Contest winner

And the winner is...

#6, dawni!

Thanks for playing everybody! dawni, I'll be in touch with you so we can plan your miniature-quilt prize.

My Quilt

Thanks to all who suggested names for my four-patch scrap quilt. I love them all! I think my favorites were The Amazing Technicolor Dreamquilt, Eight Bit Mona Lisa, and Pelangi, but none of those made it to the top. That's because I remembered a favorite poem by Nikki Giovanni called "My House," from her 1972 book of the same title. I'd love to quote the full text of the poem here but there's something so wrong about that, so I'll give you the quilt-related stanza:

i spent all winter in
carpet stores gathering
patches so i could make
a quilt
does this really sound
like a silly poem
i mean i want to keep you
warm

You must, must, must read the whole poem, however, if you are a lover of poetry. Read it aloud, read it to someone you love. You will understand, then, why my quilt must be called "My House." It is a quilt about gathering patches, pieces of my days and work and family, it is a quilt about taking charge of my life and bringing peace and wholeness to my world, it is a quilt about opening up my self to those I know and love. It is a nesting quilt, it is a growing quilt, it is a welcoming quilt. Welcome to "My House." Come over soon and share it with me.

Fit to be tied

I finally finished stitching the binding to the back of the quilt this afternoon. It's been a slow five days, but for once I feel secure that the edges of my quilt will hold together -- no fraying and raveling on this one -- and the corners surprised me by mitering nicely. Now it's time to pull the layers of the quilt sandwich together by tying a square knot with white pearl cotton in the center of each four-patch. I started doing that earlier this evening and I'm liking the way it's going. Helps to balance the bright, crisp blue flowered border with the hippy-dippy scrappy-patchy center. I'm liking it. Except.

The whole idea behind the four-patch quilt design was that it should have an amount of structure without being stuffy. The blocks were laid out just so, from top left: light patch, dark patch, light patch, dark patch, so that -- in my mind, as I set up the rows -- the dark patches were like stair-steps climbing up the quilt. Nothing sophisticated, to be sure, and it won't win any prizes for visual effects, but I do think it's easier on the eyes than a totally random layout would have been. And then I take a closer look.

Of course I knew there would be mistakes. There are ten zillion squares in this thing. Some of them were bound to get turned round the wrong way. No big deal. It's when I begin looking for those oversights that I begin to drive myself berserk. Because, of course, they're all I can see.

As I work through the four-patches, inserting the ties, I'll have a chance to notice, lament and remember every single mistake. Then I'll name the quilt, wash it and put it on my bed, and it will mellow and age. I'll read, write and watch TV under it, spread it on the grass and picnic on it, wrap and transport antique furniture in it, and fold it in a laundry basket for an old, old fat cat to sleep on. The colors and textures and harmonious and discordant patterns will become faded and fixed and ultimately, utterly beloved -- no need for any concern about flaws here.

How many "mistakes" can you find in the picture of the quilt top, if a mistake is a four-patch where the dark diagonal is turned in the wrong direction? I'll count how many are on the actual quilt, and if our numbers agree I'll do a drawing and make someone a surprise!

The Amazing Technicolor Dreamquilt Contest

My quilt is nearly bound. After that I will do the ties -- I am finding it so soothing and satisfying to do all of this handwork -- and then it will be time to name and label the quilt and call it done. My goal is to complete the quilt by the end of the day on Monday. In case you've forgotten what it looks like, you can view a picture of the quilt top here.

Now that you've refreshed your memory, it's time to get to work.

Think of a name for my quilt -- the point here is to have as many working ideas as possible. Leave your suggestion in the comments. (If you don't have a new suggestion of your own but really like someone else's, leave a comment to that effect.) For each original comment that you leave, I will enter your name in a drawing to win a miniature quilt that I will make especially for you, colors and design to be determined at a later date. To earn an extra entry, become a follower of my blog or subscribe to its RSS feed and leave a comment saying that you have done so. Or invite a friend to comment on this post and drop your name in their comment.

Contest will be closed at the end of the day on Monday, March 23, 2009.