What’s in a Name?

You should name your quilts.

You should.  They deserve a name.  I mean, you name your children, and they mean the world to you.  You name your pets.  Some of us name our cars (I have a white Tahoe affectionately known as Betty White).  A quilt, something we spend an immense amount of time on and just as much money, is equally deserving of a name.

Also, let me clarify, I am talking about a quilt name, not a quilt label.  Although the name of the quilt should go on the label, a quilt name and a quilt label are not the same things.  Let me also throw in you need to label your quilts.  For that blog, go here: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2019/03/13/put-a-label-on-that-quilt/

A quilt can take on a lot of names during the construction process – some of them not very nice.  Anytime I refer to a quilt as “That Quilt”, let me assure you it’s not a compliment.  Then there was one called “The Flying Geese from Hades.”  And I can’t forget “This Quilt Has a Gazillion Pieces and I’m not Even Halfway Done.”

Good times….

For me, sometimes naming a quilt comes easily.  There’s something going on in my life and I work through the issues with my quilt.  Or I’m making a quilt for someone specific or an occasion.  These names come easier than others.  However, occasionally I have to get creative.  But I don’t feel I can go around calling a quilt something like “That one with all those triangles,” or “The one I finished before vacation.”  If I had so haphazardly named my children this way, my daughter would be known as “The one I had in the middle of The Cosby Show.”

Naming your quilts may take some time and a bit of creative effort, but they do deserve a name.  I’d like to share a few things I take into consideration as I plan to christen my quilt.

• Choose an element of the quilt you like:  This could be a line of fabric, a block, a quilting design, or the recipient of the quilt.  I do know some quilters use the name of the pattern as the name of the quilt.  And while this is certainly doable (and no quilt police will come around to arrest you), admittedly, this is not my favorite way to name a quilt.  If everyone did this, we would have hundreds of quilts named Dear Jane or Caswell.  It could get super confusing.  I have, however, used part of the pattern’s name in the quilt’s name.  I have two Dear Janes.  The first one was made from Feed Sack reproduction fabric, and she’s called “Depressed Jane” since Feed Sacks were used for quilts and clothing during the Great Depression.  My other Jane is under construction, and she’s made from blue Civil War reproduction fabric.  She’s tentatively called “Jane Sings the Blues.”

However, in the spirit of honesty, there is one future quilt I will (hopefully) make and it will take the title of the pattern as it’s name.  Bonnie Hunter has a wonderful quilt pattern called “Jarod Takes a Wife.”  I have a nephew named Jarod.  When the big day finally comes, I simply can’t think of a better pattern or a better name to use. 

And while we’re talking about quilt names verses pattern names, I do think it’s a good idea to put the name of the pattern and designer on the label.  I add this as a result of my own sheer frustration in quilt research.  I love Sunbonnet Sue quilts and have a half a dozen or so in my possession.  A few of these are made from printed Feed Sacks which place them clearly between the late 1920’s through the early to mid-1940’s.  All of these look exactly alike, down to the blue fabrics used in the borders and sashing.  Since none of these sweet quilts have a label, the best I can do is speculate.  I think the quilters followed the instructions and the sample quilt layout in a newspaper.  That’s really  all I can do. I would love to know more, but no labels mean no more info.  Adding the pattern’s name to your label is important – even if you just used a pattern as a jumping off place, it’s good to have something like “Inspired by” and add the pattern name and designer to your label.

• Choose a name relative to the design and makes the pattern stand out: 

I just finished this little Halloween quilt

All I needed to make it was a yard of background fabric and a charm pack of Halloween-inspired 5-inch squares. The charm pack had spiders and spider webs, Jack o’ Lanterns, bats, and all the orange, black, and white fabrics you could want.  I puzzled over the name for a while, until I zeroed in on the fact I used a charm pack in the quilt’s construction.  Therefore, this Halloween quilt is called…

This Halloween is a Charm.

I quilted part of the quilt with glow in the dark thread.  That little feat deserves its own blog.  It was challenging.

If you’re struggling with a name, focus on the quilting motif, or a block that is used frequently.  Let’s say you’re making a heavily appliqued quilt which looks kind of like a Baltimore Album, but strictly isn’t a Baltimore.  “Almost a Baltimore”  or “Not too Far From Baltimore” might be good names.  Or if you use the Monkey Wrench block in your quilt and quilt it with the Baptist Fan motif, you may want to call it “The Baptist Monkey.” 

1. Consider the color:  A purple quilt could easily be called “Purple Rain” or “Purple Haze.”  A red and white one could play up a peppermint theme.  If I have made a quilt and it is primarily constructed from one color, I find out two things.  First, I google the color to find out what it represents and see if I can play that into the name.  If that doesn’t work, I look up the Latin name for the color and use this as the name – which makes the quilt sound intelligent and intense. 

• Those quilts which hang out around the house:  Zone of Truth – the quilts I make which are destined for the back of a couch, the kind you pull out and wrap up in to read or watch TV, sometimes don’t have a name.  If I can’t come up with a name fairly quickly, I may forego a name (since these quilts will eventually be “used up” anyway), but I do always put a label on them. 

• Quilts bound for competition always need a name:  Quilts which are bound for a national, international, or state shows will need a name.  The registration forms will ask for the name of the quilt as well as some additional information.  Most small guild or local shows will also ask for the quilt’s name.  The name of the quilt goes on the placard placed either on the quilt or beside it to let the viewers know what you call your fabulous creation.  If the quilt is in an exhibition, chances are the organizers will also want to know the quilt’s name.  So if you’re tinkering with the idea of entering your quilt in a competition, consider names while you’re making your spectacular design.

• If none of the above spark any name-making, consider the following prompts:
•  Does the quilt remind you of a favorite food?  I made a pink and yellow lap quilt and called it Strawberry Lemonade. 
• Does the quilt remind you of a place?  As quilters, we tend to try to schedule stops at quilt stores wherever we are.  If you purchase fabric on a vacation, think about working the name of the location into to the name of your quilt.
• If you really love making quilts by a particular designer, can you work the designer’s name into the name of the quilt? 

Most quilts deserve the dignity of a name.  Think of it as the title for your work of art.  The quilt’s name will help you carry the legacy of your quilt forward into the next generation and will help future quilt historians correctly trace you and your quilt’s legacy.

Note from My Studio … About that Glow in the Dark Thread

While I have known that glow in the dark thread existed, I never had the opportunity to use it until I made This Halloween is a Charm and the quilt below:

Black Hat Society Call to Order

Both of these are small-ish quilts I’ll probably put out for Halloween (or more than likely hand them off to the grand darlings if they want them).  I’ve never been much of a Halloween person, but in for a penny, in for a pound – I wanted the quilts to be special.  Glow in the Dark thread seemed like an easy way to add a little pizazz without a lot of sweat and tears.

Since I didn’t have any of this thread in my thread stash, I needed to purchase a spool or two.  And since I had never bought this thread, and since it was a specialty thread, I decided to do a bit of research before placing an order.  I found out Glow in the Dark thread comes in types which will work in an embroidery machine, the kind you can use as quilting thread, and the varieties which can be worked into upholstery.  Like most threads, there are high quality Glow in the Darks, and low-quality glow in the darks.  High quality glow in the dark thread is made from a synthetic polymer, such as polyester.  Low-quality Glow in the Darks are solely made from polypropylene. Polypropylene will make the thread weak and will cause it to break and untwist easily.

With this knowledge I ordered my thread with the initial goal of quilting both quilts entirely in the glow in the dark thread. When the thread arrived, I unspooled about a foot of it and examined it. 

It was 40-weight, so it was definitely a heavier thread, but it also felt different – kind of like waxed quilting thread (I assume this heavy feeling was due to the chemicals applied to the thread to make it glow in the dark).   Since I had never quilted with glow in the dark before, I made a quilt sandwich and gave it a go.  And quickly found out this thread required a few special considerations which I didn’t normally have to give my regular 40-weight quilting thread.

First, my glow in the dark thread was wound horizontally.  My Janome M7 doesn’t particularly like horizontally wound thread, and this was no exception.  I tried a vertical spool pin and a horizontal one.  Neither passed muster.  I finally ended up placing the thread in a large coffee cup and setting it a few feet away from my sewing machine.  This helped a bit.

Second, since the thread was thicker (not only because it was 40-weight, but also because of the glow in the dark coating), I needed a needle with a large eye.  I tried my blue-tipped Janome needles and my top-stitching needles.  The thread continued to shred.  I could quilt for about 6-inches and the thread would shred and break.  I finally used a denim needle   16/100 and it worked pretty well.  The thread still shredded, but not nearly as often.  And yes, I tinkered with the top tension, but that didn’t help at all.

Third, I did not use the last thread guide near my needle – the last one you put your thread through before getting the thread through the eye of the needle.  This also helped stop the shredding.

Fourth, I discovered the thread worked much better if you are quilting up and down in a vertical motion than with a back-and-forth horizontal motion.  Again, it slowed down the shred.

Fifth, if you really want the glow in the dark thread to show up when the lights are out, you need to either use it to densely fill the area or go back over your quilting stitches a few times.

Bottom line – would I use glow in the dark thread again?  Absolutely.  It adds a lot to a spooky quilt.  Would I quilt an entire quilt with it?  No.  It seemed no matter what I did, the thread would shred and dealing with the shred takes a lot of time away from the quilting process.  And remember these quilts were quilted on a domestic sewing machine, not a long arm.  Any long armers out there who have quilted with glow in the dark thread?  I’d love to know how it worked with you.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix