Test post for Round Table Discussion - Topic 2 Design

On Monday {insert link} I covered Topic 2 of the Pattern Writing Series - Design, sharing my inspirations and process of coming up with quilt designs.  Coming up with designs is a highly individual process, so to gain other perspectives on the topic, our designers are going to share a little about what inspires their quilt designs and how they come up with new and exciting patterns.

I wanted to how the designers came up with their pattern ideas, what inspired them. I also wanted to know what tools (computers or other tools) they used when coming up with a design.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl will be presenting a more in depth post tomorrow (Thursday, January 22st) about her inspiration process and Anne from Springleaf Studios will be posting on Friday January 23rd about the differences of starting the quilt pattern process from a design versus starting from a collection of fabrics.


Where do you find inspiration?

Anne of Springleaf Studios - Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. The trick is in being open to the possibilities of what you see and the potential it might hold for a design. You can see the same thing over and over and then all of a sudden you see it in a new light and an idea is sparked that brings things together. I tend to look for inspiration in other textiles, graphic design and fine art as well as nature and the environment. Plus, I simply play on my computer. Looking at other quilts can also be very inspiring, but I generally avoid that when I am designing a new pattern. I don’t want to be overly influenced by existing quilts. The more you become aware of your personal creative style, the less you will be inclined to borrow from others. Whatever you do, don’t copy . . . be inspired by something, but find a way to translate the idea into your own unique vision.

Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts- I find inspiration in nature and modern minimalist artists like Charley Harper, Ed Emberly and Eleanor Grosch.

Soma of Whims and Fancies - Most of my pattern designs are initiated by my drawings and paintings. Inspiration for those comes pretty much from every aspect of life.

Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl - I have been inspired by photography and specific design goals or challenges (Triangle Transparency was created based on my desire to use transparency play in a design), but I am mostly inspired by doodling.

Amy of 13 Spools - I primarily find inspiration in architecture, furniture design, and modern art. When I’m not looking to these, I find inspiration in other quilts, woven blankets, and in a few of my favorite shapes - “flying kites” (a sharp version of a boomerang shape) and sharp, scalene triangles.




What computer programs or other tools do you use to come up with a quilt design?

Christa of Christa Quilts - I design the majority of my quilts in Electric Quilt (EQ7). The only time I don’t is if it’s a very unique design that I can’t figure out how to draw electronically. Then I’ll use graph paper to work out the proportions and then re-draw it in EQ once I’m ready to finalize the design and add fabrics.

My favorite part about using the software is the fact that I can save a fabric image of any print I want to use, and import that into the program. This lets me know exactly how the quilt will look before I make the first fabric cut.

Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts - I initially use graph paper for designing quilts. Then I use EQ7 to allow for showing how that design would look using different fabric choices.

Soma of Whims and Fancies - Since I love to draw, I always have something with me that I can doodle on. Sometimes I sketch out ideas on my ipad. I also use Adobe Illustrator to draw on my computer.

Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl - I use Inkscape, which is a free “professional quality vector graphics software which runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.” Right now the designs I come up with are probably 50% started by hand sketches and 50% started within Inkscape. My husband bought me a Rhodia dotPad for my birthday this year, and I like curling up with a pencil and seeing what happens. Many of my initial sketches morph when I start working on them on the computer.

Amy of 13 Spools - I solely use Adobe Illustrator to sketch my quilt designs. To create a printable pattern with instructions, I use Adobe InDesign to create a PDF document with the Illustrator sketches placed alongside the directions.

Anne of Springleaf Studios - I used to do everything in grid paper notebooks. Now it’s almost exclusively done in Adobe Illustrator. While I love the idea of maintaining a single sketchbook, in reality I tend to jot ideas down all over the place and end up with lots of loose pieces of paper. I’m currently trying to get my older sketches into a single file and perhaps even into the computer where I can keep them more organized. Regardless of where an idea initially starts, I use the computer to fully develop the concept. The computer gives me the freedom to explore a wider range of possibilities. I am able to easily and quickly play with color and layout and find that this exploration results in a much better final design. The main downside is that the computer is not as organic as sketching.