WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO START A NEW QUILT?

When Wayne Kollinger asked me the above question, I didn’t have to think long.  There are numerous examples.  Other blogs.  Books. Signs.  My great grandson.  I could go on and on as I’m always looking for something new and different to quilt, which is probably the reason I have so many UFOs.  There is always something to inspire me to start a new project. 

I’ve been a sewer since I was a child, but was inspired to start quilting about 10 years ago for two reasons:  1. I needed to keep my hands busy so I wouldn’t eat cookies from the time I got home from work until I went to bed.  2. I knew I would be retiring before too long and I needed a hobby and a place to meet new friends. 

I attended classes at my local quilt shop and tried piecing the traditional blocks.  However, after going to my first quilt show and seeing appliqué, I was inspired to try my hand at that.  I didn’t take pictures of my early attempts at traditional blocks, which was probably for the better as I never quite managed to cut anything straight or sew a straight line. With appliqué, I found my home.  Pictured above is Wooly Flower Sampler by Starry Pines Pattern Co.  I don’t care for wool, so I did it all in cottons.

After years of appliqué and still making feeble attempts at piecing, I continued to search for something new.  Mary Lou Weidman came to Grand Rapids and I took a couple classes from her.  She inspired me to cut loose and do some free piecing.  She also inspired me to work with bold colors and put them together in unique ways.  She is certainly my inspiration.  I love her work and hope to add these pieces above to my story quilt.  

I love looking at blogs and seeing what others do.  I should be called the Copyblogger (ooops, that name is already taken) because I’m pretty good at copying what others do.  I made this small quilt when I was inspired by Carol at Mamacjt’s blog.  I blogged about it here.

 

One day I received an e-mail from an artist’s blog that I subscribe to, Gapingvoid,  and became inspired.  I knew that I had to make this for my great grandson.  After making the “animal” I was inspired by the blog 15 Minutes At Play to make scrappy blocks for the rest of the quilt.  When I saw the book Word Play Quilts and visited Lazy Gal Quilting,  I added a word at the bottom.  I’ll show you the full quilt when it is finished.

I must be a visual person because it is the things I see that inspire me.  I love going into a quilt shop and seeing new samples.  I find if I just look around with open eyes, there are a zillion things to inspire me.  I am inspired by Wayne Kollinger's Sketch Book because he shows me that you can do different things with a traditional quilt block.   I love the way he works with the Fibonacci sequence to create interesting Wonky blocks and borders.   

How about you? What inspires you to start a quilt? Please leave a comment below. Or if you'd rather write in your blog, email me at carolldrudy@comcast.net  and I'll link to it; and email Wayne at tuxedoparkdesign@shaw.ca so he can link to your blog too.