In my last post, I mentioned that the hardest part of making my Ebb & Flow quilt was coming up with a name for it -- and I meant it! So many times I finish a quilt only to find myself completely at a loss when it comes to naming it. In my mind (truly a scary place), the perfect name should be clever or charming and definitely original. It should evoke a mood, or convey a meaning or reference the quilt's inspiration or even its color palette. And it can't be too cutesy or corny or cliched. It's possible that my requirements may be a bit unrealistic.
As usual, when creativity eludes me or I'm wracked with indecision, I turn to my family for help. Sometimes it pays off. My daughter, in particular, is occasionally willing to help me brainstorm quilt names and has actually come up with the names for a couple, most recently Metro. But if she's not in the right mood or if I approach the men in my life, it's a different story. I get that quilting is not their thing and that I'm probably being a bit overly optimistic asking advice from my sons (12 and 13), my 15-year-old daughter and my 40-something husband, but honestly, some of their ideas are appalling -- so bad that I've recently started keeping track of them.
Here's the first installment, in no particular order, of my family's worst quilt names:
Orchid Jungle
Bubble Gum Delight
Watermelon Sunshine (the watermelon idea is compliments of my older son and has absolutely no relevance to any quilt I've ever shown him. He just throws it out there every time I ask him for a quilt name idea -- totally phoning it in.)
Watermelon Fiesta
Carousel of Color (my husband has a thing for alliteration)
Poinsettia Perfection (more alliteration)
Simple Snowflake Starflower (guess who!?)
Joyful Raptureness (my daughter likes to create new words by adding "ness" to the end of existing words)
Equinoxness
Fields of Meadows (just a smidge redundant)
Leaf n' Geese (catchy, right?)
Lots-A-Balls (no comment)
Deck the Balls (there were a lot more "ball" related names thrown out for this particular snowball quilt, accompanied by the requisite little boy giggling, but I think you get the idea)
As I re-read this list of quilt names, I realize that I should probably stop asking my family for ideas -- I'm not exactly sure their hearts are in it (case in point: "Lots-A-Balls"). But somehow I don't think I will. I might not be able to count on them for the perfect name, but I can always count on them for a laugh.
