Inspiration for "Scrapbook Quilts"

I get most of my inspiration from surfing on the internet looking at sites of quilt artists.  I just type in the words quilt artist and away I go into another world outside of my everyday life.

 Also, I Google scrapbook layout designs to get ideas for designing my backgrounds for my “photograph” or “memory” quilts.    I keep my sketchbook/journal at my fingertips to jot down designs, ideas and elements that I find interesting and might possibly use someday in a future quilt.

As I study the scrapbook pages on the internet, I make a quick sketch in my journal with notes about color placement, possible embellishments, and picture placements.

Bottom left design is the one I used for the quilt

I find coming up with new ideas on my own isn't always easy and I need to look at other people's work for inspiration. The idea for the background material layout for my "Were  we really there?"quilt  came from a scrapbook layout either on the internet or from looking at a friend's scrapbook. 

Looking again at this quilt critically, it does keep my eye moving around around the composition.   There is a feeling of a circular motion with the repeated rectangular shapes of the pictures,  but it lacks a real focal point.  There is not an element in the quilt that stands out  from the rest of the piece in value, color or size.

 I tried to place emphasis on the picture of the four of us, but I don't think it has the needed contrast to make it a focal point.  I'm not real sure what to add or if there is anything I can do at this point to make it the focal point. 

But then, looking at the quilt again, maybe the focal point isn't one of the pictures as I had planned.  The word Prague jumps out, maybe that is the focal point of the quilt, even thought it was planned that way.

I find it helpful to look at my quilts with a critical eye to hopefully improve on the next quilt I make.

I do not limit my sources of inspiration to the internet.  I go to quilt shows; take pictures; and of course search through books and magazines.