Ever find yourself spending more time deciding how you want to quilt something – than the time it actually takes to execute the project? Tired of the same old bag of tricks? You can replenish your creative and quilting inspirations in many ways. After over 20 years of quilting, I have learned several ways to charge up my creative batteries.
Become a Heartbeatnik!
- Stay Informed on Facebook
- Have Some Fun with us on Instagram
- Watch & Learn on YouTube
- Be Inspired on Pinterest
- Join our email newsletter to be the first to hear about new classes & more!
- Follow your favorite quilters and machine quilters on Social Media platforms.
- Also consider downloading our Machine Quilting Skills Progress tracker.
Books
- Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book by Amanda Murphy (one of my favorite books!)
- Visual Guide to Creative Straight Line Quilting by Natalia Bonner
- Doodle Quilting Mania by Chryl Malkowski
- Shape by Shape Free-Motion Quilting by Angela Walters
- Machine Quilting Idea Book by Vicki Ruebel
- See more books available for purchase in our store.
- View all the books available for in-studio use.
Classes
- Edge to Edge And Then Some with Kathleen Woods
- How Do I Quilt This with Wanda Jeffries
- See the rest of our current class offering!
Get Involved
- Join quilting groups or guilds, like Washington State Quilters for quilters of all types or INMOD for modern quilters.
- Search for quilting guilds or events in your area.
- Classes at quilt shows that cater to machine quilting can inspire.
- Really any show, it just gets you motivated to try new things.
- The local machine quilting group, Inland NW Machine Quilters are a great group of people who share our passion for machine quilting.
Ask for Input from Others
I am fortunate to work with others who share my passion. Get together with others. Show and tell with friends, see how someone else has quilted their quilt. Commit time and energy to daydreaming. Trust your instincts and tackle new techniques – even if it takes longer at first. Try at least one new thing every time you step up to the machine.
Look at the world with new eyes. Check out the carpet patterns, tile patterns, shower curtains, magazine ads, expand on shapes with the fabric prints, interesting flowers in the yard, observe the landscape, trees, etc. I take a daily walk or bike ride for exercise – but I remember to look at my surroundings for quilting inspirations.
Final Thoughts
Something to think about: We need to be in ‘open mode’ with our mind when pondering a ‘how do I quilt this,’ question, then, when we come up with a solution we must then switch to ‘closed mode’ to implement it. Once we’ve made a decision, we are efficient only if we go through with it decisively, undisturbed by doubts about its correctness. Nothing will stop you from being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.
How do you know how well you can do until you start?
In Stitches,
Wanda