inspiration

When I was making all those cushions the other week, one of the fabrics I used was this lovely antique French one featuring doves billing and cooing in the roses. It triggered my memory that some time ago I had also used it to make myself an inspiration board. The piece of fabric was a little stained with age but I knew it would be largely covered up and in any case I don't care, it's still amazing to me.

I bought chipboard first thing one Monday morning from a local timber yard. As I stood there in line, with all the builders who were waiting for their large quantities of wood, boxes of nails and screws, etc, they thought it hilarious when I asked for advice on the appropriate wood for my board and then had it cut down to my measurements. I also bought a long length of plywood before making a hasty escape.

Using a mini saw, I hacked off all four corners of the board, then cut down and fixed on four pieces of the plywood to form a frame at the back. I already had some thick interlining from previous curtain making projects so I padded the board with a few squares, then laid a piece of my precious fabric over the front and secured it round the back with my staple gun. I also used some coordinating ribbon to criss cross the fabric, pulled the strips tight and stapled the ends to the frame.

Finally I fixed a couple of eyelet screws to either side and secured some picture framing wire so I can hang my board like a picture above my sewing table. I've often thought about gluing buttons to the parts that cross but I never got round to it, you know I'm an incurable hoarder when it comes to my buttons. Granted, I can barely see my doves now but I know they're there, that's all that matters and I do love my little piece of inspiration.

On my board I have things such as favourite Liberty swatches, a piece of the antique French metal trim I have in my cupboard, an unused 1939 calendar and pictures of jewellery I've cut from magazines. There are also treasures from my travels like the St Christopher's medallion I was given by the nuns at Mother Teresa's hospital in Calcutta, and a traditional handmade worry doll brooch from a market in Guatemala. But the most important things to me, it goes without saying, are the cards and drawings that have been pinned on by the children.

Do you have a board and if so, what do you have on it?