This Fall, quilting friend Victoria Findlay Wolfe has released her first book, 15 Minutes of PLAY: Improvisational Quilts. The book is filled with colourful inspiration, project ideas and challenges. I have been admiring Victoria’s quilts and her fabulous use of colour for a few years now, and am thrilled she asked me to be a part of the blog tour for her book.
In the beginning of the book, Victoria talks about PLAY and how to overcome some common fears or roadblocks we quilters and artists all experience at some time in our creative journey.
The next section of the book focuses on “made-fabric”. To quote, “Made-Fabric is created by taking bits of otherwise useless scraps and sewing them together to make a usable piece of fabric that can then be utilized to make a variety of blocks and quilts. It’s a chance to make something from nothing that might otherwise not have found a home in a quilt.”
Here are a couple of the quilts from the book completed with “made-fabric”. Since I absolutely adore scrappy quilts, this style of quilting is definitely a favourite.
Victoria includes four techniques for creating your “made-fabric”, all based on 15 Minutes of Play. She’s included 16 traditional quilt blocks to inspire you and 11 challenges to get you playing with your fabric and creating. The book is filled with gorgeous quilts that will are sure to inspire everyone.
If you find yourself in a creative rut, love scrappy quilts, have bins of scraps but no idea how to use them, or just want to step outside of your own creative box, then I highly recommend this book. You will be inspired!
Be sure to visit Victoria’s 15 Minutes of Play blog for daily inspiration!
My Questions
Victoria sent us a couple of FUN questions to answer as part of the tour.
Do you have a favorite color to use and why?
Purple is my favourite colour, but that is not necessarily reflected in my quilts. I don’t really have any one go-to colour that I use. The past year, I have been mainly working on scrappy quilts with wild colours. I do like to use a neutral or strong solid colour to help balance with the scrappy goodness (my postage stamp quilt below is a good example). I do think every quilt can benefit from a hint of yellow, orange or red.
If you are not PLAYING in fabric, what else do you PLAY in?
Since September, I’ve been taking a very intense dog training certification course to become a pet dog trainer. Unfortunately, this has left me with little time to play, except with Milo. Here he is after school tonight:
I do love to needlepoint and crochet too, but it’s quilting and playing with fabric that really feeds my creative soul.
Give-Away
C&T Publishing is giving away a copy of Victoria’s book to one of my lucky readers. US winners receive a hard copy of the book and international winners receive an electronic copy. To enter the give-away, leave a comment below answering: What feeds your creative soul?
The winner will be chosen randomly on December 12, 2012.
Blog Tour
Increase your chances of winning a copy of Victoria’s book by visiting the other participants in the blog tour and entering their give-aways too.
Nov 26: Victoria Findlay Wolfe
Nov 27: Bonnie K Hunter
Nov 28: Alissa Haight Carlton
Nov 29: Pat Sloan
Nov 30: Fat Quarter Shop
Dec 1st: Karen Griska
Dec 2nd: Angela Walters
Dec 3rd: Generation Q
Dec 4th: Tonya Ricucci
Dec 5th: Michele Foster – you’re here!
Dec 6th: Scott Hansen
Dec 7th: Amy Ellis
Dec 8th: Rachaeldaisy
Dec 9th: Jackie Kunkel
Dec. 10th: C&T Publishing
And the winner is…
Congratulations to #200 Sandy. Check your inbox for an email from Victoria.
Oh my…well…Books, Magazines, Blogs…all the colors outside! Love perusing thru Fabrics too. Sooooo many things feed my creative soul….hard to pick one way.
Thanks for chance to win your drawing! :)
Seeing all of the beautiful quilts posted on facebook inspires me to be more creative. Thanks sew much for this chance to win!
nature
Mostly the internet.
I visit many blogs via google reader in just about 20 minutes a day
Blogs and books really feed my creative soul. I am continually amazed and inspired by all the things that bloggers share. Thank you.
All kinds of fabric … just waiting to be used … is very inspiring to me!! :)
All the blogs that I read. They really inspire me to be more creative and try new things.
The blogs I read and members of my quilt guild really inspire me to be creative and push out of my comfort zone.
I am inspired by nature, colour combinations and also music and moods, so depending on the music I listen to my scraps chosen change to fit the mood.
I am inspired by the family around me. The give me good advise and they believe in my quilting, they love it!
Going to quilt shows always coming home and wanting to spend time with my sewing machine!
My creative soul is nourished with a comforting meal with good friends and/or my “man friend” (he’s too old to be a boyfriend) and later retreating to my sewing room with my dog under foot. My heart sings…
Visiting quilt sites online feeds my creativity, as well as special issue magazines that feature quilt shops with lots of pictures of quilts filling the walls!
HI! MY CREATIVE SOUL IS NOURISHED WITH SEWING/QUILTING PROJECTS IN ALL STAGES OF COMPLETION!
THANKS!
I keep trying to learn new techniques/skills….whether it’s dancing or sewing.
Hmm… several things I think, sewing, quilting, reading, writing, crafts with the kids, scrapbooking, card making… so many things!
My creative soul is fed by visiting other quilter’s blogs. So much inspiration out there!!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Hugs, Deborah
inspiration from books and blogs!
I would have to say my children feed my creative soul! Every single day, whether I want them to or not! Thank you for the chance to win :)
By looking at other people’s quilts, I find that I am expanding my knowledge of what is out there and seeing what is possible. When it comes to actually thinking of designs that I may turn into quilts however, I find myself looking at patterns I come across, as in the windows of a building, or the tile work in a bathroom, etc.
Os tecidos,só trabalho com sucatas então quando chega os sacos e mais sacos…separo por cores,ferro neles e depois o próprio colorido e quantidade já me dá uma luz.Tem vezes que tenho certeza que não fui eu que fiz,pode uma coisa dessas???…Obrigada.tiacarminhapezzuto@gmail.com
Creating with fabric feeds my creative soul in a way nothing else does. Just love spending time with all my fabrics and patterns and sewing my little heart out
Color feeds my creative soul – add some pattern and I get inspiration for quilts! Thanks for hosting this great giveaway ~ I’d love to win this amazing book!
Looking at and playing with color, especially fabric; looking at the creative work others have done; finishing a creative project, especially if I think it’s successful all feed my creative soul. Thanks for offering the giveaway.
Textures and touching fabric feeds my creative soul. I want to see texture and movement in fabric.
Looks like an amazing book full of lots of good stuff! I’d love to learn more about color and how to “play”. I get creative help from other like minded friends, blogs, online, my LQS, quilts, books, magazines and more I’m sure.
Thank you, Victoria and C&T Publishing for a great giveaway and a chance to win.
usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
I love beautiful fabric.
Friends and sharing our creativity with each other is my inspiration. And just being in my beautiful quilt studio!!
Well, I guess it is more: what DOESN’T feed my creative soul.. Anything nature, technical, blogs, it’s everywhere. Thanks for a chance – need to play more!
Galleries, books, the internet; just rummaging through my scrap box. It’s all good stuff.
color, pattern, texture and sometimes even scents. I’m always amazed when the muse strikes and sometimes even think WTH!
I love just relaxing, browsing the internet and looking for inspiration.
What feeds my creative soul? Nature. Nature has a way of mixing colors you would never mix together and it creates something magical. The patterns from nature also gives a good idea/outline of how to design and challenge myself.
Sewing with friends or going to a Guild meeting. Thanks for the chance to win this great book!
I have to say RED it seems every quilt I make has a little red sneaked in somewhere. I also love doing hand embroidery.
I love this book. I’m inspired by being with creative people..these blogs and books are so much fun.
I love colour – colour is what inspires me. I love to browse in clothing stores, yarn stores, fabric stores … I need to start taking 15 minutes to play with my fabric every day – I might get something done!
Sunrises and sunsets inspire me. Love the wide range of colors, the patterning. etc.
Deciding it’s okay to fail frees me up to be creative. After that I just need fabric, light, and time.
Nature, color, pattern, art, fabric people all contribute to my creativity.
I want to start sewing free and easy – mine just don’t seem to have the same pizazz as Victoria’s. I need to learn her secrets. Thank you for the opportunity to win her fabulous book!
fabulous fabric feeds my soul!
Fabric and magazines feed my soul!
Milo looks tuckered out!
What feeds my creative soul? I dont know, I think I just have this urge within to create. Sometimes nothing feeds it, I just need to just do it -jump in and play!
I just love looking at old utility quilts and seeing what ladies, especially in the pioneer days, would do to create quilts with whatever they happened to have at hand.
Quiet time, maybe a walk down our driveaway, time to let the ideas take root and to follow a whim wherever it leads.
I, too, find that books, blogs and websites feed my creativity when there are no quilt shows to attend.
Color feeds my soul, color in nature, color in fabric, color in thread, books with color photos, etc.
Everything! Sometimes I see something I want to make as a COOKIE… or I see a magazine with a great idea I can modify… thanks for the chance to win!
Just sitting down and sewing….or gazing at my fabric…..or looking through my kits or my quilting magazines. I’ve always enjoyed creating — knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch — but quilting is what it’s all about…I am a quilter. Quilting feeds my soul.