There is a Quilt on the Bathroom Wall!

Some people walk into a hotel bathroom and notice the towels.

I notice the WALLPAPER!!

And when I saw this design, my first thought was…

“There’s a quilt on that wall!”

Just look at it…

Squares, rectangles, and triangles tucked together in all sorts of combinations. Some are large, some are tiny, and the diagonal lines keep my eyes moving from one section to another.

Doesn’t it make you want to pull out some fabric and start piecing?

Using quiet colors would let the shapes do the talking. But imagine those same shapes made from SCRAPS!!

You could mix bright triangles with quieter rectangles, scatter little bits of a favorite color throughout, and let the different sizes add interest.

Would I ever copy the entire design? Probably not.

But a small section could be the start of a block, an interesting pieced border, or a quilting idea to try.

That’s the fun of looking at the world through quilt-colored glasses…

Even the bathroom wallpaper has possibilities!!

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Quilt Design Inspiration from Pompeii

When I look at this photo from Pompeii, I see plenty of quilt design inspiration!

There are the strong vertical lines of the columns, the gentle curves of the arches, and the horizontal lines of the steps. Behind them, the mountain adds another shape, while the sky gives everything room to breathe.

Straight lines, curves, texture, and open space….all in ONE photo!

We don’t have to recreate the whole scene to find an idea worth playing with.

I think that’s one of the pleasures of looking at travel photos with quilting in mind. A photo can hold a memory AND the beginning of a new idea.

A line. A shape. A color combination.

Who knows which one will find its way into a quilt?

What catches YOUR eye first in this photo?

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A Fresh Look At Moda Blockheads

There has been some controversy this week about Moda Fabrics and its Blockheads program. The conversation made me curious, so I went to see what the program was all about.

Moda Blockheads is a free quilt-along from Moda Fabrics. Moda designers create individual quilt blocks, and quilters can download the patterns and make the blocks at their own pace. The designs offer plenty of room to choose your own fabrics and colors, and you can arrange the finished blocks into a quilt or use them for smaller projects

I’m glad I checked them out, as I found some amazing block designs and wanted to share a few that caught my eye. Here are six from Blockheads 6…

…and here are a few more from Blockheads 5:

I love looking at quilt blocks and imagining how different they could look in my own fabric choices. A design that catches my eye in one color palette might inspire something entirely different from my scrap bins!

Click here to see more of SEASON 6 and SEASON 5

You can find these designs and many more free patterns at Moda Fabrics. That includes the free Celtic Knots pattern, which I’m currently making.

Which of these blocks is your favorite?

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Quilting Inspiration from an Italian Church Ceiling

When Michael and I visited a beautiful church in Italy (sadly, I can’t remember which town), I looked up—and immediately saw a quilt design…

The ceiling is filled with ideas that could easily be translated into fabric or thread. The circular design begins with a strong focal point and radiates outward in sections. Repeated stars create rhythm, while the squares, lines, and decorative borders add layer after layer of detail.

It reminds me of a quilted mandala. You could begin in the center and work outward, changing the design with each new round. Some areas could be densely quilted, while others could remain open to let the design breathe.

I am especially drawn to how the geometric framework gives structure to all those small details. Even though the ceiling is ornate, the repetition keeps it from feeling chaotic.

Of course, I’m not planning to reproduce the entire ceiling in a quilt! But I could borrow one element—a ring of stars, the radiating wedges, or the framed squares—and use it as the starting point for a quilting design.

That is one of my favorite things about creative inspiration. We don’t have to copy what we see. We can notice a shape, a pattern, or an arrangement and ask:

How could I interpret that in fabric or thread?

Sometimes quilting inspiration is right in front of us.

And sometimes, we just need to look up.

Inspiration is Hiding in Plain Sight

For this Inspiration Wednesday, I’m sharing a thoughtful post from my friend Deb Messina at Quiltblox.

As quilters, we often look to other quilts for inspiration. But Deb reminds us that creative ideas are everywhere—in gardens, buildings, artwork, clothing, household objects, and even the things we pass every day without really noticing.

The secret is learning to pause and ask: What caught my attention, and why?

Deb’s post, “Learning to See: Inspiration for Your Next Stitching Project May Be Hiding in Plain Sight,” offers practical ideas for noticing, capturing, and eventually translating those small sparks of inspiration into something uniquely your own.

Read Deb’s post at Quiltblox

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