Quilt Inspiration & Process

My creative process often begins out of necessity. Mostly that is a need to thin my bins so at least the lid will fit on. At the beginning of the process I don’t have a real clear picture what the quilt will look like. I may have a few general ideas but mostly I just let those pretty bits speak to my heart.

I start sewing a few together, making blocks and throwing things up on my design wall. As my wall begins to fill, ideas come that inspire more block ideas. Filling my wall a little more. Gradually a quilt begins to appear.

My Dream quilt came about this way. The blue bin had overgrown it’s bounds. So I began playing with value, creating blocks all in blue.

I had fun seeing how changing where the dark and lighter blues feel. Sometimes dark blues as the background, other times as the foreground of the block. It amazed me the interest I could create with just blue fabrics.

As all those blue blocks accumulated on my wall the thought came to me to include words. And what better words for a blue quilt than…

Shortly after this quilt was finished I saw my friend walking in front of my house. Her mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer. Inspiration hit again. This time letting me know that this quilt was meant for her mother. I learned later that Dream was a favorite song of hers. I’m pretty sure that all my inspiration for this quilt came from God. So thankful for the insight. It did my heart good.