You Inspire Me To Quilt

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Last year, I got an email from my friend Cheryl, asking if I would like to contribute to a new book she was writing. I would have said yes before I even heard the project description, but what she described sealed the deal for me. You Inspire Me To Quilt is for all of us who are constantly presented with those sometimes harebrained, sometimes, off the wall, and sometimes sweet and inspirational ideas from our loved ones. As I contributor to the book, I was asked by Cheryl to take one of those ideas and turn it into a quilt. I was excited because I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
My husband Peter has always had opinions about the quilts I make. He’s a designer by training, and so it’s very natural to wonder how certain fabrics and materials would translate into an actual quilt. (I think it’s sweet that he’s even showing an interest.) He’d asked me about the idea of making ski parkas into a quilt several times before, felt really strongly the idea would make an interesting quilt, and I knew that would be the idea I’d play with for Cheryl’s book. The resulting quilt is one of my favorite projects of all time. But it was kind of funny getting there.
Peter and I spent a morning going to a few area thrift stores to pick out ski parkas to use in the quilt, so the color combination is somewhat planned, but also based on what we could find (which is what I love about reusing materials- often the limited colors just seem to work together in the end). We both agree to leave in some of the parka detailing… pockets, snaps, etc whenever possible. I knew the quilt needed to be a somewhat simple design in order to keep those details. I also knew that sewing with quilted ski jackets was going to be interesting. In the end, my studio was covered with feathers, just like I was. I love the quilt though. His idea was a good one.
Ski Parka Quilt by Wise Craft handmade

(Image from You Inspire Me To Quilt, by Kate Inglis).

There are some beautiful projects in this book that originate from some really original ideas, and I loved reading the background stories and original inspiration. I encourage you to use this book to get you thinking out of the proverbial quilt box. Read more about the book on Cheryl’s blog, here and here.
You Inspire Me To Quilt is available now.

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