Tag: Inspiration

Inspiration and Kaleidoscopes

I saw this orange dotted champagne flute (plastic) and thought that it would be a great idea to have a really nice glass in the bathroom. I, of course, also liked the dots. This is a little more Halloweenish than I think I could look at every day, but a champagne flute I could go for. Unfortunately, I have no counter space in my bathroom, so I won’t be wasting my money on a champagne flute that will get knocked off in a day and a half. I did like the reflection from the flash on the wall, the bubbles in the water and the dark spot next to the water glass.

Here is the Kaleidoscope baby quilt that TFQ made. She and I talked about the method of making Kaleidoscope blocks that I learned in a class a zillion years ago. She ended up just using one of the Kaleidoscope rulers. I think it is very fresh and pretty. Lucky baby! It is being machine quilted by Angie at the Quilting Loft.


Below is the propeller quilt again, which TFQ made from the leftovers from the Kaleidoscope blocks above. She said that the blocks needed a little something so she hand appliqued the dots over the centers. I think it looks similar to some of Be*mused‘s quilts, but this one is very cheerful, more cheerful that the quilts that Jan from Be*mused has been posting lately. Ingenious use of the leftovers as well.

More detail below. You can see the fabrics pretty well. Notice the different prints. TFQ said the use of fabric was inspired by my use of fabrics in the Flowering Snowball (Cross Blocks) blocks. It makes me feel good to know that I am inspiring someone else. 😉
Below is one block. The centers were made in the Yo-yo fashion. After the fact, we discussed using buttons instead of applique’. It would make for a different look and might be fun for a slightly older child. One would need a lot of large-ish cheerful buttons.

Inspiration and Thoughts

I have been to Seattle on trips when the weather has been challenging: pouring down rain and a flat grey sky. This trip, however, displayed really beautiful weather with a lot of opportunity for nice shadows in the photos.

This was a door we walked by. The door grille/safety gate is a really interesting design and it made a great shadow. The circles make me think of bubbles and I like the way they are contained in that oval shape.

TFQ’s block of choice for her 2008 Fabric of the Year project is a Shoo Fly variation. She doesn’t necessarily use only fabric she has bought this year. This makes sense to me, since her blocks are much more complicated. She puts the new fabric in the corners, the triangles and the center and then chooses something else, which could be from her existing fabrics to go with the new fabrics.


The three below are very sherbety looking. I love the way this project illustrates how different blocks can look just by using different fabrics. A person can learn a lot about color from piecing the same block over and over. I have done this (though not to the degree that TFQ has done it) and think it is more exciting than it sounds. TFQ could speak to this point much better than I can. As you can see, there is one Economy block, on the right, from her FOTY project last year. Below are more of the Economy blocks. Again, we put them up on the design wall in groups and took photos of them.

Below are blocks made with mid-century fabrics: 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. TFQ also used fabrics that look like mid-century fabrics.

The Many Fabrics of Sawtooth Stars

The Sawtooth Star is a great block. Lots of options, but if you just make them out of two fabrics, they are fabulous as well.

Here are TFQ’s 4″ Sawtooth Star blocks: all 685 approximately of them. Sit back and enjoy the fabulous fabrics!





This project was a “clear out my scraps project” and a precursor to the Fabric of the Year project.

So, Shoot Me

I was reading some “back issues” of Mark Lipinski’s new blog, Pickle Road and saw this little nugget form him. He is absolutely right. I have been talking about visual journal and I just need to do it. I am also going to try to LOOK at things better. Perhaps the mess in my laundry room will become great art!

SET A GOAL FOR THE NEW YEAR

You know, dumplings, we don’t live in a vacuum. If you want to be inspired and want to grow in your quilting or crafting hobby, it’s important that you venture outside of your comfort zone, away from your guilds and sewing groups, to explore what the masters have accomplished before you. Trust me, taking yourself on mini-trips like mine to the little but mighty Allentown Museum can bring you more soul and quilting satisfaction than you might guess!

Make a deal with yourself in 2008 to try my Divine Experiment and to push yourself creatively by experiencing new artistic venues — like museums, concerts, library visits, anything you wouldn’t normally do during the course of a week — to watch the magic happen in your life!

blog it

Stars and Desire

Today I was thinking about stars and thought it would be a good time to show you my Flickr set of stars. I thought I had such a great collection, but when I went to look at it again, it seems paltry. I don’t think it really is; I think my vision is skewed from looking a Judy Martin’s Star blocks recently. She has a ton!!! I am eyeing those Feathered Stars as I think about more dot projects. Then again a project like this in all dots would be quite appealing. Have fun looking at the Stars!

Nina brought this interesting thread to my attention. It is called Desire Memory Thread from DMC. It looks like wire, but says that it is soft. Hhhmmm. It looks promising, but until I feel it, I am not sure how it could be used. I have an idea that I could use my glass beads with it. I would really like to make a bracelet or something with those beads and this might be the piece of the puzzle that pulls the project together.

Nina saw it in Stitch magazine from the UK. I haven’t ever seen that magazine, but may have to seek it out. I used to be able to find such magazines at Marquardt’s in the City, but the last time I went by they had closed. It was one of those great old fashioned newsstands on a corner near Union Square. The huge wonderful neon sign had been left up, which was nice.

Visual Journaling


I have been thinking and talking about visual journaling for several months. I have finally put my money where my mouth is and done it. I don’t know why this view, but something about the 24th Street sign and the fact that I had time called to me. Some things I will consider for next time:

  1. Practice looking. I don’t think I am really looking.
  2. Choose a smaller bit of the view.
  3. Eliminate detail. Just work with the essentials.

I think I am past the hump and hope that I will do more.