Saturday, September 17, 2011

Targeted inspiration

 My "Inspired by Shirt from Target" quilt blocks are coming along...
I havent't had the AHA! moment yet of how they will be set, 
But each day I try different settings...


I do love a good busy colorful quilt...  
I'm sure the more I make of these blocks, the more ideas I will get...

That's the beauty of PLAY, it let's the quilt unfold as it needs to be...
That moment when you "figure it all out" 
and it all falls into place, that exact moment, is why I love making quilts.

Well,  creating anything for that matter.

Sometimes it can take a long time to find the right solution... 
but I like to think that the quilt is just aging...in a very good way.

 Adding stories and life to itself...
I've had these blocks sitting here for nearly two years now...
Inspired by those fabulous 19th Century Quilting Divas.
I saw the quilt below in Houston two years ago, and I went on a mission
to complete mine, and searched all over Texas for the right RED
to set my blocks... 
Once I found it, I thought, YIPPEE!
But then I got it home, and I cut my pieces, and all though I love it... 

It doesn't have that ''VICTORIA SPIN'' on them yet... 

It feels to easy to set them like this. 
So they sit in the box,
and I think about these blocks almost every day...

Do I want more geese in the sashing, 
Do I want made fabric sashing?
Do I want to just squish them all together?


 The ideas will come. I'd rather not force the issue...
It's good to just go and LOOK at things around you, and at any given moment,
that AHA! will strike, and my whole day will be made!

(And I will  have another BIG quilt to snuggle up in.)

Heaven!


Tell me about how inspiration HITS you.
How do you work through your ideas?









10 comments:

  1. your post is a wild and wonderful array of colors today !!have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like your Tar-jay inspired blocks a LOT! I think they will be wonderful when your a-ha moment strikes. Inspiration for me is totally an accident!! My mind isn't open enough to help it along yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Often, I put the pieces up on the design wall and listen for them to speak to me. Sometimes, I have to take them down to put up a new project, but they always go back up until they tell me what to do. My made fabric blocks based on my thrift shop shirt are calling for sashing right now, but color hasn't been determined. I will just keep making them and adding to the collection until we come to a decision. It has been a real treat to get out of my old color combos to explore new colors in this way. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the quilt, but I personally think that the setting blocks are too lifeless for a Bumble Beans quilt. I can see the rest of it, but the tiny setting squares detract from the brightness you bring to every quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I let mine sit and ferment, like you. Sometimes I get a fine wine out at the end... and sometimes its horrible vinegar and sits in a drawer awaiting some alchemy that will turn it into gold. My problem with this process is that I end up with many more projects unfinished and while it 'ages' I start new projects, and more new projects and I find more and more half finished ones that I have outgrown, lost (or used) the finishing fabric for or just plain forgot about. Hmm, maybe more discipline is needed on the winemakers part...

    As for your blocks... if i can be bold enough to interject my own opinion... I like them without the red. I like the lines of geese flying against each other, you could call it "coming and going".

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like that quilt you have "aging" and it looks good with the red sashing, but, in my opinion (for what that's worth) it looks more "you" with the red sashing blocks left out. Squished together definitely!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have a bunch of blocks that looked great in my head, but once finished... blaa... someday im sure they will become "the quilt that almost was" I have a couple quilts that are waiting for something to make me fall in love again, i really only work on them when im in love with them. Like you something will come.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sash! It will help each of those gorgeous blocks "sing" vs. getting lost in one big chorus. Of course you should (and will) do it your way, when you know what that is.

    I "work through ideas" in stages:
    1) visualizing(often late at night, in bed, lying in the dark)
    2) playing around in Illustrator (have EQ7, but don't know how to use it so Illustrator is easier)
    3) fondling fabric
    4) design wall

    I design/make in stages: a bunch of blocks, then layout decision, then border concept/play. Much more fun than making all decisions up front.

    I've got two "top centers" fermenting since last year, almost ready to get back to them for pieced borders.

    Maybe in October?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I could talk about this subject for hours!
    if a project isn't working I put it away and at the oddest moment the light bulb will go on and I know what I need to do to make it work for me!
    inspiration is something I have been giving a lot of thought to lately....
    Kathie

    ReplyDelete
  10. I feel like my thought processes are so sporadic and unpredictable. They just happen...I think.
    I loved the red sashing! I never would have given it another thought, but when you say Victoria spin, then I see your point. Hmmmm......
    They look best separated, to me anyway. I adore the geese. Maybe it is just the red. What would orange or yellow do? What if it was a cool color like blue? Or blue was the corner stone color. Or a print, nothing to busy, so the blocks still stand out. Or black and white checks. I am typing out loud here. Have fun thinking about it!

    ReplyDelete

Hi! Thanks for leaving me a comment!
I appreciate your taking the time to say hi!
Have a fabulous day!