Since taking up quilt-making last year, I've enjoyed playing with the gorgeous fabrics on the market and designing them based on things from my everyday. My Spring at Siebenthaler's quilt was created this way, inspired by the local garden center's annuals greenhouse. Each rectangular section represents a table with a variety of annuals, with the cream sashing the walkways between tables.
Jane Brocket takes a similar approach to quilt-making in her new book, and with an idea or scene from her life, she weaves a story about the quilt which helps her make fabric and color choices. In an interview I read in Fat Quarterly with her about the book, she says she writes "from the point of view of an enthusiastic amateur, someone who isn't a designer and doesn't have advanced quilting skills...[she's] keen to emphasize that rules and ideals of perfection aren't as important as enjoying yourself with fabric." Yes! This is why I quilt: to play with fabric, and make something pretty that pleases me.
The book is quite nice, and she uses bright, colorful fabrics to great advantage. I particularly like this Russian Shawl quilt:
And I think this Suits and Ties quilt would be a great gift for a man:
It's made from old woolen suits and ties, sewn together in patches. (The only problem is how to wash it? Any ideas?)
I'm paying more attention now to the things around me, and hope to be struck by inspiration for a new quilt soon!
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