Inspiration Overload

I'm feeling very inspired. In fact, it's kind of a problem, given how little time I seem to have to devote to sewing. I'd certainly rather have too much than too little to inspire me though, right? These books were on my wish list for the holidays, and they do not disappoint! Malka's book in particular suits my improv leanings, and I'm excited to try some of the art quilt techniques in the book by Jean Wells (very soon, in fact, but more on that later). As you know I've already made two quilts from patterns by Elizabeth Hartman, and the instructions in the book seem just as impeccable as those I've encountered on her blog. I found a quilter's candy land last weekend at Sarah's in Lawrence. I've been trying to find a time to visit for over 6 months and was afraid it couldn't live up to my built up anticipation. But it did - fabulous store with so many fabrics. It is so fun to see fabrics I've admired online in person. When I asked if they had any shot cottons, they said "yes, we have all of them." Oh my! I came away with these three lovelies. If you haven't seen shot cottons, they are unique. The warp and weft threads are different colors, which creates a shimmery depth to the colored fabric. So pretty.
I'm planning to put all my inspiration to good use to tackle the latest KCMQG challenge. It' s called No Prints Allowed. We're each to use a charm pack of Kona cotton solids (thank you to Robert Kaufman for donating them to the Guild!) and make something quilty. We can add other solids, but no printed fabrics and we must use a little bit of every fabric in the charm pack. I chose the dusty colorway, and I'm excited about my idea!
Aren't those colors pretty!

If you need a little inspiration this morning check out a quilt Jacquie shared with us last night at Guild meeting. It is amazing!!