Guest Blog by Michele Hymel

In a recent post, Gail described how she was inspired by the black spruce trees in Alaska to create her Little Trees quilts.  And she asked “What inspires you?”

Like, most of us, I imagine, our quilting journey has taken many interesting twists.  I started out making quilts from patterns and the fabric was my inspiration.  Of course, lots of the fabric I bought had large scale prints and ended up as the backing for quilts.  Then I took my first class from Gail and learned that I didn’t need to use patterns – I could design my own quilts.  That was a very liberating moment!  This is the first quilt I made using Gail’s techniques:

Goose is Loose

I’ve always loved the beach, the ocean and sea life, so that became my inspiration for these two quilts.  I’m a scuba diver, so I’ve been lucky enough to see many amazing underwater sights.

On Golden Pond

Leave Only Bubbles

I learned how to transfer photos to fabric, and recorded my trips in quilts.

Costa Rican Cart

I was fascinated by the painted carts in Costa Rica and attempted to replicate one in fabric.  Unfortunately it doesn’t look as three-dimensional as it should.  Many of the squares in the cart are photo transfer images from our trip.

Down Under – close-up

My son and I visited Australia and that inspired this quilt.  I made one for him too, with photo transfer images from the trip.

Then, my son and his wife had our first grandbaby! Now, he is my inspiration for making quilts.  He is a very well-quilted little boy, since his other grandmother also quilts.  This is the quilt I am making for his second birthday.  It’s in progress.  Borders will be added.

Down on the Farm

So I repeat the question that Gail asked – What inspires you? Tell Gail your story.