Monday Morning Inspiration/Quilted Inspiration Recap

Happy Day After Easter to you all!!!
My weekend started off with a horrible headache. I did everything, soaked in a hot bath, applied therapeutic oils, did my best to rest, all with no luck. I had a list a mile long of all I wanted to accomplish, but I gave in, rested and read a book that was quite inspirational. More on that at a later date. 
Although the headache was still with me yesterday, it was not as painful, so I was able to enjoy the afternoon with my niece, her fiance, and her parents. What an incredible lunch they made! Great food, and great conversation, just the perfect Easter Sunday :)

So many of you were very generous with your suggestions last week when I put out a plea for help. Wow!!!, did you ever come through with some great ideas. Rather than allow them all to be buried in the comment section of last week's post, I thought I would share some of the ideas with all of you.
First, I found this,

Pretty amazing. It's from the same Schiaparelli collection that the coat below which I shared last week is from. I too thought that the coat below might be matelasse, but now I'm wondering if it really was quilted.

Charade sent in this idea, a vintage Lilli Ann coat from the 1950's. The quilting is trapunto and the collar can be worn up or down. Beautiful piece.

I am a huge fan of President Abraham Lincoln. If you have never read, Lincoln The Unknown, by all means, please do. It is probably the most inspirational book I have ever read. Craft Alchemy sent a link to the picture below. It's the coat that he was wearing the night he was killed. Yes, the coat represents a very sad period in the history of America, but the surprise of the incredible quilting is quite inspiring. 

Carol In Denver suggested incorporating a little fabric manipulating into the quilting of a garment. There are a number of books, all of which I'm sure are available at your local library. Here's a list of some at Amazon. I own the book below, so I'm off to a great start :)

 

The Sewing Loft suggested some work with dragonflies. Just for the fun of it, I googled "dragonfly quilting," and found this picture of a piece in progress. Just the intricacy of the design is great inspiration.

Sue from A Colorful Canvas shared her amazing coat that she recently finished. Be sure to pop over to her blog and see the rest of the coat.  

Ruth commented on the subtle but beautiful hem of the Ralph Rucci dress that I shared a few weeks ago. I really like the idea of quilting not only being an accent, or design aspect of a garment, but also serving a purpose as it does with this hem.

A number of you suggested using Alabama Chanin as a source of inspiration. Cynthiacc also suggested Alabama Chanin, but using different fabrics, possibly boiled wool. Using the concept, but making it your own.     

Elizabeth K suggested getting some books that show fabrics and designs through the different decades. I do have a couple of books in my collection. A great idea.

E McAfee talked about the picture below on the left being a fencing costume. I was making a joke about feeling tied in knots, but she really came up with a great idea. The piece on the right is really amazing. 

Martha said, 
"You have great instincts, you know."
And Mary said, 
"You have all the skills and savvy that you need." 
A few others also offered some words of encouragement as well. Sometimes the best source of inspiration is being told that someone else believes in you. 
Thank you :)
With new found inspiration, I wish you a wonderful week!
Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Quilted Inspiration

Well, I'm stumped! The 2016 Thread's Challenge in conjunction with the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals is "The Quilted Garment." For some reason, the competition interested me, so I decided to enter the challenge. I have yet to be inspired :(
Here's the criteria of the competition,

“Quilting” is defined here as two or more textile layers joined by hand- or machine-stitching, and you must do the quilting yourself. Choose any fabrics that inspire you. Quilting cotton is not required, nor is traditional quilt batting. The garments don’t have to be pieced. The quilting itself should be the star. The stitching must meaningfully contribute to the structure, silhouette, and/or embellishment of the garment. 

Here's a little of what I've found in my searching for inspiration. The above coat is from the 2015 couture collection by Schiaparelli. I have no idea is the fabric is hand quilted, but I know I will not be doing anything similar to this.
I do like the use of textiles in the coat below. 

This is simple and yet a lot of work. I think it may be a Kantha quilt.

This coat is from Fendi and except for the pocket, I think it's lovely, but not very inspiring.

This coat is from Valentino and I think it is absolutely amazing. 

This piece I did find interesting. I love the mix of textiles.

In this close up picture, you can see how the red fabric is stitched so that it is actually raised off the bed of the jacket. 

Another piece from Valentino. Not so sure about the one shoulder aspect,but I do love the piecing. Dramatic and yet subtle.

This is not a quilted piece, but I do like the stitching idea. Quilting a piece with beads on a solid ground.

Here's a piece that is quilted and then the faces are stitched over the quilting.

I included this coat as I think it is a great use of color. It's from Bjork. Not quite sure why the yo-yos weren't taken into the armpit.

So here's how I'm feeling. The picture below makes me think of being tied into a straight jacket! I'm simply stuck.

But then, I could just grab an old quilt and make a dress!!!! This won't happen :)

So today, I'm asking for some help, maybe a little direction. The competition is based more on the actual quilting of the fabric rather than the piecing. Is there anything that inspires you? I'm up for any inspiration that will come my way.

Thanks so much :)

Rhonda