31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

What could be more everyday inspiration these days than Emoji?!? They are everywhere. On your phone, on social media, in advertising, on fridge magnets, stickers, tattoos, cushions…. 🙂 here…… You name it, someone has probably stuck a smiley face on it. Do you know where Emoji started? You might be as surprised at their long history as at their very recent rocket to fame.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 18

My daughter bought the emoji cushion pictured above while we were living in Germany. All the other kids had a cushion on their chair at school, but initially she didn’t want to conform. At home in Australia she didn’t have a cushion on her chair at school. So at the time, even something so simple seemed to be a threat to her identity and a source of homesickness. But in the Christmas Markets we found familiar and happy faces…… She chose the expression she wanted. I am not sure I would have been comfortable at sitting on this particular face, but she was happy. I should probably just be thankful she didn’t choose the poop emoticon…. LOL

How am I inspired by Emoji?

You could have a lot of quilt fun with emoji-like pictures, and get in some appliqué practice at the same time. Draw up your own series of yellow faces, turn them into appliqué squares and put them together quilt-as-you-go. Here’s an example of a design I would enjoy making. I have coloured it using classic yellow emoji and my great aunt’s garden as inspiration.

There are all sorts of icons now recognised within the emoji family – including animal, food, flags, activity, travel and object emoji. Here’s one guide to a vast array of Emoji for inspiration. Just remember, existing pictures are subject to copyright, so don’t cut and paste willy-nilly. But thanks to the simple nature of emoji, and the public nature of the general idea, you can easily draw your own variations.

I hope this inspiration has put a smile on your dial. A smiley-face quilt would be very easy to create, and would make a fun addition to a young person’s bedroom. If I wasn’t already in the process of making my daughter a quilt, this would stand a chance of getting made!

P.S. Did you know that there is such a thing as World Emoji Day?!? Yes. Really. 🙂 17th of July.

P.S. Have missed being a part of many linkys while we were away – it was just too hard without reliable internet. So glad to be linking up again with:
Main Crush Monday, Sew Can Do, The Inquiring Quilter (I’m featured this week – check it out!!), The Quilting Room with Mel, Freemotion by the River, My Quilt Infatuation, Crazy Mom Quilts.

P.P.S. Find the start of my 31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday here.

See you tomorrow! 🙂