Buckeye Rose

Frustration is running at max today, so rather than starting to scream, I thought I would ask where you find your Creativity? Can you buy it at the LQS? Must I take a class? Or am I destined to copy the work of someone else forever?

Sorry, I ramble. I am working at quilting a top my mother made before she passed and it just isn't easy. She had many issues with tucks, mis-matched points, no points, etc. It didn't help that she picked a very difficult pattern as her first quilt, nor did she understand the necessity of a consistent 1/4" seam. BUT....I have decided to finish her quilt as is, no corrections because I want it to be her quilt, not mine. I bought new backing, and super high loft poly batting, thinking that the batting would take up some of the puffy areas of the quilt and it is working to a point (am really hoping for some shrinkage of cotton fabrics when I wash it). I have found that the very center star lays relatively flat, so I want to do some pretty fmq, but my mind just can't find anything that works, or is the right size, hence the frustration.

What do you do when you need some type of custom design? Does your mind automatically just say "oh yeah, this will work"...and it does? Mine sure isn't doing much of anything except whining....LOL.

Luv Quilts and Cats

Hi Buckeye Rose. I am so sorry your mother's quilt is turning out to be so frustrating. I am glad you chose to leave the top as it is and work with it, even though it is a pain. At this point, I think you need a breather from it and work on it another day. I find that if I have a problem with a quilt, I will put it away and try not to obsess about it. Then, usually just as I fall asleep that night, the answer pops into my head. Now, I have to get up right then and there and write down the solution or I will forget about it by morning. Sometimes the answers come in my dreams and again, I need to write it down as soon as I wake or risk forgetting it. I find inspiration and creativity everywhere...I observe, look and see. It's a habit that takes practice but it so worth it. When I go outside, I do not glue my eyes to a cell phone, tablet, etc. I look around me, see what's around, what colors, textures etc. Maybe this is more than you are looking for but it works for me. Also, coming to this board like you have will also bring you lots of suggestions and empathy. I hope you are able to finish the quilt soon.

QuiltnNan

i don't have the drawing creativity to 'design' quilting designs. i depend on images on the web to inspire me... then i draw it out from something i've seen. unless the quilt block is such that the design would be something good to SITD

Geri B

I think that extra lofty batting may present problems...not allowing you to quilt down some of those puffiness.......also, if it's poly the shrinking of the fabric when you wash will be inhibited...it will not shrink along with fab......jmho

Maybe handquilting it would be a better solution....if there are many puffiness they can be eased onto handquilting....

ManiacQuilter2

I love to get ideas from Google photos. I also find inspiration here from the picture section. I never copy a quilt but take the bones and make it my own.

Onebyone

I start pulling fabric from my stash and putting it together. I don't try to match or co ordinate, just put the colors or fabric I love together..something wonderful will result. For quilting I don't like intricate patterns. I like plain and simple. I usually put crosshatching on all my quilts. Varying the size makes it very interesting.

Tartan

​I bought Anglea Walters book Shape By Shape. I flip through it when I have an area to fill because it gives examples of what will fit in squares,circles, diamonds, borders etc.

Peckish

I have two suggestions. 1) Pinterest. Look for boards maintained by quilters whose work you love. Judi Madsen, Carla Barrett, Lori Kennedy has some great tutorials, so does Angela Walters, Margaret Solomon Gunn, etc. Keep in mind that you're not trying to replicate their fabulous work, just drawing inspiration from it.

My second suggestion will seem silly, but it can't hurt and it's worked many times for me. For the next several days, every evening when you go to bed, tell yourself to dream about quilting that quilt. Keep the image of it in your mind's eye. You'd be surprised at how well this works.

charlottequilts

Graham Wallas described this as the incubation step in creative thinking, in the 1950s. It's your subconscious mind processing a problem while you are otherwise engaged. I've never thought of it as a choice, but there are probably a lot of people who aren't tuned into it and therefore don't benefit from it as well as others. Sounds like a good reason for Buckeye Rose to do something else for awhile, and if that doesn't work, head directly to Pinterest to find a similar situation.

hugs,
Charlotte

OneDoxieMom

Don't let the imperfections spoil the enjoyment of finishing your mother's quilt. She must have loved the piece or she wouldn't have made it. I have several of my grandmother's and great-grandmother's quilts. They all have some inconsistencies but I can feel their love when I touch them. A different generation had to make do with what they had available but their families were warm. Maybe we put too much emphasis on perfections today because we see other quilters best quilts. As someone else mentioned, let it rest for another day or so and maybe when you return to it the quilt fairies will have done their magic for you!