Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Children’s Drawings

Monster cake made from a child's drawings

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

I was actually looking for a photo of a quilt I want to tell you about, when I found this picture of a cake I decorated for my boy’s 4th birthday. I had forgotten all about this! Suddenly I knew what the next instalment in my 31 Days of Everyday Quilt Inspiration series should be.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 27

Today’s quilt inspiration source is probably the most simple of all. If you want to know what someone wants on their quilt, just ask! Especially if that someone is a child. You might be surprised by the answer you get!

When I asked my young son what he wanted on his birthday cake, he gave me a very detailed answer about the monster that he wanted. I didn’t understand a word of it. But it was obvious he had a very clear vision in his head.

So I asked him to draw it. And this is what I got:

A child's monster drawing

All I had to do then was adapt the drawing to fit on the cake, ask him what colour icing he wanted (purple!) and the rest was relatively easy. And he was stoked! Absolutely rapt in the perfect cake he had designed himself. Especially after he had helped stick on the lollies.

monster cake inspired by my son's drawings

It strikes me that I could have just as easily adapted this drawing into an appliqué and made a cushion. Or got him to draw me a few more monsters and made up a quilt. He still routinely draws lots of detailed fantasy creatures. I probably could still get him to participate in such a project.

Quilts from Children’s Drawings

Appliqué is one way you can transfer a child’s drawings to fabric. Some other ways I know that you can incorporate children’s artwork into quilts are:

iron fabric onto freezer paper for stiffness and get the child to draw on it with wax crayons. Iron the piece over paper towel to absorb out the wax and leave behind the colours.
My daughter’s crayon drawings on fabric (wax removed)
have the child paint you a picture on fabric with fabric paint or acrylic paints mixed with fabric medium.
use fabrics paints to print the child’s handprints or footprints onto fabric.
scan the child’s paper artwork and print it onto printable fabric
copy the child’s drawings onto fabric with free-motion stitching
have the child draw you a picture on fabric with Inktense pencils or crayons.
get your child to decorate some fabric with puff paints.

This is not an exhaustive list. I bet you could tell me more methods – let us know in the comments.

And do you know who else would love a quilt with a child’s artwork on? Their mum or their grandparents. This is not an exhaustive list either…..

So maybe next time you are looking for a quilt project, all you need to do is enlist the help of your nearest enthusiastic little helper(s). I guarantee it will be unique, if nothing else! 🙂

P.S. Hopefully I will find that quilt photo for you tomorrow!

P.P.S. Linking up this Friday with Busy Hands Quilts, FreeMotion by the River and Crazy Mom Quilts.

October 25, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Turtle Fabrics

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

About a month ago I signed up for the Splash of Color quilt along from Busy Hands Quilts. The rules mostly consist of a few deadlines for the quilt stages, and that the colours of the quilt are to be predominately black and white with colour highlights. Apart from that, the direction the quilt takes is up to each quilter.

So, I decided to do a quilt with some fabrics my husband bought me in Vanuatu some time back. Two of them are black and white, the other is red. Here are my original fabrics and the post I wrote about my idea for a black, white and red turtle quilt.

black and white and red fabrics from Vanuatu — The fabrics for my Splash of Color quilt inspiration.

Vanuatu décor color scheme from Clever Chameleon — The colours in our Vanuatu bedroom.

Since that post, we have been back to Vanuatu to continue Paul’s humanitarian telecommunications research. While we were there I acquired more fabrics specifically for this project :). And some more inspiration. I decided to add a little greyed blue or teal to my splash of colour, thanks to the Vanuatu décor in our bedroom.

Here is my final pile of goodies to work from:

Vanuatu fabrics — The white, grey and teal fabrics are from my stash here at home. The red and black fabrics are all from Vanuatu.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 25

The next challenge in the Splash of Color quilt along was to choose a quilt pattern. Well, I am not known for working to a quilt pattern. So I have opted to design as I go, as per usual. But I do have a basic idea of where I am headed. I am making a turtle quilt inspired by the tribal turtle motif on two of the original fabrics.

I have now designed my turtle appliqué. It is influenced by the turtle above, but also by a beautiful turtle batik I have in my collection. If you like batiks, you might recognise this fabric, its been around for a while.

Turtle batik fabric from Lunn Studios for Artisan Batiks from Robert Kaufman Fabrics

I actually started a quilt for my nephew two years ago inspired by this turtle batik, that I also intended to put a turtle appliqué on. But he got a monkey quilt instead. Long story for another day. But it s nice to be returning to the turtle idea. Perhaps I can knock off this UFO too.

My Turtle Appliqué Quilt Design Concept

Here is my turtle appliqué design:

It is quite likely that the quilt background will be significantly different from my quick diagram. The basic plan for the background of the quilt is to create 8×6″ finished blocks out of the black and white fabrics. Some blocks will be fussy cut 6″ squares. Some blocks will be created from 4″ and 2″ squares, with possibly some half-square triangles and/or pinwheels thrown in. I will decide on their overall layout at the end. Basically, I am going to give the free die that comes with the Accuquilt GO! cutter a whirl.

Accuquilt GO! die

Then, the intention is to add a 1″ red border, and then an 8″ piano key border in black and white. It will finish at 66″ square and I will bind it in red. Or teal. Subject to mind changes, of course!

Where am I at?

Well, the sharing link for having the fabrics cut opened 10 days ago or so. So, you can tell I am a little behind schedule as usual. But the link is not closed yet, and I have my appliqué printed, traced and cut out, so all is not lost!

Turtle appliqué design — Turtle appliqué templates

Turtle appliqué cut out — Here are my turtle appliqué pieces. The teal fabric will be mostly covered by the red, so I bought a cheap Prima solid for this layer.

I actually have no intention of pre-cutting my black and white fabrics. I will do this as I create blocks. Not efficient if I was producing a quilt from a pattern, for sure. But it is the way I design quilts from scratch. So I am claiming that this QAL stage is done to my satisfaction. And I hope you will find my design process more interesting if I actually report it like it is rather than showing you just the end result.

Linking this post up with the Splash of Color QAL on the cutting fabric page.

If you would like to see the other projects in this quilt along, the original ideas links are found here. There were 14 projects joined up from the very beginning – there may be some late comers too if you keep an eye on the progress linkys. There is certainly a great variety, you are sure to see something that inspires you!

See you again tomorrow!

Linking up to:
Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Freemotion by the River, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts

October 21, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Batik Prints

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

Well, here we are two thirds of the way through October and the Write 31 Days challenge. And I have to admit to being a little blogged out this morning. Writing everyday beyond October will not be for me. I long to get back to spending a larger proportion of my time sewing. This attitude probably isn’t being helped by the fact that I am itching to turn some of the ideas that have popped up in this series into real quilts! Where to start!!!?

Anyway, because I am feeling a little done with generating ideas, I paused today and reflected on what other topics are relevant to my challenge. And I think it might be time to turn to some examples of quilts I own and look at the ideas that inspired them. Something less theoretical and more tangible. I can do this now that we are home again and back into routine. Yay!!

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 21

It doesn’t hurt to get jaded sometimes….. jade is a very pretty colour after all! 🙂 And one of the prettiest quilts I have been given is also the only quilt I own made specifically for me, by someone other than me. It is dark jade and rainbow. Here is my birthday gift from a while back from a beautiful friend, Susan.

Lotus batik quilt — My lotus batik quilt from Susan

Susan is one of the friends I have made through quilting, and is an amazing wizard with colour. If I ever need colour advise, Susan will always have an idea tucked away that will help me out.

How one batik inspired a whole quilt

Let me tell you how this quilt came to be…. Susan bought a small piece of the rainbow lotus batik as an impulse purchase simply because she loved it. That seems like a great reason to me!

Lotus batik fabrik

But she didn’t want it to end up in stash, so she took the dominant lotus shape from the batik pattern and turned it into an appliqué shape.

Lotus appliqué shape — Raw-edge lotus appliqué

She secured the appliqués with a small zigzag in clear thread. The stitching is nearly invisible. Some shuffling of the squares, including some sneaky discussions with me about the layout, ensued. And the blocks were stitched together lickety-split.

And she ended up with the quilt that now has pride of place in my dining room. 🙂 This precious quilt of love would be in my sewing room, but there is very little wall space in there with 2 walls that are mostly windows and the third wall actually being mostly double doors.

So that is the story of the inspiration behind the lotus batik quilt. Simple, but enormously effective. Thank you, dear Susan!!

Have you used a fabric as the starting point for a quilt like this? If so, I’d love to know.

You could also extend this idea to generate quilting designs. Big, edge-to-edge lotuses would be lots of fun.

And speaking of fun – if you have missed any of my 31 Days of Everyday Quilt Inspiration series you can find the up-to-date list of links at the bottom of the first post.

Hope to see you again tomorrow!

October 19, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Picnic Quilt Revisit

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

Last week I wrote about a long held ambition to make one or more picnic quilts modelled on children’s games. And there was one game that I mentioned that then stuck in my mind. Not because I particularly wanted to make it. But because I wasn’t sure how I would make it. The challenge of the how kept wandering through my head. 🙂

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 19

The game, and the picnic quilt idea in question, is hopscotch. The design is simple. Hopscotch layouts are made up of easily pieced, large blocks, with one semi circle that could be appliquéd on. Appliqué the numbers on, and its done! Except…..

Except that hopscotch is long and skinny. Like a bed quilt. And you really do not need to be handing out free passes for hopscotch on the bed, right? 🙂

So, how to make it square like a good picnic quilt? Do I just fill in the rest of the quilt with cute pictures or prints? Seems like a lot of extra work for no real gain except size and shape.

How was I inspired to further the hopscotch picnic quilt idea?

Eventually I came up with a design that I think I like. Two hopscotch fields side by side. Twice as much fun, and half as much waiting! Yay!

And now that it’s square, I could put a noughts and crosses (Tic Tac Toe) board on the other side. The brilliant thing about pairing these two games is that neither needs playing official pieces. Stones/pinecones will do for hopscotch markers, and sticks, stones or leaves or any number of things can be substituted for Xs and Os, as long as you have two distinct sets.

One last happy thought I had about the Tic Tac Toe board is that it has territorial boundaries for children to sit within. Great for kids who have a tendency to squabble about others encroaching on their space while they are eating lunch….. not that that would ever happen on a fun family outing…..

All that said, I still think I want to try making a backgammon board picnic quilt first! Then I’ll have to teach my kids how to play. 🙂

Backgammon board quilt design — There are lots of subtle ways you can personalise a backgammon board. into a picnic quilt.

Do you have a favourite board game that would make a brilliant picnic quilt? Share your idea with us – we’d love to know.

P.S. If you’d like to find the Everyday Quilt Inspiration series from the beginning, it all starts here.

October 16, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Fellow Quilters

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

Yesterday I wrote about how I went to the unveiling of an honour roll that included my late Grandpa, and how I found quilt inspiration there. Today I want to tell you about the other half of that trip. Because the town that we visited is also the home of the only relative I have who loves quilting as much as I do. My great aunt Dorothy.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 16

Aunty Dorothy is an inspiring person. She has lived through so much, but has never been anything but kind to me. She was always very good to my mum too. She lives in considerable pain, yet still gardens, quilts, and volunteers in her church and community. Aunty Dorothy is a good deal older than 80, but I don’t think she’d like it if I told you exactly how much older……. when I am elderly, I definitely want to be sparky like her! And still quilting too!

How am I inspired by my Aunty Dorothy?

Aunty Dorothy always has a quilt on the go. She has plenty of quilts lying around her place, but I suspect she has given most of her creations away over the years. Yesterday she showed me the quilt she is working on at the moment.

gingham and rickrack crazy quilt

You’d have to be crazy!

There is a story behind this quilt, just like most quilts. Aunty Dorothy is unashamedly using up her stash before anyone can inherit it. And among her things she recently found a box of gingham that had belonged to her late husband’s grandmother! Inside the box was also a collection of white rickrack and a second box of coloured rickrack. According to my great aunt, her husband’s grandmother had always been one for buying things (including gingham aprons) in multiples, maybe even 6 or more!

gingham and rickrack crazy quilt — Red gingham on the back.

Anyway, Aunty Dorothy decided to cut up the gingham and use it to make crazy patchwork squares. She has then embellished all the seams with the rickrack, and now she is putting it all together, quilt-as-you-go. She just has 3 piano-key borders to go to finish the job. On the back she has used the large number of red gingham aprons from the box. And she has still saved the nicest four or so aprons intact!

This is a lovely girl’s quilt design. Perfect for scraps. The white checks and rickrack keep this quilt feeling light and airy. It’s going to be lovely when it’s done and a very big upgrade on the original aprons and rickrack.

Hand-quilting admiration

After we had admired her quilt in progress and I had showed her one of mine, we had a tour of her other quilts. I had seen them before, but my aunt and cousin had not previously had the detailed commentary. This one is my favourite. Hand-stitched and Hand-quilted bed quilt

It is all hand-stitched and hand-quilted. Aunty Dorothy is super proud that not a single machine stitch went into this quilt. She also says that the colour transitions are a result of the quilt taking so long that she couldn’t buy more of the same fabrics – not once but twice.! I am glad, as the quilt has a lot more character as a result and is a testament to Dorothy’s creativity and colour sense.

Hand-stitched and Hand-quilted bed quilt

Now it’s your turn….. Who has inspired your quilting journey? Do you have relatives or friends who add value and enjoyment to your hobby (addiction?). My Aunty Dorothy isn’t to blame for getting me into quilting, but she is now one of my favourite quilting confidantes.

Or perhaps you have a quilt that is better for having had run out of fabric, forcing some creative re-thinking? Let us know.

I hope you are able to share your stitches with other passionate quilters. If not (or even if you do) you are welcome to share with me.

See you again tomorrow!

P.S. Here’s my week’s pick of the fresh quilting inspiration on the internet: Autumn Lattice Quilt by Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts. It is an amazing creation with an open lattice section between the quilt centre and the border. And Laura generously shares he process in her blog post as well. Highly recommended!