Welcome to 31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday

The Write 31 Days Blog Challenge, Day 1

Surprise! It’s only Sunday and I’m baaaack…..

I was reading the Days Filled with Joy blog earlier today, and Joy said she was not going to do her usual Finishing Stitches linky for October, because she was joining in the Write 31 Days Challenge. And I went: “What’s the Write 31 Days Challenge?”, and clicked on that link…..

So, it turns out, it is a one-month challenge to blog daily. Now, I have no intention of becoming a long term once-a-day blogger. Or I’d get no sewing done at all. And I’m pretty sure you also don’t need that much of me in your inbox either! (Please forgive me for a month! 🙂 ) But it so just happens that I am away from my sewing machine for half of October, and I have an idea that would be fun to try for a little while. Also, I do tend to write long posts and it would be good to practice “less is more” occasionally.

So, I have made an impromptu and perhaps rash decision to join the Write 31 Days challenge. I am currently in Vanuatu for work, and the internet here varies from fine to appalling and back again without warning, so I am not even sure if this is possible. But I will try. I may have to write offline some days and post in batches as the internet allows. The main complication is that it starts Today! And as I draft this I am not signed up and I have no internet……

My Write 31 Day Topic: Everyday Quilt Inspiration

Anyway, my Write 31 Days series will be about finding quilt design/colour inspiration around us in the everyday. Today it is colours.. But it might be shapes, themes, motifs on other days…. wherever the imagination goes. This should actually be quite fun. And I think it is a good flip-side to Colour Inspiration Tuesday. I use professional photos for Colour Inspiration Tuesday because I can make pretty pins and headers out of them. And I do love them. But I can’t/don’t take photos like those. However, there is no reason why the photography skills I do have can’t be enough to convey the quilt/colour ideas that I often see around me. And there is no reason why you can’t use your happy snaps and incidental casual observations for inspiration either…. So let’s explore finding quilt/craft inspiration in real life for a month! I hope you’ll join me.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 1

Red, Teal and Brown: décor inspiration

Because today’s post is being created at rather short notice (and I will be hoping for internet later to upload this), I am going to start my 31 everyday quilt design series in familiar territory. With a colour board. Today’s inspiration colours are red, teal-blue, coffee, dark chocolate and off-white. Teal and red are complimentary colours (opposite positions on the colour wheel), so look good together with or without the addition of neutrals.

Today’s photo is a snap of the décor in our bedroom in the rented concrete block house we are living in in Port Vila. It is a modest house, comfortable and designed to be lived in rather than holidayed in. One of the things I appreciate most about our accommodation is that the play areas are designed so that children behaving reasonably can safely roam and play without constant supervision. No pools or waterfront or other inherently deadly areas.

Décor is a very good place to look for everyday quilt inspiration, especially colour. There are often professional influences in décor choices, even if it only within the fabric prints. In paying attention here, you are using someone else’s knowledge and experience to help guide your own design process. That’s called working smarter!

Why was I inspired by this décor?

I was struck by these particular décor colours because only days before we got here, I posted about using red and teal with black and white for my next quilt design that will be part of the Splash of Color quilt-along. That post was called Hot Chocolate and you can find it here. Today’s colour board is going straight to my ideas folder for when I get around to designing my Vanuatu quilt for the Splash of Color quilt-along!

So there you have it….. my first everyday quilt inspiration post for the Write 31 Days challenge! Hope to see you again tomorrow!

Have you got décor around you that inspires a quilt you would love? Let us know in the comments!

 

P.S. Links to the posts in my 31 everyday quilt inspiration ideas series will appear here as they are published.

Week1

Day 1:  Red, Teal & Brown décor – inspiration from furnishings (you are here, at the very beginning)
Day 2: The Nervous Plant – inspiration for free-motion quilting
Day 3: Modern Hexagon Print – trapunto inspiration in fabric
Day 4: Pandanus Fruit – inspiration for an abstract quilt design
Day 5: Hermit Crabs – inspiration for appliqué
Day 6: Coconut Lorikeets – more inspiration for appliqué
Day 7: Mt. Yasur Volcano – colour inspiration less ordinary

Week 2

Day 8: Tanna Island Quilt – more volcano quilt inspiration
Day 9: Picnic Play Quilt – inspiration from board games
Day 10: Sunsets and Silhouettes – colour inspiration
Day 11: Barking Geckos – silhouette appliqué and FMQ
Day 12: Pineapples – inspiration from artworks around you
Days 13: Art with Fabric blog hop – inspiration from professional artists
Day 14: Book and Movie Characters – fandom inspiration

Week 3

Day 15: Flanders Poppies – quilt border inspiration
Day 16: Fellow Quilters – quilting is more fun as a shared passion
Day 17: Inspiration Round-Up – Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 3
Day 18: Emoji! – inspiration from your social media
Day 19: More Picnic Quilts – hopscotch, tic tac toe and backgammon
Day 20: Frangipani Colours – how to get better colours from your happy snaps
Day 21: Lotus Batik Quilt – appliqué inspiration from fabric

Week 4

Day 22: Kaleidoscope Mini Quilt – inspiration from previous quilts
Day 23: Quilted Clock – inspiration from sentimental scraps
Day 24: Bougainvillea Surprise – inspiration from observation
Day 25: Vanuatu Turtle Quilt – more appliqué inspiration from fabrics
Day 26: Necessity and Constraints – sometimes less is more inspirational
Day 27: Children’s Drawings – and how to get them onto a quilt
Day 28: Old Photos: inspiration for quilted postcards

Week 5

Day 29: Trash or Treasure? – inspiration from your friends’ fabric scraps
Day 30: Magnification – inspiration in the smallest of things
Day 31: Inspiration Roundup – Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 4 and a look back at our 31 Day series

P.P..S. Linking up with: Main Crush Monday, Crazy Mom Quilts. The Quilting Room with Mel