Inspirations

I get inspirations from craft books, magazines, catalogs, and just looking around in the real world.
Sometimes something will just give me a jolt of excitement and spark an idea.
I love that feeling.

When I look at certain items (clothing, handbags, quilts), I sometimes see neckties, or how I could use necktie fabric to recreate them.
And that's inspiring to me.
I see neckties in two of Sweet P's awesome designs:

Thanks to Blogging Project Runway for the photos of the collections at Fashion Week.
(go to the link to see zoomed images of these and all the other designs presented)

I'm a big fan of environmentally friendly textiles, and Eco-Spun intrigues me.
According to the eco-glossary of white apricot:
Learn to love Eco-Spun! It is a high-quality polyester fiber which is made from 100% certified recycled PET (soda/pop) bottles, that is capable of keeping about three billion plastic PET bottles out of the world’s landfills each year, saving over half a million barrels of oil and eliminating 400,000 tons of harmful emissions which contribute to global warming, acid rain, smog, etc.. In fact, the amount of petroleum saved annually by using post-consumer bottles instead of virgin materials is enough to supply power to a city the size of Atlanta! Eco-Spun can be found is many textile products, including clothing, blankets, wall coverings, carpets, auto interiors and various home furnishings. It takes 6-20 bottles to make a sweatshirt, depending upon the weight, size and blend of the garment.

I love whimsical items, like the novelty kitchen gadgets by Boston Warehouse available at Target.
I mean, come on, how fun is this monkey-shaped vegetable peeler?!
I can think of so many gift baskets that could use a toucan beak can opener, or a pirahna pizza wheel...