Weve had a rare moment of peace this morning with all of our visitors having left for other parts for a while (some temporarily - they will be back). Its cool and raining on and off and just realy quiet. There are the sounds of birds and cicadas and the occasional plane (normal). I spent a lovely hour sitting on the couch reading my latest Homespun and watching Helen playing the new Wii Fit (very amusing). Thomas (my puppy) was at my feet and it was just such a lovely way to spend an hour.
I was dreaming of all the lovely things that I can make. Ive never been overly intersted in making quilts. For some reason they all seem to be very dark in colours - browns, rusty reds, Burnt Orange, Olive Greens - Just too dark and rustic for my personal taste. I am totally in awe of the skill that goes into these quilts - the creativity and just the pure love and work is inspiring. And so I have been reading about quilts anyway, just because I find the people who make them worthy of my attention. (picture above courtesy of dont look now)And in reading of these outstanding artists, I have come across a number of people who actually make quilts that I want. No dark colours, all beauty and light and brightness. And Modern! One of my issues with the quilts is that they are often that traditional style that really works in the shabby chic style houses and the old cottages and places like that. I love looking at that style. But its not the way I decorate. Our decorating style is very modern - clean lines and empty spaces - Lots of white space - and these quilts just look ridiculous in that sort of environment. But I have found quilts that are modern and fresh colours and just gorgeous.
One of these artists is Kellie Wulfsohn from "Dont Look Now". I bought the latest Homespun because I saw that she had a gorgeous quilt pattern in it called Little Monsters (picture above). THIS is the kind of quilt I can get into. Little Master M may actually be old enough for it by the time I manage to make it. I have a lot to learn first.
Another of these artists is a fabric designer called Valori Wells. I found her blog (which is a thing of beauty in its own right - you really need to go have a read. Her photos of Christmas are just stunning). Valori has a beautiful range of fabrics in the style that I like - bright happy colours, ways of using it in a modern way. She also has a download of some free quilt patterns called 'Urban'. I was exstatic to find these patterns because they are something I can see not only working in my house, but something that I feel I could actually achieve with my current level of skills (or lack thereof).
So Imagine my surprise and excitement when this morning I open an email to find that I have won a competition that I entered months ago on Valori's blog. (I love this community which seems to give so much to each other.) I have won some samples of Valori's beautiful fabric - Im unsure what as yet, but I will post again when I recieve it! Thank You So Much Valori! I will treasure your fabric and hopefully put it to good use! (both photos courtesy of Valori Well's' blog)Its made me think about the community and how they share so much. I have very limited skills at this point, but I think, as I go along, I shall try to create some tutorials, or something to give back to the community in the same way as they are giving to me. I have a distinct feeling that as I go along I will be making more things than I will have any use for - simply for the enjoyment of making them. Maybe I can give those away too. I wonder if there are any charities that take those sorts of things? I will have to reasearch that! If you know of any (preferably Australian to start I think), then please let me know!
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