Tag Archives: quilts

Inspiration is Everywhere {Giveaway Winner}

May 11, 2015 kittywilkin 1 Comment

Inspiration is everywhere. It is clearly decided that we creative folks pull our inspiration from just about anywhere.

There were 478 comments on my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day post, and I truly wanted to respond to them all. I asked you to share what inspires you to create, and the answers were inspiring in and of themselves! Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration. Many of the inspiration sources resonated deeply with me, since I, too, seem to find inspiration just about anywhere. I’ve decided to share some of the top sources of inspiration, as shared by you, my readers.

But first, a winner! Mr. Random chose comment 362 as the winner of the fabric bundle and two patterns of choice from Quilting Jetgirl. Congratulations Amanda! Please check your email and get back to me with your mailing address and patterns of choice!

Here are some of the top sources of inspiration pulled from your comments:

Blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, and other online inspiration

Many of you find inspiration in the beautiful things that others have made. Our extensive online community of creative souls makes it possible for us to draw inspiration from such a wide world of creativity!

Color and Texture

Color and texture is literally EVERYwhere, and you creative folks can see it! Many of you said that color, either in nature or in general, and texture were top sources of inspiration for you.

dahlia color palette — A palette created for my Color Inspiration {22} post. Color in nature!

Patterns in Life

Whether a gorgeous miracle found in nature, or a man made structure, patterns in life inspire many of you to create. Some of the top sources are:

Nature
Geometry
Tiles
Architecture
Art

People

People in our lives inspire much creativity. Some create for charity, so the knowledge that someone in need will be gifted a quilt filled with love drives the sewist’s inspiration. Some create for their family and friends. Children, especially, seem to be a big source of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s the people in our lives who have passed, or the one who taught us how to quilt who inspires us most.

Learning New Techniques

Some of you are inspired by the desire to learn new techniques, or experiment with different mediums.

Peace & Quiet

The ability to escape to a place of silence and peace is inspiration for some. I can certainly relate to this as a mom of two-soon-to-be-three rambunctious and spirited children. Life is busy, loud, and often chaotic. Moments of silence and peace are inspiring indeed!

Photograph by Xisco Bibiloni from Flickr; Quote taken from comment by Angela from Lil' Angel Stitches. — Photograph by Xisco Bibiloni from Flickr; Quote taken from comment by Angela from Lil’ Angel Stitches.

History

The amazing quilters of the past, and the creativity of the ones who first began to sew scraps of fabric together to create quilts are inspiration.

Materials

The materials themselves are a source of inspiration for many. “A lovely hand-dyed yarn or fetching pattern on fabric are my starting points and then I go from there to find a pattern to use them with.” shared Laura aka aprilshowers.

The NEED to Create

This is my favorite, and also a strong source of inspiration for you creative folks. Many of you mentioned that the root of your inspiration is simply a need to create. Afton from Quilting Mod nailed it with her comment:

“I am inspired by an innate desire to create and make beautiful things.” – Afton from Quilting Mod

I’ve discussed this feeling before, and agree that for me, while inspiration truly comes from everywhere–family, friends, nature, texture, color, blog and IG posts, people who need or request quilts, architecture, pattern, fabulous fabrics and threads–my sewing is driven by an innate desire to create.

Thank you for sharing your sources of inspiration, and most of all, thank you for creating. Each of you makes the world a bit more beautiful with every stitch!

Design, Quilting

QuiltCon 2015 Reflection: Quilts

March 23, 2015 kittywilkin 4 Comments

I’ve been home from QuiltCon for a good month now, but I cannot let the experience pass without some mention of the amazing quilts that hung in the show. I wish I could say that I spent hours gazing in awe at every quilt there, but to be honest, I’m SURE that there are quilts I didn’t even see. Every time I turned around, I found another quilt I had yet to see.

quiltcon 2015 quilts — Best of show – i Quilt by Kathy York.

QuiltCon was my first quilt show, and it was an amazing place to begin. Every single quilt was just one more bit of inspiration, and made my brain swirl with possibility. There is a lot of talk about what makes a quilt “modern”, but I think that the quilts hanging at QuiltCon definitely fit the bill, as vague and openly as that “modern” label extends. Being fairly new to quilting, there were quilts where my gut reaction was, “wow, THAT’s a cool idea/technique!”, where I had not even fathomed the possibility of a quilt made in such a way or in such a design. Like I said in earlier posts, I didn’t take nearly as many photos at QuiltCon as I would have liked, so here is just a collection of a few of my favorites. Click here to see most of the quilts from the show, care of Sew Mama Sew.

quilts of quiltcon 2015 — Deconstructed Lonestar by Amy Struckmeyer

I debated waiting until the crowd in front of Sherlock dissipated, but decided I really liked seeing him peek out and took the photo as shown. This quilt was one that begged to be visited multiple times!

Some may be surprised that I rank this quilt in my top picks, since one might think my typical OCD tendencies might twitch at the sight of this one. To be honest, it makes me giggle with glee. What a simple yet completely unique idea. It’s a collection of yellow squares, with one out of wack. Tell me it’s not brilliant!!?

paper pieced modern amy garro icy waters quilt — Icy Waters by Amy Garro of 13 Spools (pardon how cropped this one is. No excuses.)

In all the known quilting world, I find myself the most drawn to modern quilting and paper piecing. I’ve been designing paper pieced patterns for about a year, but still struggling with finding a way to mix the two: modern and paper piecing. Enter: Amy Garro. This quilt is from her new book Paper Pieced Modern*, and when I first saw it and realized it was from an entire book of awesomely paper pieced modern quilts, my reaction was, “Yesssssssssssssssssss!!!” Let the fun begin!

Modern Quilting Trends

A lot of quilter bloggers have written about trends in the quilts that were accepted into the QuiltCon show, and rather than repeat what has already been said, here are a few excerpts that I also definitely noticed in the show:

I most agree with Lee from Freshly Pieced‘s observation that “design is the single most important element of a modern quilt” and that “walking around the floor, it was pretty hard to miss the layout creativity that was on display.” Lee totally nailed my gut reaction mentioned above; the layout creativity blew my mind and explored design elements beyond my wildest dreams. Read her full post here. Of course, taking Lee’s Off the Grid: Alternate Layout class was an eye-opening highlight of my trip, so I may be a bit biased, but I really think that she hit the nail on the head regarding the direction modern quilting is headed.

Afton from Quilting Mod noticed a prevalence of dense free motion quilting, straight line or matchstick quilting, circles or quarter circles, pixelated quilts (swoon Sherlock), quilts with actual words, gemstones, architecture, bold saturated rainbow colors, and a more lenient look at perfect craftsmanship with more of a focus on design. I definitely noticed a strong prevalence of dense free motion quilting and matchstick quilting, which is one more motivator to improving my free motion quilting skills!

I also loved Christa from Christa Quilts‘ reflections on modern quilting post QuiltCon. My favorite bit of wisdom I got from her post was “…just because you enjoy modern quilts doesn’t mean you have to BE a modern quilter. And just because you consider yourself part of the movement doesn’t mean you have to make exclusively modern quilts.” Christa mentioned being able to see the quilters’ heart and soul going into the quilts, and I agree that so many quilts not only were aesthetically gorgeous, showed masterful craftsmanship, and exhibited a thinking-out-of-the-box design element, but they also expressed emotion. Maybe I’m just a quilting sap who found my creative niche in the mostly-modern quilting world, but the quilts spoke to me. (No, I’m not weird. Just humor me, ok?) The quilts at QuiltCon were a huge inspiration for me to continue playing, creating, and stretching my boundaries.

Here are a few of the blog posts specifically about the quilts at QuiltCon, if you want to get a more in depth look at other bloggers’ observations and thoughts:

Bryan House Quilts QuiltCon in a Nutshell
Christa Quilts Christa’s Soapbox – My Thoughts About Modern Quilting Post QuiltCon
Christa Quilts My Experiences from QuiltCon 2015
Christa Quilts More Quilts from QuiltCon 2015
Don’t Call Me Becky QuiltCon 2015
Freshly Pieced QuiltCon: My Thoughts
On the Windy Side QuiltCon Recap 1: The Quilts
Quilting JetGirl QuiltCon 2015: Quilts!
QuiltingMod QuiltCon: Trends Part I
QuiltingMod QuiltCon: Trends Part II
QuiltingMod QuiltCon: Trends Part III
The Plaid Portico Multiple QuiltCon Quilt posts

Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl has a pretty extensive list of quilt blogger posts about QuiltCon HERE.

Are you a quilter blogger who also posted about the quilts shown at QuiltCon? Let me know and I’ll add you to my list above!

*Amazon affiliate link included, which means if you buy Paper Pieced Modern by clicking through, I receive 4% compensation with no extra cost to you.

Quilting

Waterlogued

March 4, 2014 kittywilkin Leave a comment

Let me tell you about my new favorite iPhone app. I know what you may be thinking: I thought this was a blog about quilting and occasional knitting. What’s this film flam about an app!? This is not just an app. It’s one of the coolest, most artsy apps ever!

I first discovered Waterlogue when Nancy from graceandpeacequilting (Find her on Instagram) posted a waterlogued picture of her Tula Pink’s City Sampler quilt. I was immediately smitten with the idea of turning my quilts–or other pictures–instantly into watercolors! I don’t usually (ever?) buy apps; I’ve only downloaded free ones. Waterlogue’s $2.99 was an exception. Without further ado, here are a few of my Waterlogued quilts:

My second ever quilt: the Colorblock Quilt design by Bijou Lovely. I used almost all Kaffe Fassett fabrics with Laura Gunn's Wing Song from the Garden Wall collection for the vertical strip. I made this quilt for my cousin's baby girl Mabel. I love it! — My second ever quilt: the Colorblock Quilt design by Bijou Lovely. I used almost all Kaffe Fassett fabrics with Laura Gunn’s Wing Song from the Garden Wall collection for the vertical strip. I made this quilt for my cousin’s baby girl Mabel. I love it!

A double wedding ring wall hanging I made for my sister & brother-in-law for their wedding. It was my first time sewing curves and I actually enjoyed it! They both loved the quilt, too. Always a plus!

This baby quilt was for a dear friend’s baby (as seen!). The quilt was my own design.

Circling gulls is taking shape! My own design and in-progress pattern looks great as a water color, too, huh?!

Fabric spools as part of the Spool-Along I’ve joined this year. I’ve got some catching up to do!

Don’t you want to turn your quilts into watercolors now, too?! Yeah, I thought so! TOTALLY worth giving up a half a cup of Starbucks coffee to buy the app, wouldn’t you say?

Note: I have NOT been compensated in any way by Waterlogue , I just think the app is extremely fun and creative. (Although that would be cool—Waterlogue, want to pay me for the good review?) Have fun with it!