FITF: Quilt Local blog tour (+giveaway!)

I’m really pleased to be part of this blog tour for this exceptional book, Quilt Local by Heather Jones. When I first read that Heather was writing a book, I knew immediately it would be a good one, and now that it’s been published, I can tell you that I was right!

(Central Parkway quilt)

Quilt Local starts with Heather describing how she finds inspiration in her everyday life and includes 4 habits on how to find inspiration around you (and how to remember what you’ve been inspired by!). I loved reading this chapter since much of what she writes reminded me of how I used to find so much inspiration around me when I took the time to really look around. These days I find myself busy with the kids and it seems I’ve been forgetting to look around and record my inspiration. This chapter is a great reminder to slow down and really look around.

I then jumped ahead to see her quilts, and they did not disappoint! I love how Heather shows a photo of her inspiration for each quilt along with a sketch of the quilt. I think it’s so interesting to see how her inspiration is translated into a quilt. Even better, she shows each quilt sewn up in two different colorways.

I’ve always admired Heather’s modern designs and her ability to keep her designs simple and clean. While it may appear easy, I think it’s actually deceptively simple. I find it to be extremely difficult to limit oneself to a certain (small) number of fabrics/colors or a design with a lot of negative space. I look at these quilts and am so inspired by the beauty in the minimalistic design. The quilt shown above, Third Street, is a favorite of mine and is inspired by a grid on the side of an abandoned building. I admire the fact that it’s limited to just two colors and makes the grid such a strong statement, without distracting you with other colors or patterns.

I decided to give this a try myself. The next time I took the kids to Shelburne Farms, I made sure to slow down and admire the details at the beautiful Farm Barn. I snapped this photo of one of the sections of the barn on our way out.

As you can see, I didn’t really do so well on limiting my fabric choices. I’m still calling it a win because the colors themselves are limited, but while I attempted to select 2-3 fabrics for this piece, in the end I actually used 8! (see, harder than it looks!)

(I just couldn’t resist adding in those little bits of Carolyn Friendlander’s upcoming new line, Carkai, which I snagged from a friend)

I’m really excited to get back to finding inspiration in things around me and I thank Heather for reminding me of this in her wonderful book.

[I also just heard that Heather Jones may be visiting and teaching a class at Nido early in 2016, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to tell her in person about how her book has inspired and challenged me]

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Want to win a copy? (Yes, yes you do!). Simply leave one comment on this post letting me know where you find inspiration. I always think it makes me sound like a couch potato, but I do happen to find inspiration often while watching tv! So how about you? The publisher will send a copy of the book to one winner who will be selected on Thursday morning.

Edited to add: A winner! Random.org selected #97, Ramona, who said

Ramona Putnam says:

October 27, 2015 at 9:39 am (Edit)

The most obvious inspiration for me is often tile work or grid work in floors. I love how you interpreted the barn. I would love to create a quilt in the colors in that barn photo with the gray/green panel and striped section. So now I can say you’ve inspired me!

~~Look for an email from me!~~ Ramona, my message came back undeliverable. Please contact me at ashley @ filminthefridge.com so I can get this book to you!

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Be sure to follow along with the rest of the Quilt Local blog tour!

10/6: STC Craft Blog

10/8: Robert Kaufman

10/9: Melanie Falick

10/10: Sew Mama Sew

10/11: Creative Bug

10/12: Plaid Portico

10/14: Modern Sewciety

10/16: Pellon

10/19: The Tattooed Quilter

10/21: Amy’s Creative Side