3 What If?

Reading my posts you will notice that I often use the words what if.  You can't help but notice them because I emphasize them with bold type every time. I want you to notice them. And I want you to remember them. I want you to think of them every time you design a quilt.

They are the most helpful words I know for designing anything.

Any serious writer, artist, composer, or quilt designer will tell you that waiting for inspiration is a mistake. Creative people don't wait for great ideas to come to them; they go looking for them. And how do you go looking for great ideas?  You ask what if.

What if I change the shape of a Shoo Fly block? What if I make a label the size of the entire back of a quilt? What if I reverse the colors of every other block in a quilt? What if I try using the color orange for once? What if I mix applique and piecing? What if I piece the border of a whole cloth quilt? What if I take an Empire Star block apart and put it back together differently?  What if I try to change the design of a Nine Patch block or a Log Cabin block? What if I try something besides cotton fabrics and cotton thread for a quilt? What if I put sashing between Log Cabin blocks?

What if you were to add to this list?

I think you will be surprised by what you can come up with.