What's On The Bookshelf Wednesday - Instant Inspiration!

Hi, all!

It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time to see what's on my bookshelf!  I decided to show you one of my favorite "inspiration" books, particularly in light of the recent trend in "graffiti" quilting.

"Modern Quilting Designs" by Bethany Pease is chock full of great designs - more than 90 of them - to help you take your quilting to the next level!

The section on design inspiration shows how the author translates everyday sights into quilting designs...

This book contains page after page of continuous line designs...

...beautifully drawn...

...fanciful and inspiring...

...drawing on nature for inspiration, sometimes turning it on its side to gain a different perspective!

Even if you don't copy her designs exactly, you'll find that they will inspire you to branch out a little bit more!

As the back cover says, step out of stippling!  

There's a blank canvas out there just waiting for you to 

unleash your awesomeness on it!  

Don't know how to start?  Go to the store and buy a bunch of spiral bound notebooks and a good supply of mechanical pencils.  Then, sit down and doodle!  You remember doodling - most of us did it when we were younger, out of sheer boredom.  Your inner creative wants out, so play!  You don't have to show your doodles to anyone - just keep them for yourself.  Keep at it and you will get better the more you do it.  Look at quilting designs on-line and try to duplicate them in your doodles.  Add little changes that make the design your very own!  It's fun - and while you doodle, you are building muscle memory.  It will make quilting that much easier!

Then, when you feel comfortable, put together a quilt sandwich using some solid fabric.  Load a contrasting thread in your sewing machine and start quilting!  Try out those designs you've been doodling and see how they translate into thread.  The more you practice, the easier and smoother it will get.  Experiment with speed - sew faster and see if you get better results.  By experimenting, you will find your "sweet spot" for FMQ.

As Nike says, "Just Do It"!!

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So that's what's on my bookshelf this week.  Have you looked at yours lately?

Hugs!

Sarah