This week's inspiration comes from an antique hand-hooked rug that I photographed in Jaipur last September, during my tour of India.
Although paisleys are associated with India, and have developed into an infinite range of mutations throughout the world, there are plenty of other motifs which started in India and inspired textile designers across Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Today these classic embellished designs continue to be reinterpreted in so many ways – by re-sizing, re-coloring, adding gold metallic, and mixing the swirling leaf and floral elements.
The central image with the birds is the rug photo, and I've mixed it up with designs from Paula Nadelstern, Chong-a-Hwang, and Amy Butler.
Today I had a little fantasy that I felt a tiny bit of autumn in the air… for a moment…and it made me think of Paisleys. I anticipate the changing of the seasons because then I can bring out all my paisley scarves. Do you think of different fabric designs as the seasons change too?
If you love to freemotion quilt like I do, then you've probably experienced the joy of stitching paisley or feather shapes in your quilting. When you make a quilt with these types of shapes, it is so much fun to freemotion quilt around all the flowers and swirling paisleys…no need to plan a quilting pattern… just follow the dancing paisleys!
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