Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hello, my fellow fabric lovers!

It’s Shannon, from Shannon Fraser Designs, popping in again to share some creative inspiration with you. 😊

In case you missed my post last week, you can read my Introduction post here.

Where does your quilty inspiration come from?

Is it the fabric? A specific color? An idea that came to you while you were driving? Or maybe even a pattern you’ve seen that you just had to make?

All of these fit the bill for why I create, and I could enumerate a bunch more. It’s amazing the plethora of sources for creative inspiration.

I’m always curious to know what sparked a fellow maker to come up with a new design idea, so I thought I’d share with you a little about my creative inspiration.

Today’s project all stemmed from having the opportunity to work with my quilty friend’s range of oval drunkard’s path templates. I do love a good curve design and I was particularly curious to explore the design options featuring these unique rulers designed by the talented Jenny Hayes of Papper Sax Sten.

I got the templates back in the summer and spent a few days during my summer vacation playing around with different ideas. I got about 14 designs in and then changed tracks.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I have a soft spot for improv quilting. I call them my ‘freedom sessions’ and they satisfy a creative need like no other technique has.

Normally I approach improv quilting on the mat – without any idea of where the design will end up. It’s a piecing adventure that always leads to a fun result – whether I love the end product or not. That’s not the point, the point is to not question myself, just trust that what I need to create is being created in that moment. It’s seriously awesome! If you’ve never tried improv, I highly recommend giving it a go.

But this was my first time using that technique on the computer. What surprised me was that I got that same feeling from letting loose at the computer as I do at the mat, just quicker!

And it left me fired up to bring her to life.

You know that feeling.

It’s like a light goes off inside of you where every fiber of your being is yearning to bring the idea to life. It’s the one that gets you out of bed early (on a weekend, no less) and raring to get slicing and stitching!

And that fired up feeling is exactly what I’m seeking in my makes. I don’t want to just make to make (although there is merit in that), but I’m always seeking that “must make this” feeling. It’s the best feeling that calls to you no matter what you’re doing, beckoning you to dive in and start quilting.

That’s what this design did for me – even though my hubz didn’t get the design.

Which brings me to another key point, quilting is not about what others need, want, see, understand – it’s about YOU! Unless of course, the quilt is for that person 😉 Otherwise, it doesn’t matter what others think. All that matters is that you have a vision, an idea, a need to make. That’s what matters most.

At the very moment that I was on the hunt for the perfect colors to match my digital mock-up, the AGF team and I connected about collaborating featuring their PURE Solids. I’d worked with them before in my Modern Heart baby quilt and I knew how fabulous these solids were. So, I jumped at the chance to stitch with them again. After perusing their solids collection, I found my ideal matches:

*PURE Solids in Burnt Orange, Quartz Pink, Weathered Pink, Mauvelous, and Peach Sherbet.

I do have a soft spot for coral (so much so, it even sneaks its way into my wardrobe!) and have found it to be such a versatile color. Nowadays, I actually consider it as part of my neutral repertoire. I’ve yet to find a color it doesn’t pair nicely with. Here I focused on pairing coral with a soft peach and deep burnt orange, a touch of mauve and then this dramatic burgundy that I feel makes the design.

To really up the quilty texture, I opted to hand quilt her using a combination of 12wt Aurifil Thread and pearl cotton thread in size 8. I love the chunkiness of those threads. They stand out and have the most amazing hand feel when you run your hand over your quilt. I especially love the juxtaposition with the silky softness of the PURE Solids. It’s seriously heavenly! If you haven’t tried this combo, I highly recommend giving it a go.

I hope this curvy abstract and the story of how she came to inspire you to look beyond your current quilting practice and seek out fun new quilty adventures – you never know where they may take you 😉

I’ll be popping in again next week to share another take on the Cloud Surfing quilt design and will also be releasing the pattern so you too can make your very own!

Happy quilting!

xo

Shannon