Taking the Inspiration Somewhere

After coming up with my own design during the "Every Day Inspiration" workshop with Michelle/Factotum of Arts a week ago, I found it had really captured my interest, and small as it was (10 1/2" x 14"), it was pretty quick and easy to make the one block into a mini quilt.

The quilting was the most enjoyable bit! The 'X' area got matchstick quilting in Aurifil 50wt #2140 (mustard); the rest of the quilt was straight-line quilted at 3/8" intervals with #2600 (light gray).

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the finished quilt with a local road sign, as Michelle has a fondness for them, and they were a source of inspiration for us attending the workshop with her.

Once again, a simple little project was the perfect kind of "let's just make this to make" fun, which totally refueled me. Plus it may just have inspired another quilt plan, and of course time will tell if that becomes a reality. Meanwhile, this little one now hangs by my computer, a reminder to keep exploring....

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and Finished or Not Friday!

Every Day Inspiration

Talk about luck. So it was when my friend and guild-mate Louise/I'm Feelin' Crafty won a free workshop for our guild with Michelle Wilkie/Factotum of Arts [ml_wilkie], Modern Quilt Design: Every Day Inspiration.

Active in Quilt Design a Day QDAD, Michelle says the design process is her favorite part of quilting, and she gave us alot to think about in creating our own designs.

Even so, I found it a bit of a struggle, but did my best to work through the prompts Michelle gave us, based on photos of her choice, as well as ones we'd each brought with us. Then later in the afternoon, there was a different kind of promp.... Michelle had a collection of art books set out on a table, and we were invited up in small groups, each getting just 30 seconds to flip through a book or two until a design caught our eye. Then we went back to our seats and came up with a design inspired by what we had seen. For some reason, this exercise came easier, and I had a design in no time, inspired by a work by Lucienne Day.

As I was drawing, Michelle happened to mention that we should consider paring down our design. One way was to create a 'window' in a sheet of paper and move the window over different areas, seeing what spoke to us. Compare my drawings above and below and you'll see the portion of my design that I chose to create in fabric.

This is where I slid into my groove. I'm pretty sure I'll quilt this mini up just for the fun of it, and at some point, explore the design a bit more.

So going forward, I hope to sketch a bit more, even though it doesn't come easily. I find it so much more natural to just 'design' with my fabric, rotary cutter, and design wall. But the truth is, inspiration in the every day is as real for me as for many of you, and I'd really like to incorporate more of that into my work. Baby steps....