Inspiration

On my last blog post I received this comment: “stop looking at all the blogs and pinterest..."looking at art is not the same as making art" then there is time for sewing”.  My first instinct was to erase it because I took it as an insult, but after thinking about it I realized that it is partly true though the author of this comment was also taking time to look and my blog and I didn’t even know who she was.  I have several reasons for looking at blogs and pinterest and the biggest reason is for inspiration.  Another blogger this week was discussing whether copying an idea or project was flattering or made you upset and I tend to think of it as flattery.  Most of the time people will change a thing or two and not copy something exactly as you have done it.  I enjoy seeing a new spin on an old idea.

I copied this free pattern for Patches the Pumpkin Patch Protector from the Stitch This! website and have really enjoyed making it.  I am not done yet, but it has gone together faster than I anticipated and I have discovered that I do love paper piecing.  The recommended method was to use freezer paper, but I chose to use printer paper and  it went together smoothly until I tried working on it one evening after work and made a mistake that I had to rip out and proceeded to tear the fabric a bit.  I will be able to fix it, but it made me realize that one reason I don’t sew much after a hard days work is that I usually make errors when I am tired.  My job can be quite physically exhausting some times.  I work at a nursery and do a lot of walking and lifting and dragging heavy hoses around to water plants, I love my job, but I sure do get tired.  That is when blog hopping is a good thing, it fills my head with ideas for my next day off when I have the time and energy to put into a project and do it right the first (or second) time.

I get inspired by lots of things on the internet.  Someone posted this picture on facebook last week and when we were decorating the lobby for fall I spotted the perfect thing to use this idea in and shared it with my colleagues who then followed through with the idea while I watered plants and I think it turned out splendidly.  The inspiration picture is on top and I think it is at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, California, the picture below is how we used the idea in our way at our nursery, Wyntour Gardens in Redding

So I would say that looking at art may not be the same as making art, but it sure does give you inspiration to make something of your own later, and I will continue to get my inspiration from blogs, pinterest, facebook, nature and everything else around me and find what speaks to me to use in my own works of art.

Always looking to be inspired ~

Ferne

Sewing Dreams

I have a serious problem…I dream of sewing, I fall asleep most nights with quilt blocks in my head or quilting design possibilities swirling through my mind.  I have been watching Angela Walters videos on Craftsy and last night I stopped as she showed how to quilt swirls, I think there were swirls in my dreams.  My problem is that with summer still in full swing here I am busy at work and busy in the garden when I get home or I am spending too much time on blogs and Pinterest looking at more quilt ideas.  I have stacks of patterns and inspiration that I have printed to work on when things change and I have more quilting time.  Well, the days are getting shorter and my time in the evenings is getting longer and in a few weeks I will drop one day from my work schedule.  I am looking forward to rainy days of doing nothing but stitching away on the ideas in my head.  For now though I do have one finished project to show for it all…I watched a Craftsy video by Joanna Figeroa called Simple Fresh Quilts and figured out how to make her fun dresden block smaller so that I could try making one and turned it into a cute little pot holder.  This also gave me time to spend practicing quilting and also some time spent binding, which I love to do for some reason, and voila a finished project!

Another time eater these days has been the acquisition of two new kittens.  We went in for one, but couldn’t choose between these two girls and they were sisters so why split them up, we took both.  They are precious and entertain each other very well.  They are about 12 weeks old now and really showing their different personalities.  I’m sure they will be showing up on this blog more in the future.  Their names are Gracie and Maggie and they are crossed Russian Gray with Maine Coon so they will be quite large cats.  They are already climbing the deck railing and going toward the roof and climb every tree they come close to when they escape into the yard.  They are eating constantly and really growing up much to fast.

We have had a really nice harvest of Comice pears and figs this year so we sold at a market for our first time this year.  It was fun getting it all together and while we were there we met a lot of neighbors that we had never had a chance to meet before.  This is our little set up with my thrifted frame and my first attempt at using chalkboard paint.

Fall is just around the corner and this year I am ready for it…time to bake and sew!

 

Ferne