Tag Archives: National Quilting Day

Quilts and Inspiration

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This is a special post for National Quilting Day 2012 (March 17)

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I’m one of those artists that sees inspiration every where I look… are you like that with your quilting inspiration? I’ve blogged about this before, here, and here, how I find inspiration in architecture, nature, color… But these days, I’m seeing more of an “in your face” type of inspiration. Quilting is hot right now, not only is it sort of “cool” to be a quilter (thanks to the internet and modern quilting movement!), you see quilt inspired items in home dec, stationary, sculpture, office furniture and accessories, buildings — dare we call this the decade of the modern quilt? Whether something is constructed or designed with its inspiration coming from quilts, or the design inspires our quilts… doesn’t seem to matter. Pattern and design is everywhere:

Malka photographed this wall outside the Convention Center at Fall Quilt Market (apparently constructed to hide something functional like lighting/wiring):
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You can see a modern quilt in buildings themselves…
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New interior finishes such as wallpaper and flooring are showing evidence of modern quilting and the new trends for geometrics (wouldn’t you love to have one of these floors in your home?!):
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Even in fashion, whether or not we might actually wear it… Rodarte’s 2010 Fashion Week collection was inspired by the aesthetic of the 1930s American plains:

This child’s dress from Baby Gap (summer 2010):

We even saw evidence of the connection with fashion and modern quilting in recent designer collections for Target. I know chevrons aren’t unique to quilting, but when I saw the Missoni for Target collection last fall, all I could see were patchwork designs!

And a personal fave from the fashion category: this patchwork inspired dress which was available in 2010 through the free trade site JohnLewis.com:

Maybe it’s always been there, inspiration for quilt patterns in the geometry of our surroundings, that is… but I can’t help but see a connection between the use of bold geometric graphics and pattern in design in general and the explosion of modern quilting and the geometric trends we are seeing in our craft.

So how abut you, found any sewing or quilting inspiration in unique places lately?

I MISSED National Quilting Day?!?

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I found out this morning that I missed National Quilting Day (March 15) this weekend. Well, okay, I didn’t *miss* it, I did pass the day, and have memories of it and all…I actually spent it with my Mom and 11 year-old niece, going to Pursuing Picasso, a paint-your-own-pottery place ( I should have had a camera to capture our “masterpieces”) having pizza and dessert pizza, and just hanging out. I’ll make up for the Nat’l Quilting Day slight tonight and this weekend! ;->

This is the quilt I designed and made in the month of December, and the reason I didn’t get any of my “smaller” projects done. Okay, I started cutting it on November 30th… It’s for a friend who loves outdoors activities including canoeing & kayaking (hence the “Crossed Canoes” block). It’s at the long-arm quilter right now–that’s right, it was a Christmas gift, which was wrapped up and given, albeit in pieces–that will now be a post-Easter gift. LOL. At the top of the photo is my assistant, Maggy, always there to lend a paw…

Here is a close-up of the block and sashing. I did it with paper-piecing. It’s entirely made of batiks, (My favorite!).

And, of course, I had to design a border to bring the entire “outdoors” theme together! The binding will be the same fabric as the wide mottled border shown here, the back is a green batik. It’s queen size, and I think it turned out lovely–if I do say so myself! Can’t wait to see what Sue the quilter did with it!