I was updating my Excel spreadsheet that I use to track my quilts and I realized that I’m terrible at naming quilts. These are some of the brilliant names I’ve come up with so far this year:
Twin Cabin #1
Twin Cabin #2
Baby Cabin
Crooked Hearts
Red/Purple Rail Fence
Butterfly Quilt
Adam’s Jeans Quilt
Crayon Geese
Blue Braid #1
Blue Braid #2
Chris’ wedding quilt
Pink Quilt (so named because it’s Pink and I’m donating it to Quilt Pink)
Boring right? I started thinking about what name I would use for this year’s autumn quilt and in the interest of coming up with a more interesting name than Autumn Quilt 2006, I did an internet search of Autumn and Poetry and came up with the following choices:
Autumn’s Glory
An Autumn Day
Autumn Mosaic
The Colors of Autumn – this is the name I chose
The Colors of Autumn
in the North Georgia Mountains, November 2005
That’s a good question! Some have inspired names (‘The Color Purple’ had nice meaning, others are much less so. Almost all my quilts are gifts, so they get names like ‘Max’s Quilt’. This is something good for me to think about!
That’s a great name for your quilt, I’m with you, I’m not great at naming quilts. If I’m pressured to name something, it’s usually something to do with the block pattern, and therefore completely unoriginal. I like your idea of searching on poetry, mind if I borrow it at times?*hugs*Tazzie🙂
I name my quilts the same as you. Booooooring names. Try every time to come up with an brilliant idea, but no…..just booooooring names. I admire all the other quilters who name their quilts so very well. But your idea surching on net for good names. I will try that.
I have gotten some names from Bloggers. THey seem to be full of ideas.
Good question! I tend not to name my quilts and call them by the name of the pattern – until I decide to enter one in our quilt show. Then I’m faced with the blank that says “name” on the entry form. Then I try to determine the “feeling” the quilt portrays for me, and go from there. Usually nothing exciting results I’m afraid.
I name quilts as I make them — there was love in choas (freeform X’s and O’s) there’s “Tied up in knots” (a celtic knot sampler I did while both my mom and dad were sick with cancer); “sinkholes and Supernovas” for some string blocks that floated on a B&W background…. I never start with a naem, and not all quilts have names, but some “come to me”…
Colors of Autumn….such a warm name, full of comfort…like hot chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk.
Mary:Love the name you came up with.I cannot think of names either. Mine were always like yours – purple and green nine patch or something like that.I have a friend (Mary) who can think of the best names just off the top of her head. I just can’t do it.Judy L.
Sometimes they come to me, sometimes they don’t. More often than not, they don’t.
Wish I could be more clever with my quilt names. My favorite so far is “Code Violation” – a log cabin quilt that is so wonky because of my inexperience and inaccuracy that I thought the name appropriate. I also liked “All My Life’s a Circle” that I named a bullseye I made after 9/11 to donate to an older child/young adult in NY. But often, nothing original comes, and I just use the person’s name and the block name.
sometimes a name just pops into my brain! I’ll have to dig out some old photos of my favorite names and post them… although the best names aren’t necessarily my favorite quilts!
My names are boring too – and are generally the name of the pattern or a derivation thereof, or maybe the color or theme. So I have the purple quilt, and the fall wallhanging or snowman quilt, or John’s quilt. When I try to come up with fancier names – like Determination for the name of the quilting pattern, I don’t always remember which quilt that refers to.
LOL – My names tend to be a little scarcastic and/or silly! Rebuilt Log CabinD2R2 ..(Dumpster Twice, Retrieved Twice)Water Logged Cabin Broken Ankle QuiltLeftovers AgainTelephone Book Quilt #1, #2, etc.Robert’s Girls – (Pinup girls as backing)Just Another StarOut in Left FieldPainter’s Panes (because it was a PAIN!) but I didn’t want PAIN to be on the label)—–Oh dear – listing a few of them makes me feel less than serious! Well, THAT’S ME ! (oh, that was a name of a horse I once owned!)
I agree with Peach. Some quilts speak to you and some (most) are silent. Hence I have begun to collect peoples names that I like and I am starting to use them. Right now I am working on tow quilts — Annabeth and Chloe.
I do the tracking of my quilts in progress on Excel too! I started it when I realized I quilted all year and couldn’t hardly remember what I had done! I give a lot away, so this is a way to remember what I have done and keep me in check when I want to start new. Names? Sometimes the names come to me, but mostly are like the rest, derivative of the name/color/who it’s going to. Once in a while I’ll come up with a clever name and then when I’m reading my spreadsheet, I can’t for the life of me remember what quilt I’m talking about! Right now I have one, “Tropical Punch” that I don’t have a clue what or where it is! So I could get into trouble doing too many fun names! LOL
Well, this is funny! I always name my CARS, but almost never name a QUILT! Log Cabin, Log Cabin, Log Cabin, Scrappy Blue, or the name from the designer – LOL! Good thought – will have to think on this…Cheers!Evelyn
For the few quilts I’ve made I’ve named them using a twist on the original name. Last summer I used a pattern called Contrary Quarters. Well, my blocks spoke to me differently than the pattern so I called it Contrary Quarters Gone Awry. My Pink Finity Quilt is a twist on the name Infinity Blocks. I think you get the idea.
If it is my own quilts it doesn’t much matter since I do so few of them, LOL. The donation ones it is more of a descriptor of the colors and patterns used to differentiate one from the other. I have been known to have to on occasion get a magnifying glass out to be sure about the binding color especially if I am behind on matching picture and numbers for the document. I have to do this for the donation quilts since we donate most of the WTIL quilts here in AL.
No idea…But I think I have come up with some good ones in the past…Trip around the rainbow log cabinTabbies take a Trip around TokyoCat’s charmingThe truth about cats and dogsCharming OrientNot shy but KoiSushi, because the fish print got chopped up real good!BTW I posted my “Authentic Amish” quilt today…
I have only recently started naming my quilts qith “interesting” names, but when I do, they usually spring either from a particular novelty fabric in the quilt- this happens with kid quilts. esp- or, the colors, or, they way I find myself describing the quilt when I blog about it.
The ones that are made to go away don’t get names, just descriptions like “blue log cabin.” I try to name the ones I keep — usually the name just reveals itself 🙂Jeanne