Where Inspiration Comes From

Inspiration can come from most anywhere, especially the outdoors. Just being outside in the fresh air and sunshine gets your blood pumping and gets you motivated and just happy to be alive.

I went on a fishing trip with my favorite guy to the Rogue River. It was a sunny day and the river was gorgeous. The river water was so clear you could see the bottom.

Click Images to Enlarge:

All day long I couldn't take enough pictures of the water. It glistened in the sunlight and was so pure and clear.

The water was such an inspiration to me, I just knew I had to use these images in a journal quilt.....a memory quilt to remember this day.

I decided the water images would be the perfect background. I printed out my favorites, collaged the images together, and the background was complete.

"You Rogue"

I added a few photos of Brad and Suzy over the top of the water images and it was done. I photo-transferred everything onto fabric and quilted it.

The water that inspired me while fishing, continued to inspire me when I returned home to work in the Thread Shed.

Here are a few more images I have taken recently that inspire me. I don't try to analyze why they interest me. I just try and enjoy the enthusiasm that they create in me.

Abandoned store in eastern Oregon

Frozen faucet at the sheep barn

trip to the Tetons

Hens and Hollyhocks in the yard

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

What inspires you?

LuAnn

To see more journal quilts CLICK HERE

The quilts I create are very much inspired by my life here on the farm and by my family. Every time I see an image of a bear, I think of my oldest son, Nicholas. I call him my "Big Bear." His childhood room was all decorated with bears.

I also think of apple pie when I think of Nicholas. Like all self-respecting mothers, I have been known to use food to bribe my kids to come home and see me! Nicholas lives in town now, and we sure miss him.

Click Images to Enlarge:

Nicholas and Me

My husband is also an apple pie lover. When the boys were young and there was a fresh apple pie on the table.........it wasn't safe for long! The kids would come in the door with the neighbor boys and inhale the pie along with a gallon of milk.

I eventually learned to bake 2 pies........one for the kids.......and one for my husband to hide!

This was made in 2001. It is one of the first original quilts that I designed. My favorite part is the bear paw blocks set on point that travel around the outer border. It is Nicholas' graduation quilt.........."Big Bear"

Bonners Ferry Library, Bonners Ferry, Idaho

My son's love of bears inspired me to make his graduation quilt. I will always think of him whenever I see a bear.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

Wishing You a Lifetime of Inspiration,

LuAnn

Inspiration

My surroundings inspire my quilted textiles. I never leave home without a camera in my hands. For me, quilting and photography just belong together. My camera is an extension of my sewing machine. It captures what inspires me and saves that inspiration in a digital or printed format until I am ready to put it into a textile form.

Click on Images to Enlarge:

I spent the day riding along on the tractor baling hay with my favorite guy. I am fascinated by the way the big round baler works. I enjoy watching out the cab of the tractor as the big bales are released from the baler and roll out into the field. It wasn't until we were done for the day, and up on the road a distance from the hayfield, that I realized just how gorgeous all those big, round bales looked as a group in the field.

All my best photography seems to happen when I am with my hard-working husband, Brad. I rode along with him one afternoon as he moved the cattle across the river. He dropped me off to block off a road from the cattle, while he rode ahead to get them moving along. As I patiently waited for the cattle to come into view, I noticed just how beautiful the sky was at that moment. It wasn't long before the cattle came along and ran right through my photo.........the timing was perfect.

Every Monday I gather with the quilters in my tiny community to create quilts. We are so fortunate, at the end of the day as we leave for home.......this is the breath-taking sunset that greets us on our way home.

I was building fence with my husband last spring and couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of the Westfork barn. This weathered old barn wood is beautiful. Just looking at this image again has inspired me to print it on fabric and use it as a background for a journal quilt............I will keep you posted with my progress.

If this image inspires you, please use it in your next textile project. I would love to see what you create with it. I have downloaded it at full resolution, just click on the image to enlarge it and print it out.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

Enjoying Life on the Farm,

LuAnn

Pepperdish.......In Progress

Last week I pulled the pizza box labeled "Pepper Dish Quilt" off the shelf and decided I would finish up this project. You can click on the images to enlarge them:

This is a Judy Niemeyer pattern. She is my guru when it comes to paper piecing. I have taken 3 classes from her, and learn something new and valuable each time I see her.

I rarely work with a pattern anymore, preferring to design my own work, but when it comes to paper piecing you need one.........and Judy's are the best out there.

I pulled the completed top out of the pizza box and saw where Judy had signed my quilt top.........2006.........3 years ago I took that class? Time can get away from you.

As always I like to file away my works "in progress" in NEW pizza boxes. Everything for the entire project can be stored away.......pattern, fabrics, glue sticks, wipees to get the glue off my fingers during the applique process, etc.

The next time I yearn to work on this quilt......I pull the pizza box off the shelf, and everything I need is contained inside, no hunting around for supplies...........and I haven't stolen any of the fabric for another project!

I am working on the applique flowers, leaves and stems. In order to get the correct placement of the applique on the quilt, I use a piece of plastic......lay it over my paper pattern.......trace over the entire applique with a felt marker onto the plastic..........that is the shiny surface you see in the image above.

I take the traced-on plastic and place it in the correct spot on my quilt. For this pepper dish quilt, each corner of the quilt will get this same flower applique arrangement.

As I complete the applique shapes, I place them under the plastic, on top of the actual quilt, and this gives me accurate placement of each piece. The plastic will remain on the quilt until each shape has been placed where it belongs.

I have enjoyed working on this quilt again.......I hope to finish up the applique tomorrow........get all the pieces basted down with Roxanne's Baste It Glue........then I will be ready to head for the sewing machine. I plan to blind stitch with smoke invisible thread around all the applique shapes. I don't want the applique stitches to draw much attention to themselves. I plan to do a lot of free motion quilting on this piece, and I don't want the applique stitches to complete with my machine quilting work.

p.s. To see the completed quilt CLICK HERE

To see more tutorials CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

With Sticky Fingers,

LuAnn

Enjoy Your Passions

Banana Leaves

Oregon State Fair 2008

Click Image to Enlarge

Spring has arrived in Oregon. Now begins my frustration of splitting my time up between two of my passions: Flowers and Quilting

I love them both.......but they don't leave much time for the cooking, housework and clean underpants!

Growing flowers gives me an opportunity to explore my third passion of photography.

Flowers have been working their way into my quilts. I am currently working on a sunflower quilt that was inspired by a bed of sunflowers in our yard.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

To see more posts on gardening CLICK HERE

Enjoy Your Passions,

LuAnn

Quilts in Women's Lives

A documentary style film, Quilts in Women's Lives.  Meet 3 of the 7 women featured in this 15 minute clip.  Click here to view.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Cultivating Creativity

We need to nurture and cultivate our creativity, like a gardener cultivates his flower and vegetable gardens to help them grow. I believe we all have a creative side, we just need to take the time to help it grow and bloom.

Like a writer who gets writer's block, I believe quilters and artists can become stagnant and develop artist's block. This is when we need to cultivate our creative side, start fresh with something new to get us excited and get those juices flowing. When my battery has run low and needs a jump start I try a new technique.......this time instead of creating with textiles.........I chose paper.

Paper Horses

Click Images to Enlarge

The photo above was taken with a flash. This is not the true color. The color is washed out from the flash. However, the flash photo is a better representation of the quilted affect I achieved layering the paper onto batting and backing fabric and free-motion quilting all over it. You can see how the recessed background areas behind the horses have made the horses come forward and puff out a bit. I like this.

This photo was taken without a flash, just some lighting from the side. This is the true color of the paper horses, and you can see the actual stitching lines from the quilting in more detail.

This afternoon project was just what I needed. I found a horse book at the thrift store for one dollar. I brought it home and cut out all the images that caught my eye. This part of the process was the most fun.........I think because I felt as if I was doing something that I shouldn't be doing...........it was so therapeutic. It was especially joyful to listen to the needle popping in and out of the paper as I sewed through it. I highly recommend this technique........it is a wonderful release.

I found a video tutorial on youtube that is similar to how I created this paper quilt. If you are interested click here to view it. I chose to sandwich my paper horses with batting and fabric backing and machine quilt through all three layers and bind it.

I hope you will give this a try...........cultivate your creativity and help it grow.

To see more tutorials CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

I'll sign off for now......I have books to cut up and sew,

LuAnn