Circles, Trees, and Collage Quilt Possibilities

During my visit to the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, this landscape stopped me in my tracks…

At first glance, it looks like a painting, but it is actually BEADWORK! The Land That Claims Us was created in 2022/2023 by Mel Beaulieu of the Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation, using antique and modern glass beads, King Cole tea, and quills on felt. It was inspired by the bog at Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick and reflects the artist’s deep connection to that landscape.

Of course, my brain immediately started translating what I saw into fabric!

Look at those trees on the left. Their leafy tops are clusters of circles in different sizes and shades of green. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful starting point for a collage quilt?

I can imagine cutting circles from green scraps—some light, some dark, some with a bit of unexpected color—and overlapping them around narrow fabric trunks. The circles wouldn’t need to be perfect. A little irregularity would give the trees even more personality!

Then there are those curling lines across the sky and water.

Can you say FREE-MOTION QUILTING?

I don’t have a new quilt planned, but the idea of building trees from a handful of fabric circles is definitely coming home with me.

What catches your eye first—the circles, the colors, or all that wonderful texture?

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Small Airport, BIG Inspiration!

The airport in Beira, Mozambique, may be small, but it is FILLED with inspiration!

Just look at this wall!

The orange, black, and white certainly caught my attention, but then my quilting brain started picking apart the designs.

Circles surrounded by triangles… chains of diamonds… narrow patterned strips separating the larger motifs. Can’t you imagine those vertical bands becoming a fabulous quilt?

There’s so much to play with here. A single circular motif could inspire a block, the diamonds would make a wonderful border, and the whole arrangement could become a strippy quilt. Even the orange airport seats seem determined to join the color scheme!

It’s a good reminder to keep looking around when we travel. Sometimes the inspiration we bring home is a photo of the wall behind the airport chairs!

Which part would YOU turn into a quilt first?

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Quilt Inspiration Right Under My Feet

Some people walk through a hotel and admire the décor. I stop to photograph the carpet!!

This one offered plenty for a quilter: light squares, little rectangles, and bent shapes scattered across a dark background. Look a little longer, and those seemingly scattered pieces start forming a repeating pattern.

I could imagine playing with these shapes in fabric. The strong contrast makes the design work, while the textured squares suggest a chance to mix prints with solids. Even the dark spaces between the shapes become part of the pattern.

Will this become a quilt? Who knows! For now, it’s another reminder to keep my eyes open—and occasionally pointed down.

What’s the most unexpected place you’ve found quilt inspiration?

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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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