Inspiration is Funny

 

One of the side effects of all this enforced Stay-At-Homeness is that we don't get exposed to stuff that is outside the house. You know, the things that grab your attention. One of the ways the brain works is that once it knows the lay of the land of your normal surroundings, it stops looking. It has all the information it needs for you to navigate safely in your home and unless something abnormal happens, it pretty much rests those brain cells. Brains get active when they get excited and the same-old same-old doesn't generate any "buzz."

It's part of the reason I have had such a hard time figuring out what to do next. No Input = No Inspiration. Or at least, not the kind I need. Once I figured this out (during a telephone conversation with my brother Mr Cabinetmaker) I began to take particular notice of my surroundings when I actually did go OUT.

The picture above was taken on Monday morning. We had had snow on Sunday, and Monday dawned bright and clear. It was cold, and the roads were wet from the snow that falls off cars. The asphalt was black, but where the road was wet, that thin layer of water reflected the blue sky in a stunning shade of almost black dark blue. Coupled with the remaining snow (white) it made for a particularly lovely pattern. It was black, dark blue, a bit of silver and a sliver of white. Quite a gorgeous combination. I looked at the road the whole trip to the office, but clearly couldn't take a picture while driving. Finally I pulled to a stop WAY before a light and took the photo above.

It's almost visible in the shaded area above, but not quite.

At any rate, for me it was enough. I had a color story in my head. I had ALSO been playing in the studio. I love what I call "long rectangles" which for me is two squares sitting beside each other, or a rectangle twice as tall as it is wide. I had been looking at my quilt, Waltzing Matilda and I wondered what it would look like if those squares were long rectangles. So I spent an hour or so on Sunday tinkering with scrap fabric.

Clearly I have a long way to go. Since the blocks are pieced with a gentle curve, and then trimmed down to size, I have to figure out what size rectangles to cut so that I can trim them down to a size that works. It required more time than I was willing to spare but I did enough tinkering to be confident that I could get this to where I might want it to go. Earlier in the day I had thrown these fabrics on my worktable.

So after I got out of work on Monday I was thinking about all of this, and I texted Julie my ideas.

WHICH WAS REALLY FUNNY BECAUSE DURING THE WHOLE DRIVE TO THE OFFICE ON MONDAY I WAS TALKING TO JULIE ON THE PHONE. (Hands free, of course.) And NOT ONCE during that fifteen minute conversation did I tell Julie about what I was seeing on the road. Pretty sure my brain was engaged in whatever it was we were talking about. Which is kinda wild, and maybe a little bit scary.

While we were texting back and forth, my brain combined the two ideas. "My plan for a quilt would be stunning in those colors,"I texted, "but I might have to buy fabric. Oh. Gee. Darn."

"Sorry about having to buy fabric 😂" Julie texted back. Yeah right.

And then I looked up. Across from where I sit on the couch, I can see into my dining room. But that isn't what caught my attention.

Above the arch I have this watercolor piece I did years and years ago. It is four square pieces that are almost, but not quite, alike.

I started laughing. 

The. 

Same. 

Damned. 

Colors.

Sometimes, dear readers, Serendipity really happens and when it does, when it slaps you across the face and says HEY BOZO, PAY ATTENTION! you had best listen.

I ordered fabric.