A Bend in the Path

I may have been merrily sewing random strips and pieces together, 

but that all changed in a moment. 

The moment was when I discovered a pile of triangle pieces all cut to size. 

I don't have any idea what they were cut to size for, 

but............hm......

I could be easily diverted, and I was. 

As I laid them out, I could see there were enough for a small pillow. 

All I needed were some narrow strips between the triangles. 

I chose a bright turquoise. 

Why? 

Because it wasn't brown. 

It was time to brighten things up. 

My initial plan was to square up the project,

 but it had an interesting and unique shape that I found very appealing. 

Completed as is. 

A new pillow to add to my collection.

Subconsciously, I must have known the turquoise sashing would make 

this new little pillow fit right in.

Linked to Off the Wall Friday

I am Conquerer!

Some days you are just in the mood to sew.... 

just for the pleasure of stitching pieces of fabric together. 

Today was a day like that.

Without a quilt design in mind, it was the perfect day to have fun conquering the scrap bag. 

My, there was quite a pile of fabric stuffed in that bag!

I began pulling out fabric strips. Who needs to buy jelly rolls of fabric strips? 

I was amazed at how many strips were stuffed into my bag.

Stitched and pressed, they went from trash to treasure.

I stayed with the brown color theme. 

(That does seem amazing to me, as I can't wait for the colors of spring after this long winter.)

I started to put together some larger pieces, re-cut the strip sets and add them in.

There is still no definite plan as to what I may do with the pieces I've made. Today, it doesn't seem to matter. It is the joy of stitching that drives me on. 

Isn't this fun?

Do you have any suggestions for my pieced sections? 

(If nothing else, the mess is conquered and it will be easier to fold and store.)  

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Inspired by fabric? Then what?

Recently, I was asked the question "Are you ever inspired by a piece of fabric and where do you go from there?"

This led me to think further. Where do I go? How does a drop dead fabric turn into a completed project.

Some fabrics need to "hang" around for a while. I do mean this literally. I hang the fabric on my design wall until ideas start to pop into my head.  There are days when this happens quickly. There are other times when months go by before the inspiration comes.

I loved this hand dyed scarf and added silk yarn and leaves to it. Then what? Would I really wear it as a scarf? So, it waited.

Often, my "diva fabric" starts its journey by gathering all its friends. This, of course, means pulling fabrics out of my stash that coordinate or complement my inspirational fabric.

The pile of fabric friends may start out large or pulled in one direction but not all fabrics may become part of the final trip.

My scarf was not impressed with these so called "friends", 

rejected them, and sought other companions.

Yes, we got off to a rocky start.

 The group of "friendly fabrics" may be small but as I go along new friends are added.

These new fabric friends seems more to her taste.

There have even been cases where the "friendlies" went on the trip without the "diva". The inspirational fabric was just that, an inspiration for a quilt.

In this case, she was not to be left behind and adored herself royally. 

After all, she was the "diva".

The journey from fabric to completed project is always interesting. It may be a straight road or it may be a curving path with hills and valleys along the way.

Social Climbers

Sharon V. Rotz

What direction does your path take?

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Dancing Trees

Quilter's Tile - Dancing Trees

8" x 8"

Sharon V. Rotz

Some days you don't know where your path may lead.

I had stamped on a printed fabric with both a hand made stamp and some basic texture. The variety  presented by the stamping piqued my interest.
After adding a hand dyed fabric to two sides, I brought out my needle and embroidery floss. The simple lines created by the stamp suggested curving tree trunks and the idea bloomed in my mind.

Maybe it's the long winter but the trees are so happy to not be covered with snow, they seem to be dancing with joy.

Flowers poked up along the winding pathway. (I do love making french knots.) 

Color, color, anything but white.

Quilter's Tile - "Dancing Trees" is available for purchase.

$32.00 includes shipping (US sales only)

Linked to Off the Wall Friday