I See Appliqué

I (Kara) am not sure how it happened, but it's September, and I feel like I blinked and the summer was gone. It may have had something to do with the fact that we had a non-stop stream of people visiting us, and there are still people filling our guest rooms as I write! It is fun having visitors, as we get to take them to some wonderful places and see some amazing things. While our guests see beautiful vistas and history, I see appliqué. My phone is full of painted shutters, wooden carvings, and more—all of which are potential appliqué or embroidery designs in my mind. 

As we have just gotten back from three months of travel to various places, I thought it might be fun to share some of the things I've seen that have inspired me. Come along with me on an appliqué inspiration photo tour, as we travel to France, Germany, England, and Austria.

This painted urn, found on a store in Bavaria, would be lovely in ribbon, fabric, or a combination of both!

Carvings on a bar in Partenkirchen, Germany

Painted shutters are very common in Bavaria.

I love the frame around this one.

Either one of these carvings would make a stunning appliqué block by itself, or maybe a whole quilt with the same block.

Another French door. 

Door in the Alsace region of France.

Beautiful carving on an armoire in a German antique shop

This little owl carving was near the altar at the Ulm Cathedral in Ulm, Germany.

Bronze swan on a gate at Hohenzollern castle, Germany

The actual gate

Beautiful tiles found in Birmingham

This owl almost looks like an embroidery design.

Some of these designs would be lovely in wool (maybe not the snake in the center).

Carvings on a building in Partenkirchen (Bavaria), Germany

More Bavarian urns

My absolute favorite building to date found just outside of Salzburg, Austria.

Not all the inspiration was carved, painted or sculpted. 
These adorable lambs were just outside of one of the Normandy beaches. 

All these pictures have been collected over the course of the last three months, so you can see we have been taking advantage of seeing the sights with our guests! I'm sure many of them have questioned my photo subjects, but my husband is used to it by now. Do you see appliqué inspiration when you travel? Hopefully in the not to far off future, we will take this inspiration and turn it into patterns. 

Now if I can just get my guests to leave...😁