A variation on that is the split complementary pattern. This uses one color and the two colors adjacent to its opposite on the color wheel: red, yellow-green and blue-green, for example. Or orange and blue-green and blue-violet.

Colors that are analogous — next to each other on the wheel — also work well together: Try yellow, yellow-green, green and blue-green, for example.

And a final pattern is triadic: three colors that form an equilateral triangle on the color wheel: red, blue and yellow; or, orange, green and violet.

2. Consider tints, shades and values. Tints are created by adding white to a basic color; shades are created by adding black. Value refers to the degree of lightness and darkness of a color. Usually, the prettiest quilts have a mixture of light, medium and dark values, she says. "The variety of values creates contrast."

But the thing to remember, she said, is that "values are relative." What could be considered a dark value when paired with lighter fabrics can also be considered light when paired with darker fabrics.

When it comes to values, you also need to consider the position in the quilt. "Bright colors will jump out more. High-contrast fabrics will give you a more graphic design. Low-contrast colors will have a softer look."

And remember that warm colors — those on the left side of the wheel (reds and oranges) — advance, while cool colors — those on the right (blues and greens) will recede.

A good place to begin, she said, is to have about 15 percent of the quilt as light fabrics; 70 percent medium; 15 percent dark. "As you get more experienced, you can adjust those percentages to suit your design."

3. Look at fabric quality. Another important consideration in fabric selection is the quality of the material. "Your quilt will only be as good as the worst piece of fabric. Don't spend all that time making a quilt with poor fabrics."

Generally, the more fabric costs the better it is, but that is not always the case, she said. Nor is the manufacturer. "I've had materials from the same line that varied greatly in quality."

Poor fabric is thin, see-through and ravels easily.

Fabric content is another factor. Most quilt fabrics are 100 percent cotton. "But some that are less than 100 percent are starting to show up, even at quilt stores, so check the labels," she said.

Unless you really know what you are doing, use similar fabrics. "I've seen quilts made with denim and satin or polyester and cotton. But they are very hard to make look good."