Sunday 22 July 2012

Inspiration


in·spi·ra·tion  (nsp-rshn)
n.
1.
a. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.
b. The condition of being so stimulated.
2. An agency, such as a person or work of art, that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention.
3. Something, such as a sudden creative act or idea, that is inspired.
4. The quality of inspiring or exalting: a painting full of inspiration.
5. Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind.
6. The act of drawing in, especially the inhalation of air into the lungs.


I've been busy with starting back at work and my Brit Quilt Swap 3 project.  The quilt has hit a bit of a road block at the binding stage.  I managed to get the blocks together and do the quilting with no problem.  I'm really impressed with myself!  Then the binding.  Ouch.  I sewed it on the front fine but just couldn't get my big man hands to hand sew it on the back.  It probably didn't help that I was trying to do it when I was really tired.  I'm now in the process of machining it on, but that is going only marginally better.  


To take a break from that I wanted to share some pictures.  When Brioni and I went to Taba, Egypt in the winter of 2010 we saw some amazing things.  The weather was lovely and the scenery was amazing.



It was all very biblical!  You could look across the sea and see Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia.  

I wasn't a quilter then but saw quite a few things that got me thinking about quilt patterns.  There was this lovely lamp that just screams to be an english paper piecing pattern:


This is something I plan to draw up at some point.  Not for me though, hand sewing isn't my friend...  

This next one got me thinking about geese:


This was a mosaic on the wall of one of the bars.  I KNOW I've seen quilts like this on Flickr.

The next one is a tile floor that ran through much of the hotel lobby:


I don't know if this floor was her inspiration, but this sure looks like this block from Brioni:


This last one is another floor mosaic that I really like.



This looks pretty straight forward to reproduce.  It's just a 9 patch really, and I know I can do one of those!  I may do this as a future project.

I think it just shows you that patterns and shapes are everywhere and that you don't need to look to your books or the web for your inspiration.  It's out there everywhere!






6 comments:

  1. Love your photos and your wife's block is very like that inspiration photo!! I think when you quilt we begin to see inspiration in the most unusual of places don't we? Machining the binding is perfectly acceptable. It all comes down to what you prefer I think! x

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    1. Thanks! I'm struggling with both at the moment so we'll just have to see which one I end of preferring... :)

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  2. Yeah I take pictures of floors when I'm away from home too :S http://pennydog.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/back-off-holiday/

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one! There are always amazing patterns to see abroad.

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  3. I love how there is inspiration everywhere! Keep going with the BQ3S, it will all be worth it when its done

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    1. I've always searched out patterns around me, even more so now that I quilt. I'll soldier on with the quilt. I KNOW it'll be amazing when I'm done and I don't want to be someone that just makes quilt tops. I want to be fully skilled! :)

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