I was asked by my quilt guild, Triangle Modern Quilt Guild, to do a member spotlight last October/November??

That sent me in a little bit of a tail spin. I had been sewing and quilting for less than a year (~10-11 months). What was I going to show??? I really only had two completed quilts, and a few quilt tops. I really spent most of my first year, trying different techniques and making smaller items like pillows. Then it hit me, I really enjoy the inspiration/idea to design phase of quilting/projects,  why not do a little show and tell, and then finish it off with a presentation of how I come up with ideas.

It went so well, that I also wanted to share with you all (y’all for those in the US South :-)) and challenge y’all to publish a post, in the month of February, about something that has inspired you and how did that transition to a finish (could be a design option or color choices etc.). Let us know about your post in the comments below.

Tapa Cloths (Indigenous Artworks): These are pacific island designs, that I was first introduced to in my NZ high school art class. I have always loved the overall designs, the lines and shapes, and finally the limited stark color palatte. I used the star pattern in this Tapa Cloth, to design two paper pricing stars; a simple star and one with that incorporates the complexity of the lines.

Obviously I am still finishing these stars but you can see how they capture the idea (I hope). They will be pillows when I finish.

Floor tiles (Magazines): I was so inspired by the black and white tiles, I found in this picture from Dwell Magazine. This is one of my paper piecing block designs that came from the tile highlighted by the blue box.
  

Tiles (found on pinterest): I fell in love with this tiled bath, for the color combinations and the mix of pattern and solid tiles. I used the “border” of the blue tiles, the splash of yellow, splash of pink, and splash of prints to frame my Madrona Road Challenge Quilt last year.

Architectural Features: My inspiration for the quilt “Looking through the Shattered looking Glass” came actually from an idea about a looking glass (magnifying glass) which has been dropped/broken + the randomly placed/sized windows of this building (in New York).

  
Here is an example of how a block will come together. I am thinking that this will be my Stash Bee block next month.

Architectural Features: Obviously the sculpture in this picture would be fantastic as an appliqué quilt/cushion, right?? However, do you also see the windows of this apartment building…its kind of a log cabin-like look. Those windows translated for me into this block design.

Furniture: This is my new favorite, the photo is of the cafeteria cushion covers at work. Can you see the repetitive design. Do you see how the color changes the look of the block. This block, I am pretty sure, I will use to make a quilt using Botanics by Carolyn Friedlander.

Ok, so here were some of the things that inspire me and how they translate. Note, I use threadbias.com tool for designing (at the moment). What about you, will you do the challenge!!

Linking up with Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Social (see button on the right).