Theme and Motivation

[MichelleMermaid]

Hi,

I'm wondering tonight about how all you stitchers choose a theme for your work. Do you find motivation from the work of others? Or do you have it all in your head just itching to get out? Do you need a swap to get you going or some other kind of challenge? Or do you have your own agenda and merely need the time to put idea to needle and thread?

I've been pondering a new project, now that Christmas is in the rearview mirror. Of course, it's not too far behind us, obviously, and I still have a few things to wrap up, so to speak. I put a lot on my plate this Christmas and began stitching on gifts in October. It was incredibly time consuming and I literally used every spare moment, and my lag time at work, to finish what I did. I was still very last minute with some ornaments I made. A few are still waiting to be finished. There were times while pressing myself to get them done when I found myself thinking...why am I doing this?

So, I'm thinking about motivation. What really motivates me to work on a project? I have to say seeing other's work is very inspirational. And I do find swaps a good motivating factor.

I'm also wondering about what kind of theme to go for...first, I guess, will be to find a project and then to choose a theme for it. Unless, I find a swap that suits me.

First on my list, though, is to finish those ornies! Then, I'm putting my king-size quilt back on the hoop and every night I'm going to work on that booger until it is finished and resting peacefully on my bed...where I'll soon follow. Really dreading that one...and I am sorely lacking in motivation. Hand quilting is very tedious for me.

So, anyway, enough about me...what are you looking forward to tackling in the new year? What has inspired you and why?

Cheers!

[Violette Severin]

The design of the fabric(s) is what inspires me. I try to find a traditional block pattern that will showcase the fabric(s). If that fails, I create my own pattern, keeping in mind which fabrics should be in larger pieces than the others. I feel that showcasing the fabrics is more important than the process used to make the quilt. If the process is not my favorite, I will do it anyway. I also shy away from purchasing entire fabric lines. I feel that the dark, medium, light contrasts disappear when entire fabric lines are used. It also takes the creativity out of the project.

[MichelleMermaid]

Hi Violette!

I took a peek at your page to see how your work reflects your design approach and I see what you mean. The way you contrast colors really allows the unique prints to stand out, especially the light versus dark. And, of course, I remembered your lovely ornaments!

As I was reading your message I kept thinking about this fantastic yard of Asian print fabric I bought this month. It's a Kona Bay print with large fans repeated in purple, gold and red, I think. I need to get it back out and look at it. I have a number of pieces of Kona Bay prints - I have a quilter friend! - but haven't done a lot with them. I thought this fan piece would make a nice bag and your message gave me a good idea for using it.

I think I'm going to cut out one of the fanss for the front and put some contrasting fabric behind it so it pops out. I'll probably embellish the fan and maybe even do a cq square behind it. I'm not sure, I'll have to play around and see what works.

Design concepts are really new to me. I have a lot to learn.

Thanks for sharing and for the inspiration!

[Judy B]

Violette,
I couldn't agree more about using an entire range of fabric together, at least without using some other range with it. I use some of the Jinny Beyer basic fabrics in nearly every quilt, large or small, I make, simply so that there are some plainish areas separating the sometimes way too similar, and busy, fabrics.

[merrilyn]

Hi!
Like you I wonder about motivation and at times really get stuck and then other times I can't wait to finish one project to start on the one thats in my head at the moment that I'm itching to start ( I need the frame )because I may have something and I see a different way to do it

[MichelleMermaid]

Hi Merrilyn!

Wow, that is so me!! There are so many times where I am just totally stuck, sitting there with the piece in my hand yet unable to move! Those are agonizing moments because the urge to stitch is there but without direction or vision I am practically catatonic.

Usually when this happens I go back to my stitching books and try to find something that grabs my attention. If that doesn't work I use the time to do some organizing, you know, something that doesn't take a lot of brain power. Taking a break from the creative aspect seems to help me get out of my funk.

And, yeah, too many projects going at once...I understand perfectly! :)

[pat winter]

Hi Michelle, I was just forwarded an email from you about the crazy quilted bead pendant I shared on CQMag. Thank you for trying the project. I haven't seen your results yet, but I know you had fun. So glad to hear about someone being inspired by something I shared. Happy and Creative New Year to you!
Pat

[Liz in Kansas]

A year ago I was like Violette - the fabric pattern and color was most likely to be what inspired me. Since following Sharon's TIF challenge this year I have learned to work with a theme. It can be hit or miss a lot of the time, but sometimes a theme or phrase inspires me with too many ideas to possibly execute. Then the problem becomes - which one shall I do first?!

I find that motivation is almost always high at the beginning of a project, but can fade away during the process. I have an angel on the worktable right now without wings. She has me stumped at this point - we can't agree at all on what style of wings she needs. This is how UFO's happen! Is it my short attention span (old-timers disease!) or does anyone else have this problem? What do you do about it?

[pat winter]

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
I find inspiration everywhere. I find it in my garden among nature in the flower shapes,colors, insects,birds,even grass. I find it when I look through magazines, others work, and various mediums. When I start a crazy quilt project I select an image for the focal point and it determines the theme,colors, and what the end project will be. Crazy quilting is such a versatile art. You can cover anything with crazy quilting. I think most of all, what inspires me most, being a crazy quilter are the fabrics and embellishments I get to work with. I cannot use a design board at all as I do not plan. My creativity comes from inside and my projects evolve as I go and usually very quickly. Like reading a book, I do not stop until I am finished. Almost like I'm possessed, I am driven to the end and totally having a blissful time from start to finish.Like this purse which came from nowhere last week.
Pat

[MichelleMermaid]

I love the purse, Pat. It's beautiful.

I also wonder if I will be able to use a design board. I'm not much of a planner. I do like the idea of taking projects in progress and pinning them up there until I get to them. I also like the idea of being able to see how something is going to come together before I stitch it. I'll have to give it a try.

I, too, look to nature for inspiration. Some of my favorite embroidery work has come from seeing things around town like purple clematis climbing a mailbox and huge overgrown clumps of red roses tumbling over a fence.

I also can relate to the obsession that comes with finishing a project. It's often a very emotional response and I love how the freedom involved in crazy quilting can reflect our passions.

[Karen South]

I usually am motivated by a fabric I find. I'll be out shopping and a piece of fabric will call out to me and I know I will have to work with that fabric sometime in the future. Or I'll be putting together a fabric pack for someone and I'll think WOW I really love that combination together and I'll stop and piece a block from it for myself.

Time is usually my enemy ... I never seem to have enough of it. But when the mood strikes I'll pick up one of my projects and work on it until it is finished. It's amazing how much I can get done in a lunch hour if I put my mind to it!

[Judy B]

When I started doing patchwork the fabrics were very much in control. I would look at a block and the fabrics told me where they were going to go.

Then I wanted to change the focus of a block, and moved some of the fabrics to where I wanted them, rather than where tradition and convention told me they should go. I was making sampler quilts at the time, and had used over 100 different block designs before I started to take control of how the block would look. This meant I also had to start designing blocks, by changing the shapes within the block to get the effect I wanted.

Now I look for fabrics to fit the picture in my head of the quilt I am working on. I have been working this way for twenty years, and sometimes I feel in control, but a lot of things still happen when I am trying to do something else, and sometimes the picture in my head should have been scrapped before I started! My motivation is to keep learning, and I don't worry if the learning is by design (reading a book, taking a class) or by happy accidents along the way.

[Zandra]

Motivation is an ugly word sometimes because what motivates is constantly changing - at least for me. I tried for a looong time to do crazy patch at was totally unsuccessful. Then on day I did a block and it was easy and I liked the block, so I did another and another - I was on a roll and made a wallhanging in about 1 month to enter in the county fair. This was good so I started another as I thought I was inspired by Jo Newsham's beautiful black CQ. The black blocks are still shall we say "pending."

I did some other hand work and kept looking at the first quilt so I started another similar to it but no embellishment except for beads and sequins and it is going great. I think I was trying too hard and was trying to get my work to look like the work of others - the quilt I did looks nothing like what I thought I liked.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that something has to speak to me in order for me to do it and sometimes what I think I hear is a foreign language. Zandra