Owl Be Inspired

So one of my new loves in life is quilting.  My mother is a very talented and an award winning quilter, and her work truly inspires me.  I have made and completed two quilts from start to finish, one for each of my children.  Garrett has the quilt "Sock Monkey" and Jillian has "Sock Kitty". Each has their own personalities, just like my children, and their own stories, which I will tell on another post!

I began sewing in 4-H many, many years ago.  Making pin cushions, aprons, pillows and clothing! I still remember some of my first projects, and some of the last for 4-H. Wow, just like a child who learns to walk, and eventually is doing it so well that you cannot remember when they used to fall down or wobble...that is how my sewing in 4-H was.  I will have to find some pictures of my past projects, but I can definitely say thank you to my mom for being my sewing project leader for so many years, and others, and teaching me how to go from those first very uneven stitches, to eventually invisible zippers (for those who don't sew, no they are not really invisible, I am not that good!) and hidden hem stitches!  Without that base of knowledge learned in 4-H and at home, I would not be able to quilt.

I recently purchased a Thirty-One product from my friend Jessica, it wasn't my first and won't be my last!  However, this product is probably my favorite.  It is a little zipper pouch that has an owl print fabric on it.  I use it as a little purse, just to carry my basics, when I don't want to lug around a purse.  Surprising huh?  I know I am such a person/bag person, but I love to be set free from the purse occasionally! Ok, back on track, the owl pouch just makes me happy and screams fun!  Of course, owls are very trendy right now too, so that is a plus!  One day, I decided that I wanted to make a quilt that had owls on it.  Now, I am not talking about your grandma's traditional square blocks kind of quilt.  I mean modern, unique, like art work type of quilt!

So,"Owl Be Inspired" is finally coming into existence.  I had bought fabric at the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, KY last spring, lots of fabric!  I have a lot of different colors and styles!  I kind of have a split personality, I love the bright and obnoxious, as well as the calm and subdued!  So, I went to my stash, because every quilter has one and you are not too young to start one!  As my mom and every other quilter on the earth likes to say, "The one who dies with the most fabric wins!" Of course, Jesus won't let me through the pearly gates carrying an arm load of fabric, but that is okay, I will just keep building that stash, like the generations before me, for fun!  So, back to my stash...owls in red and turquoise, blue and green, or orange and green and brown?  Hmmm....I chose the orange and green and brown.  Now, I know you are thinking, wow, deep rich hues of green and brown, nice and fall like.  Oh no, we are talking fun orange and green, in great prints!

A few days ago, after gathering inspiration from Pinterest on owls, I cut out, both with my Go Cutter from AccuQuilt and free hand, my first owl!

As I looked through my stash, I was shocked....I had no fabric suitable to my eye to make as the background of my "Owl Be Inspired" Quilt....ahhhhhh! Well, you would think that I could just wait and find some the next time I go to town.  Wrong....I am a creative person who is inspired and motivated....I had to find fabric NOW! So, I called my mom and told her my dilemma and asked her to meet me in town to look for the perfect fabric!!!  Of course, being a fabric stasher as well, she quickly agreed!

We visited, by far one of my favorite fabric stores around, Homestead Hearth and found the perfect teal fabric to be the background! And we oohed and ahhed over lots of fabrics and quilts.  Mom bought some great fabric for her stash and she bought my teal (she spoils me a little, okay a lot!) and some great red fabric for a skirt! Isn't that teal above, so much better than the cream!!!

This morning in the peace of a quiet home (God graciously grants me these at times!), Garrett is at school and Jillian is at daycare, I began to work on "Owl Be Inspired" and I am loving it. To the side is a picture of my free hand cut tree that will appliqued on.  My original owl is much too big (as in he would tip the tree over too big) for this quilt, so he will probably become a pillow!  Maybe I will raffle off that pillow....maybe.  I know a lot of you out there are owl freaks too, so I might bless you with that opportunity!  Maybe. (It is hard to part with works of art!)

So, as I am inspired and design my quilt, I will keep you in the know.  Just as God is constantly at work in my life, I am constantly working on my quilt, even if just in my mind.  I love to start with fresh new fabric and make something beautiful from it, much like our Savior likes to take our fresh new Christianity and make something beautiful from us, all for His glory!

As "Owl Be Inspired", I pray that you will find inspiration in something today and thank God for it, he created it or placed it in your path just to bring you joy!  How wonderful He is!