I’ve been asked this question quite a lot recently, so I thought I’d write a post listing all the wonderful places I find/get my inspiration from!

Let’s begin here…

{ #ONE – PINTEREST }

Over the last few years, it’s safe to say I’ve browsed on Pinterest at least [at least!!!] once a day.

Too much?

Boarder lining on crazy?

Yeh, sometimes I think so but without this wonderful [and addictive] online resource, there are a lot of projects that may not have come to fruition.

For example, I was inspired to make my ‘Happy Quilt’ by

a quilt I saw on Pinterest.

This quilt has gone on to become one of my ultimate favourites aaaand has just won me a coveted Sydney Royal Easter Show Ribbon!! Whoo!

If you’re the creative type and are not on Pinterest, may I take this opportunity to encourage you to create your own boards and get pinning!!

There are some crazy, helpful, outstanding, mesmerizing and uber-creative ideas on there that I’m sure will knock your socks off!

{ #TWO – YOUTUBE }

There are so many wonderful patchwork/quilting/sewing resources on YouTube that it can sometimes be a little overwhelming to know where to start.

So I’m just going to list the channels that I’m subscribed to and you can check them out in your own time.

Missouri Quilt Company

Fons & Porter (Quilty with Mary Fons)

Riley Blake

Fat Quarter Shop

iheartstitching

Craftsy

[And of course, there’s my channel!!]

Amanda Rolfe

 Do you know of any other good quilting related YouTube channels? Let me know in the comment section below – I would love to check them out!

 { #THREE – CRAFTSY }

Oh, where would we all be without Craftsy!?

I have learnt a great, great, GREAT deal from Craftsy: hexies, foundation paper piecing, general block construction, fabric cutting, ironing techniques – you name it, I’ve learnt it from Craftsy!

Another one of my most successful [and favouritist] quilts came from a Craftsy class and that is my ‘Jacob’s Ladder Quilt’.

For ages I was looking for the perfect project to use my beautiful DSQuilts fabrics with and along came the Jacob’s Ladder Block episode in the Magical Jelly Roll Quilts class.

And, whaalaah – what I produced was a beautiful, scrap-happy, two-tonal quilt that everyone seems to have fallen in love with!!

{ #FOUR – INSTAGRAM }

I’ve been on Instagram for a good few years now, but only recently have I used it as a form of inspiration.

Instagram has given me the access to follow the accounts of some of my most favouritist quilters, thus allowing me to see what they’re currently working on, where they’re getting their inspiration from as well as take a glimpse into the glamorous [and sometimes not so glamorous] side of a quilters life.

It has also given me the chance to network with other quilters and creative minds from all over the world, sharing in each other’s current creative pursuits!

I’ve also found that Instagram, like Pinterest, is a great resource to see what is currently in ‘vogue’ within the quilting world – i.e. what fabric lines, shades, tones and prints are in, what forms of quilting others are using to finish their quilts, what shapes and designs of blocks are being made etc.

Plus, it’s a great little resource that’s nice and handy on my phone! SCORE!!

{ #FIVE – BLOGGERS }

I love reading other quilting blogs – it’s where people can be completely honest about their work.

Blogs give us the opportunity to share passionately about where we find our inspirations, what we hope and dream for in the future and how we somehow manage to find sprinklings of time to indulge in our love for patchwork and quilting. We use this platform to share our life-loves, our families, our struggles, and our successes, our obsessions and adventures!

Apart from my long list of wonderful WordPress blogs that are tiered up in my Reader, here are just a few other creative blogs that I love to ponder…

Stitchery Dickory Dock

Diary of a Quilter

Oh, Fransson!

Pink Chalk Studio

Tallgrass Prairie Studio

 Tell me some of your favourite bloggers!!

{ #SIX – BOOKS }

This seems like a bit of a medieval notion doesn’t it!? Getting inspiration from books when we have a wealth of knowledge at a finger tips on the web!?

You may not know this, but I’m on of those ‘self-taught quilters’ who learnt the fundamental basic of patchwork and quilting from books!

If I was stuck on a particular element of quilt making, I would search and search for the answer in a book before I would ever think about consulting the Internet.

I’m proud of my little library of patchwork/quilting books. I admit, it is growing ever so slowly…some of those good quality quilting books can be a tad pricey!

Have you got any favourite patchwork/quilting books that you love? Please, do tell!!

So, my encyclopedia of inspiration has come to an end. Although, I will never rule out including more in the future!

Honestly, after all that writing, I simply find inspiration for my work from everything around me – nature, movement, colour, shapes, mood, space, texture, people, experience – the list is endless!

I find that the resources that I’ve listed in this post allow me to harness the ideas that are raging through my head into do-able realistic projects. Otherwise, they’d still be up there, Dub-Stepping and Flash Dancing away in my brain!

So, til next time –

 Cheerio

&

Happy Sewing!!

xx