Sometimes inspiration is a pain

I know that generally we are all looking for inspiration in our lives, whether it be some creative stroke of genius or the perfect plan for a pile of lovely (or not-so-lovely) fabrics.  However, sometimes inspirationis a pain...if it comes at a time when you don't want or need it.  I.E. when you already have a ton of other projects on your plate that you are trying to get done and the holidays are right around the corner.  Arghhhh!

But the slight OCD in my life tends to take over when this happens and I usually just have to run with it.

My youngest is in first grade this year and on the wall outside their classroom for the past couple of weeks they've had self-portraits hanging of all his classmates along with a little blurb they each wrote of "Yo soy especial porque...."  "I am special because...."  (My kids attend a Spanish immersion school.)  Anyway, those cute pictures kept calling to me and finally I asked the teacher if I could bring them home to scan before she sent them all home because I was debating on making a quilt out of them.

She said to me, "Oh you're a true artist."
My response, "Or completely crazy!"

Anyway, I couldn't stand it because they were just too cute.  I've got them all scanned and will still try and figure out the quilt thing, but I also decided to put together a Shutterfly book for the teacher to have in her class.  We put each picture in the book with the caption of what they wrote about being special.  Mr. C helped me out and it turned out AWESOME!!  I can't wait to give it to her for Christmas.

Here are a few of the paintings from the kids.  They just kill me they are so adorable.

Notice the dangly peace earrings.

And my little guy.

(The funky background shading of each is what happens when you scan a white piece of paper that has been glued to a piece of construction paper. It doesn't lie flat and scans weird.  And since they weren't my pictures to take apart I had leave it.)

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The second inspiration that took over my life was a quilt top. Maybe 18 mos. ago I won a giveaway I think from Amanda Jean and Margaret's Hope Chest.  Included were 2 charm packs among other things.  9 months or more ago I bought a coordinating piece of marbled green to use as sashing or backing or something.  It sat.  Then a couple months back I decided to do HST's and cut and sewed all those together. It sat some more.  Then I found this cute quilt browsing online and decided that would be the direction I would take for this quilt.

Then my brain took over and I couldn't stop until it was complete.  Here is the finished top.

I like to think of this pattern as broken chevrons.

Not sure who this may be heading to. Nor what I'll be doing on the back of it.  I'd really like to find a brown print of sorts. In the meantime I'm hoping some inspiration on the WIPs will occur.  Now back to our regularly scheduled programming......