Creatively Speaking.....

After all the craft shows for Fall and Christmas... I thought I would take just a wee bit of time off to get a break and then jump back into it, trying to work on doing some Spring shows this year. Well my time off has stretched much further than I thought it would. And I found what I needed was to play with something new to get those creative juices flowing again.

Do any of you deal with that....just needing a kick start to get moving again??? When I lived in Indiana there were several awesome quilt and craft stores...as well as several really good prim shows that I could visit for inspiration and fresh ideas. Living where I do now, I rely for most of my inspiration on the computer...and while there is some great stuff here, it is not like being there in person to feel the fabrics and chat with the designers/instructors.

Knowing that I needed a creativity boost....I signed up with a friend to take a quilt class. Now I have worked in quilt shops, been around quilting for all of my life (my mom, grandmothers and aunts are all wonderful quilters)...but I never had the desire to really step into quilting. First, I am sooooo not a precision person..and you really need to be able to match things up. Maybe this is why I love my primitives, not quite so perfect!!! But I thought I would give it a go anyway.

I have found that I love quilting....my favorites are primitive and cottage look fabrics. Sadly I see a new addiction forming...LOL Here are some of the squares from my beginner class....

And having some fabrics on hand from my stash (and the wonderful stash provided by my friend, Jen)... I decided to play with a design I found online, and came up with this cute wallhanging.

The great thing about trying something new is that it can inspire you in several different areas and get you out of a "creative funk". I always encourage friends to take classes....and go with an open mind. Not every class is going to be a lifelong pursuit....but sometimes you surprise yourself with what you learn...maybe something about how to use a fabric or other supply in a different way....sometimes it is not even what you learn from the intended class but from other students....and how awesome to be able make new friends that share your passion for creative endeavors????

I am so looking forward to playing more with the quilting and want to look into some classes on machine quilting techniques and binding....(that was not covered in our class)...but I have found some great online info on these too.

Have a great evening!!!
Hugs,
Debbie