Finding Inspiration

Many people ask me "How do you come up with your quilt designs?", but there is no one true answer to this question. Quilting is a very organic experience, and like any art can take its inspiration in many ways: a flower, a certain color, the artwork my sons make, or the bugs and frogs we catch in the backyard. Keep your eyes open, and you can be inspired by almost anything!

For me, there are two main ways that I am inspired to make a quilt. The first starts with the fabric and the second starts with the pattern. The first way begins with finding a fabric that just jumps out at me and tells me what to do with it. A good example of this is the Sunshine and Flowers Baby Quilt. I was in a warehouse buying fabric, when I happened to find the most gorgeous gold batik with rainbow colored sunflowers on it. Right away I knew that this fabric was coming home with me! Before I had even touched the bolt of fabric, I knew that it would be a Dresden Plate pattern quilt with each of the petals of the plate matching the colors of the petals in the sunflowers. When the quilt was finished, the Sunshine and Flowers Baby Quilt looked just like I had imagined!

The second way I find inspiration is through the pattern of the quilt. An example of this is the Ladybug Baby Quilt. This was the first baby quilt I had ever designed but, from the beginning, I knew I wanted an applique quilt with ladybugs all over it. I made a "mock-up" of the quilt to test the design, got feedback from friends and family, and came up with the final design you see here. This process can be a lot of fun as I had to hunt down different fabrics to fit into the design, rather than the fabrics dictating the design.

Sometimes, I sit at the computer and play around on my Electric Quilt 6 software. This can be a lot of fun since it allows you to experiment with different ideas without the costly "oopses" of committing a bad design to fabric. While it isn't fool proof, it certainly lets you get a feel for a quilt and make quick, easy adjustments.

Whatever your inspiration, keep a notebook of all of your ideas. You never know when inspiration will strike and an idea that didn't look so good yesterday might turn into a beautiful quilt tomorrow!

And Now for the Legal Stuff...

It is very important to remember that it is fun to make quilts we find in pattern books or magazines, but please do not call it your own design. If you used someone else's hard work to make a quilt, please respect that author's copyright. It is wonderful to be inspired by an artist's work, but to truly call it your own, it must be at least 10% different from the original work in total. This might include things like changing the size and adding or removing a piece in the block. This does not include simply changing the colors. Document your sources of inspiration and any changes you make. You may be glad someday that you did.

Also, as a manufacturer of quilts, I have to be very careful of trademark and copyright infringement. For example, Michael Miller Fabrics has an adorable line of quilt fabrics featuring the Dick and Jane characters. As a manufacturer, I cannot sell ready made quilts with these characters. I would have to get written permission from the company holding the trademark to be able to do this. Several quilt shows and contests have similar rules.

There are certain quilt patterns that are common property or free to use. These would be your old, traditional patterns like Trip Around the Word, Dresden Plate, Old Maid's Puzzle, and Birds in the Air. Visit your local quilt museum or research antique quilts to find examples of these blocks. The quilts that your Grandmother had would be great examples, too!

While I am not a lawyer or in any way a legal expert, this is simply my understanding of the law from an artist's perspective. This information is by no means meant to be an authority on the subject, but rather a cautionary note to make you aware of copyright and trademark infringement. If you have any questions, I suggest talking to either a lawyer or doing further research on-line. There are several great sites that can certainly help you answer your questions.