051.html I don't know if it's a matter of differing dye lots or a shift of lighting on the angle of the cloth, but it appears to have slightly different colors.

I've had a problem with dye lots in solid fabrics and printed ones. It sucks so I almost always buy an extra yard now for those "just in cases..."