Sometimes you find inspiration in unusual places! This little fellow was spotted outside by my office mate who brought it to my desk. She knew I wouldn’t be able to resist taking photos. I’m not sure any of us anticipated I’d try to coordinate it with fabric, but the moth was cooperative – so I had to try!
After spending time with my new friend, I felt inspired to find moth themed embroidery designs. Here’s what I found….
I always enjoy browsing the Urban Threads website. Click here to view the details on the Death’s-Head Hawkmoth design.
Kreations by Kara also has an interesting design.
Imagine striking black and orange colors for this design from Embroidery Library!
This design from Embroidery Online reminds me of my last moments photographing the moth outside. It started flapping its wings and then came at me. I screamed for my life before it flew away. It’s probably safer to stitch the design than to try to photograph a large, eager to escape, moth!
Where do you find your inspiration?
Here’s your assignment this week:
In what ways does nature give you inspiration?. We’ll pick a random winner here next Wednesday. If we pick your name, we’ll set you up with a $20 Designs in Machine Embroidery gift card!
The winner of the last assignment answered the following question:
Pop over to My Fabric Designs and enter the contest. While you’re there, browse in the fabrics (click on Shop) and tell me what fabric you’d like to win. We’ll pick a random winner here next Wednesday. If we pick your name, we’ll ship you one yard of the fabric you mentioned in your comment.
The winner is:
Laurel D: “What fun is this!!!???? Had to forward the news on to my sister who is a dedicated quilter (and a confessed fabric hoarder ). Can’t wait to try to create my own fabric — thanks for bringing this option to our attention … if I were to win, I’d choose the Happy Pigs to make something special for my best friend (of over 45 years) who loves pigs and is fighting cancer — what happiness that fabric could bring!”
18 COMMENTS
Karen Poole
9 years agoMy inspiration from nature comes from all the awesom colors of the flowers and blooms (from flowers, trees, vegetables anything with color).
Belinda
9 years agoI love butterflies and flowers together in a design. The colors absolutely pop and make any design more interesting.
Maga
9 years agoI’m always inspired by shapes. Leaves, flowers, birds, branches and negative spaces. I hardly ever draw anything that is naturalistic but use the shapes to draw stylistic designs I then digitize. Butterfly and moth wings are so full of patterns you can spend hours studying them. Thanks for sharing your encounter with the moth
Denise Holguin
9 years agoMaga,
You raise an excellent point about the patterns on butterfly and moth wings. I hadn’t ever thought of it that way! This motivates me to spend even more time outdoors looking for the next great pattern! Thank you for posting!
Denise
Linda
9 years agoI love butterflies and the fall leaf colors.
Nancy Weber
9 years agoI love flowers and have tons of pictures from all over the USA just waiting to be digitized and sewn out!
Jenny
9 years agoLiving in the Midwest I am one of the lucky that get to enjoy the colors of the 4 seasons. The red,yellow and oranges of autumn are so vivid that they cast a warm glow throughout the house. The colorful leaves dance as they fall from the trees. A sight you never take for granted.
In winter I look out the window to a clean white blanket evenly covering everything, a few evergreen branches peeking through against a crisp blue sky on a sunny day that causes the snow to be sparkly like it has diamonds scattered throughout.
Between rain showers in the spring you will see bunnies hopping around the tufts of of the new green grass and the yellow,pink and purple flowers.
Summer time brings the colorful song birds. The blue bird with the burnt orange chest, the bright yellow gold finch hanging from a new feeder. A humming bird with a green or red neck might buzz right beside you to check out your bright shirt.
Indiana gets to enjoy the bright red Cardinal year round and is our state bird.
My inspiration comes from looking out my sewing room window.
Sara Redner
9 years agoWe live in a small town surrounded by farms. Every day I drive in the country to enjoy the many beautiful sites: sunrise, clouds, fields (green, brown or even snow-covered), and in particular the wildlife. Besides the birds, squirrels and rabbits, I see deer, wild turkeys, geese, and chipmunks on a regular basis and have also seen pheasant, raccoons, fox, coyote, beaver and even once a badger! Any of these things is inspiration for a project.
Donna G.
9 years agoFrom the beautiful colors in nature! From the very subtle to the very bright, they’re all so well coordinated!
Deanna
9 years agoI’m inspired by the farm we live on. The horses, dogs, cats, oak trees, flowers, etc. I love living in the country, and we get to enjoy all 4 seasons.
Janet
9 years agoI draw inspiration from the dragonflies that hover over my swimming pool. I love their jewel-like colors. I chose a dragonfly from embroiderydesigns.com and created a T-shirt with dragonflies randomly flying across the front, using colors like the ones I saw in nature – purple, irridescent, green, silver, turquoise. The shirt is a watery aqua. It was my first project when I bought my machine, and I was really happy with the finished shirt.
melissa c
9 years agoI am blessed to have gorgeous birds who visit my feeders all day, every day! Sometimes, if I am fortunate, they leave a treasure or two behind: a feather, a broken egg shell, or even a nest. The red flash of a cardinal, or the black and white checkerboard of a woodpecker ‘ s tail is just breathtaking to me. Then there is the ruby – throated hummingbird, the challenge there is finding fabric that even comes close! As a quilter, sewist, and machine embroidery lover, nature is all the inspiration I need to create. Email : [email protected]
Jackie B
9 years agoOne day I saw a beautiful bright green Lunar moth on a rock. I was amazed at how big it was, about 8″ across! And the magenta lines were a special treat. Then one day I took a walk around our 20 acre property & took pics of Indian Paintbrush! I’ve yet to incorporate either of these into a project but I plan to one day!
Terry
9 years agoButterflies! We do butterfly releases for cancer charities and the Monarchs cluster around the flowers we have in the area. It is so absolutely amazing and emotional. I have lost count of how many butterfly designs I have a long time ago
Kati
9 years agoNature is such an inspiration on multiple layers: the intricacy of designs, the colors that coordinate (earth tones, green tones of plants, the grey brown tones of bark….) as well as pop out (flowers on green backgrounds, red or orange berries & fruit, bird colors: some to hide, others to call attention to….). All beautiful, unique and perfect in their own way…..Trying to capture all that in thread is relaxing and fascinating! The decision of which embroidery file to choose is the tough part, with so many beautiful designs to choose from!!! I love the color and variety of birds and flowers the best, as well as the rich colors of fall, so beautifully coordinated….
custom fabric printing
6 years agoNature is truly beauty.It inspires all of us to get something new.Just a way here is a design of beautiful butterflies..Thank you for sharing..keep going good
Weaveron Textile
5 years agoThe colors absolutely make any design more interesting i like butterfly..
Weaveron Textile
5 years agoi love it nature beauty.to get fabric on demand from weaveron textile.