Sunday, September 11, 2011

Scrap Bee Finish and Inspiration

Just finished this quilt from the Scrap Bee players.  Since it's inspiration week, I'll tell the story of what inspired me.  Before the tulips and the border, I was--and always am--inspired by old string quilts.  I love the magic of using what you have to make something beautiful.  So I asked the Scrap Bee players to send simple string pieced blocks.



 Then, in the spirit of using what I had, there were all of these petal shaped scraps from another quilt just sitting there.  What to do?  Well, add them, of course!  There were strips in the quilt that could be seen as stems, so that's how I placed the tulips.




Then I saw an old string quilt that had a red and white polka dot border.  I had about 4 yards of red and white polka dot, just waiting for the right quilt.  I tried it as a border, and it didn't look great.  But the idea for the border was planted.   So I looked in my reds, and found this Hawaiian print.  It screamed, "take me!"  Of course, I had JUST enough for the border.  And just enough of the dots for the back.

That's what inspires me, the old quilts and the magic of using what I have.

15 comments:

Nicky said...

Love the tiger lurking among the tulips - great quilt!

Elsa said...

oh, this is really lovely, great colors!

Helen said...

Your Hawaiian border is perfect. I just decided what to do with Dad's shirt!

Alexis said...

It is SO good LeeAnn! What a fabulous finish!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

FABULOUS FINISH!!!! red, red and fabulous border! I need more red! thanks for inspiring us!

Barbara Arcement said...

such a beautiful quilt... I am so glad you posted it for us to see.
I found one of the blocks I sent to you!
thanks for sharing,
beebee

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

It is really very exciting when you do find one of your own blocks in someones quilt! I li your inspiration!

glen

Nancy Bowron said...

What a wonderful creation!

Lisa said...

I just love this quilt!

fiberchick said...

This is an utterly joyous quilt!

sheila 77 said...

This is lovely and inspiring. The red polka dot backing and thin blue binding are just right.

Margaret said...

You can't look at this quilt without smiling ... it's wonderful!

Magpie Sue said...

That's fabulous!

Brenda said...

this is amazing. I like how you used up the petals from a previous quilt.

Debra Dixon said...

Excellent in all ways!!