Quilt Inspirations...where I find them

In the midst of my house repair contracting work, it is sewing that has kept me sane. Here is a quilt I made last week. The design is based on a quilt I saw in the Denver Quilt Museum. This is a small museum that has high quality exhibits. If you are ever in Denver area you must check it out. The following 4 photos will show you one way I get inspiration for a quilt and how I turn the inspiration into a finished quilt.

Quilt Inspiration: Antique velvet quilt from the Denver Quilt Museum

Making a quilt map: This is my adobe illustrator diagram of how I interpreted the design. I decided to substitute the red in the original quilt for white in my version. I also used Courthouse Steps blocks throughout instead of the strip piecing in the original.

I used my new Log Cabin Trim Tool to make the Courthouse Steps blocks. 

Here is the finished quilt. Not the best photo but you can see how I arranged the blocks using my computerized map as a guide. I have added slivers of color in some of the blocks. I wish I had used more solid white for some of the strips and not so many white/black strips. This quilt will hang in my new library when I get all the furniture in place.

Here is a detail of one of the blocks. Note on the partial block at the bottom there is a sliver of dark gray stitched in on the right hand side of the block. This will be part of my new log cabin workshop series.