Stitcher's Block

What happens when a stitcher has the equivalent of "writer's block"?  When no new ideas are coming?

Lots and lots of Pinterest happens. Lots and lots of pinning things that touch the heart and spark the imagination.

Currently I am in love with what I like to call Storybook Illustration and Storybook Cottages.

Illustration by Blanch Fisher Wright

This style of illustration is born out of the late 19th Century Art Nouveau Movement or Arts and Crafts Movement which values natural forms and muted colors.  In writing this I looked for a nice succinct description of this branch of art but came up with wildly varying prose.  None of which really did the art justice.  So I'm just going to add some pictures to give you an idea of what it is I am talking about. 

 

Art Nouveau Style Cottage Illustration - Artist Unknown

What I enjoy about this style of illustration is, to a degree, it's simplicity.  That even though the colors are muted there is a brightness to them.  The illustrations hearken back to a time when life may have been a little simpler.  They are cozy.  

If you follow me on Pinterest you will know that I have been pinning these sorts of illustrations as well as English thatched roof cottages.  Many of these can be found in the Cotswolds, a place I am longing to visit. 

Cute Thatched Cottage - somewhere in England

There was also a trend in home architecture that occurred mostly in the 1920's and 30's called Storybook Architecture.  Many examples of this trend can be found in Carmel, California.  

Carmel, CA Storybook Cottage

The question that arises from all this pinning, of course, is how does this help with the "stitcher's block" that I've been experiencing.  I'm not sure, but at least I am sketching again, dreaming of my own sunny cottage. 

Dreamy Cottage