Inspiration Is A Funny Thing

Way back in August I was playing with some scrap slab triangles, but they didn't really go anywhere, so I put them away.

On my way back from getting my car's 15,000 mile maintenance I swung by my sister's house to pick up the ham we'll all be eating for dinner on Christmas. My sister got stuck on an emergency call from her work, so I waited on the couch.     

Turns out she got a new couch a couple of weeks ago. The last one was red, so the Firebird quilt fit perfectly. On this couch, not so much. I actually went out to the car to get the Allegretto quilt I had been working on while I waited for my car. I put it on the couch, and stepped back. "Nope." It just didn't fit.

I walked around her house. We both have a lot of original artwork hanging on the walls and since we are sisters, we have a lot of my mother's artwork, but she also has some of my work too. This is a painting I did almost forty years ago.

Immediately I knew where I wanted to go with a new quilt for her couch.

This isn't all my blocks, and is by no means a finished idea, but I definitely plan to separate the colors with the lighter white or cream side triangles, connecting them visually to the towel in the painting above.

As usual, this idea isn't carved in stone, and the idea may change quite a lot by the time I'm done, but I like this, and I'm excited to move forward with this. I have a lot of blocks to play with, and I will need to make more blocks, because right now I don't love the green ones on the upper left, but I'm excited to get into the studio to work, and that is the best thing.

Ice Blue

 

I added a small deep space border to the Ice Blue quilt.

Here is the finished flimsy on top of the fabric I have selected for the backing. This quilt is going to be gorgeous. Or maybe "handsome" isn't a better term.

This isn't the quilt I had expected to make, but that is what making art is all about. It's about following an idea where it takes you, and if it's a dead end, then you have to switch gears and figure something else out. You can't judge your end result against the first IDEA you had. Because an idea is only an idea. It doesn't exist until you make it real. If I had not brought you all along on the road of this quilt from first inspiration to the final quilt, you would never know that I had stalled.

However, I do think the color story of the quilt matches the original color story I had in my head, and that works for me.

On to the next thing.

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.

Colors

This is me. I wore this to work one day I don't even know when. The shirt is what I would have called a maroon, but really it's a deep red-violet, one of my favorite colors. The seashell necklace is a blue green, the vest is a sunny yellow.

I keep telling you all to notice things that catch your attention. Clearly it got mine, so I took the picture. So what's going on here, what makes these colors sing? The red violet is a deep warm color. The yellow is light, and it is also warm. The necklace is a cool greenish blue. There is a strong Hot/Cold contrast going on, along with a Light/Dark one. Red violet is not directly across the color wheel from the blue green (that would be a yellow green, or what we call today an acid or limey green, which is also a warm color,) but it is close to a Complimentary contrast.

The red violet (which could be described as Red, Red, Blue) and the cool greenish blue (Yellow, Blue, Blue) share the color blue, while the vest and the necklace share the color Yellow.


This got me to thinking. If I was to add a fourth color here, which would it be? To me there are only three options, and all the answers are in the descriptions above. I know which three they are, and any of the three would make this a kick-ass color combination.

What do YOU think the three colors are? And if you can't come up with all three, give it your best shot. I'm going to enable content moderation on this, so you won't be able to see what everybody else thinks when you enter your comments. You get bonus points if you can tell my WHY those three are perfect.

Good luck,

AND OH, Quilt Granma, the tumblers on my Easter Basket quilt were NOT sewn together randomly. I placed each and every one of them with care and precision. The leader-ender thing just doesn't work for me.

Why not? Two reasons:

One, I hate the random thing. Random isn't necessarily better, it's just lazy. I know how to make anything look good, so why would I "settle" for something/anything when I can make everything awesome? (Search my blog for "The One Strip" for more on that topic.

Two: It's the same answer as when folks ask me how many quilts I have going at one time (and backings don't count.) "I can only have one lover at a time."

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It was 14.5F when I got up this morning. We've got that cold that is covering the East Coast and will stay with us for a while.

 This is my friend MJ, who wouldn't let me take a picture of her face. "Oh MJ, I said, what a pretty color combination you are wearing. Can I take a picture?" This photo was taken over two years ago.

I thought about it last night when I was talking to Julie. We were talking on the phone and I had mentioned an article in the NY Times about one of their former photographers, Sam Falk. "He has a reporter's knack for being in the right place at the right time and an artist's ability to capitalize on the moment," one reviewer wrote about him.

The photo of MJ above, is like that. As soon as I saw her that day I loved the color combination, and I knew enough to take a picture so I could keep that memory. I didn't know what I would do with it at the time, but last night, as I talked to Julie I mused out loud, "Wouldn't that make a pretty quilt.... light sky blue, a nice medium brown and white... Maybe some red violet thrown in for a little punch."

After we hung up, I went into the bedroom and got ready for bed, but the idea kept bugging me, so I ran into the studio and started pulling fabrics out of my stash. This is a sampling. I like the idea. I don't know what I am going to do with them yet, but it will be fun to see what happens.

Writing

OK!!!

I am not going to show you a bird today. I am going to talk a bit about fabric choices. The inspiration for today's bird is WRITING!

So I say WRITING and what kinds of fabrics do you think of? Do you think of these?

Well, sure. These are writing. But these are a bit literal, don't you think? We need to expand your idea of WRITING.

How about these?

Letters, labels, numbers, That's good. You should always have a wide variety of fabrics from which to choose.

But did you consider these?

Typewriters, pen nibs, pencils... Yup! The bigger selection of fabrics you have, the more successful your quilts can be.

So what would YOUR bird based on WRITING look like?

Snow

If you live where it doesn't snow, you think snow is just snow. But it isn't. There are many different kinds of snow.

This is wet snow, that clings. We didn't have much of it, and even though the temperature was just above freezing when I took these pictures, the sun wasn't out, so the snow clinging to the branches on the trees hadn't melted yet.

I always tell you to look around for inspiration, because it is everywhere, and I took these pictures so I could remember the patterns of the snow covered branches, but somehow I knew there was inspiration here too.

I don't know what I will do yet, but an idea is forming...

Inspiration is...

I know I keep going on and on about finding inspiration. But finding out that YOU have given inspiration is even BETTER.

I received a package I was not expecting.  Inside was a note from my friend the Selvage Fairy.

Now, the Selvage Fairy and I have a running joke. She is a tailor who told me once she was afraid of getting into quilting because "everything about it tells me it is as addictive as crack cocaine."

Well, she isnt' wrong about that!  But check out what was in the box...

 .

Are these TOO COOL or what?

Needless to say, these lovely birds found a home among my Holiday decorations right away.

I love these. It is a wonderful gift, but the bigger gift is knowing I inspired my friend, and that she took an idea (she was in the very first bird class I ever taught) and did something with it.

That is the single biggest reason I teach. Because I love to see students use their own creativity.

Inspiration

This morning, I found inspiration (or a color story) in the draining rack in my sink. When I take plastic stuff out of the dishwasher, it is often covered in water droplets, so I put in in the draining rack. This is what it looked like this morning.

Where can you find a color story?

Dead Head

The garden really got the better of me this year. I've been so busy I haven't given it the attention it deserves. All I've been able to do is keep it watered and dead head the flowers. I just toss them on the top of the big stack of stuff in the recycling bin.

Last night I cut down some geraniums, hyssop, salvia and some daylilies. This morning as I dragged the trash can out to the curb, I walked by and actually looked at it. 

Wow. Those colors! The bright hot pink of the geraniums, the purple salvia, the yellow orange daylilies, the green leaves and light purple of the hyssop and the brilliant blue of the recycling bin actually sparkled! Add some greyish beige to represent the dried stuff, and some greens and you have a knockout color combination.

You know how I always tell you to watch out because you can find inspiration anywhere?  Well, this was in my trash. I made sure to take a picture before I got in the car and drove to work.

8000 feet

I am at 8,000 feet above sea level, and Mt Princeton in the background, rises up another 6,197 feet.

I am back from a week's vacation in the "high desert" of Colorado, 8000 feet above sea level.  To put that in perspective, Denver CO is 5280 feet.  If you need more perspective, my town is 308 feet above sea level. (Mt. Washington, the highest peak in NH, comes in at 6288 ft.)

Yeah.

It means your body works harder because it has less oxygen. It means you need to stay hydrated by drinking LOTS AND LOTS of water, wear sunscreen and a hat because the sun is hotter and your skin burns and dries out faster. It means you "suck air" at any remotely strenuous activity, like hoisting myself into my brother's gigantic pickup truck.

We took a ride up to Monarch Pass on the Continental Divide, 11,312 feet above sea level. On the flight home, when the pilot said we had reached 10,000 feet and could now turn on our electronic devices, I turned to my Mom, "Gee, we were higher than this on the ground!!"

And the humidity was zero. So a 94F day was warm, but not unbearable.

This is just beyond Kenosha Pass

I never think of myself as a city girl, but OMG, Colorado is vast. You could fit the state of New Hampshire into Colorado eleven times.

We stayed at the Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort (8190 ft), where I floated in a pool of 107F water under the stars. I had hoped to see the Milky Way but the nights were too cloudy. I did, however, see more stars at night than I ever see at home. Of course, I got an app for my phone to help me out (SkyView).

My brother's barn. It is post and beam construction, and he designed and built it. It is unlike any barn I have ever seen anywhere in my travels.

I took zillions of pictures, of the landscape, of barns, buildings, chickens, flowers, plants, rocks, cats and all kinds of other stuff. It is safe to say I found inspiration everywhere.

Near Kenosha Pass. I think this is a terrific color story.

Here are some of my favorites.

A lime green door to a shop in Salida CO. See the quilt in the window?

A chicken sculpture near Mo' Burrito in Salida CO.

Some of my brother's chickens in his barn.

Near Fairview Colorado. This is another color story.

You'll be seeing more, lots more, in the coming days.

Inspiration

This is my colleague, MJ. Last Friday she walked by and I stopped dead in my tracks. "MJ," I called after her, "come back!"

MJ is very quiet and unobtrusive, "Why? What for?" she asked, turning.

"I wanna take your picture! I love those colors you're wearing! "

"Don't show my face."

"Uh, OK."

So she turned, and brought her hands together. I took the photo above.

"So why do you want to take a picture of what I'm wearing? You never wear brown."

"No, but I tell my blog readers that inspiration is all around them, and there's a beautiful quilt in the colors you're wearing."

Like I keep saying, Inspiration is everywhere around you. You just have to pay attention to see it.
 

Inspiration, Again

You know how I keep telling you that inspiration can hit you anywhere?

Sometimes it can come from the darndest places. In this case, my granddaughter threw it at me.

These colors will make a very interesting quilt. Yellow, Orange, Light Blue and Dark Blue with a touch of red. I can see it already!

Did You See That?

Last week the florist delivered this arrangement for our lobby. I was walking down the hall from the other direction, when I noticed something.

 I backed up a few steps and looked outside from the lobby and saw this.

Do you see it?


I keep telling you that interesting things are all around you and that you should pay attention when you  notice them. Coincidences are also something to notice.

 Update:
Yes, the shrub on the right is a burning bush. Usually they get a lot redder.  The yellow tree is a Maple tree, but I am not quite sure what kind. It could be a Norway Maple.

Inspiration

The company I work for has a deal with a local florist. For a fixed sum, every Monday we get a new fresh flower arrangement. 

This is the one they brought by on Monday. DAMN, this is gorgeous.

 Deep blue violet (the calla lillies,) the deep red (dunno what they are), the brilliant yellow sunflowers and the little blue thistles (?) and a little bit of pink...

There's a quilt in here, I'm sure of it.

Inspiration, Again

My friend Tracey and I went out to lunch, and then shopping with her four kids. My godson, always full of mischief, put on this hat while we shopped, and then sat in this blue chair.  I asked him to smile, and got this photo, which is surely a keeper, as it captures the essence of him.

Just goes to show that sometimes perfection is close by, and all you have to do is keep your eyes open to recognize it.

Inspiration & Bird

You know I always go on and on about finding inspiration right under your nose?  Well I found inspiration for my next bird right on my refrigerator.

It's a photo of my son on his 7th birthday. He had lost all four of his front teeth so he wouldn't smile with his mouth open.  I thought it was the cutest photo, so I've had it on my fridge ever since it was taken (almost 29 years ago. EEEK!). Here's the bird he inspired:

I know all about this bird. He's curious, and loves Math and numbers. He's a 3rd degree black belt in Karate, loves music and can write programming code in 11 languages. He loves helping people, and he's very sociable. He loves to dance and sing. He has a heart of solid gold and he has lots of Attitude.

Can you tell?