A traditional way to celebrate the fun and festive holiday of St. Patrick’s Day is to wear something green. Here at Princess YellowBelly we want to take it a step further, and challenge you – and ourselves – to make something green.
We’ve made two mug rugs [aka potholders or hot pads] that are green, Irish-inspired, and just plain fun!
All the details on the Shamrock Mug Rug creation process is in this article. In this article, we’ll be sharing how we made the leprechaun hat pot holder – which is just a teensy bit harder, but can still be finished in just 1 Hour!
Or make up your own green piece of Irish magic! Table toppers, your own mug rug design, crochet, knitting, felting…let’s just have some fun with it!
4. Sew all around template leaving a ¼ inch allowance with the outside line and your stitching line.
5. Remove template – gently! If you can pull it loose from the stitching line without tearing it, you can use it again and again.
Make a Leprechaun Hat Pot Holder Steps 6-12
Now it’s time to do the beautiful details:
6. Cut out shamrock. Leave a ¼ inch seam allowance between where you cut and the stitching line. Snip the points – it’ll pucker if you don’t.
7. Turn shamrock right side out, gently, through the turning slit.
8. Gently push out the seams and points using a corner turner
9. Iron flat, front and back
10. Sew turning closed by hand! Use a hand sewing needle, matching thread, and a whipstitch.
11. Cut apart your paper template; the top oval of hat, the band, and the shamrock
12. Pin shamrock template on gold fabric, band template on black fabric, and cut out.
FINISH Making a Leprechaun Hat Pot Holder! Steps 13-15
13. Place top hat oval on the top of the top hat, and trace the bottom edge in chalk – then quilt this line as you like (straight stitch or satin stitch)
14. Pin black band to the hat, and sew it down using a tight, narrow satin stitch.
15. Place shamrock on the band, quilt all around the edge with a satin stitch using the thread you like best – we usually use matching thread for already pop-out detailing
And You’re Done!
Take a second to celebrate and enjoy your new Irish-inspired mug rug – mug rugs if you’ve also made our lucky shamrock potholder! Let us know about your experience in the comments below, and make sure to subscribe so you can stay current with all our great content.
Learn How to Make Cute & Easy Irish-Inspired Mug Rugs / step-by-step green & Celtic tutorial
A traditional way to celebrate the fun and festive holiday of St. Patrick’s Day is to wear something green. Here at Princess YellowBelly we want to take it a step further, and challenge you – and ourselves – to make something green.
We’ve made two mug rugs [aka potholders or hot pads] that are green, Irish-inspired, and just plain fun!
These mug rugs are super-easy to make, and if you want to follow along, we’ll be posting the steps in the days before St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2022), if you want to follow along. Or make up your own green piece of Irish magic! Table toppers, your own mug rug design, crochet, knitting, felting…let’s just have some fun with it!
Shamrock Mug Rug Day 1: Steps 1-4
Of the two mug rugs we designed to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we chose to start with the Shamrock, because it’s the absolute easiest!
Select 5-8 green fabrics ranging from light-dark
Spray starch and iron green fabrics and your backing fabric
Cut 1 ¼ inch strips from fabrics – you need 8 total strips at this width to create the right size for the shamrock, so if you only chose 5 fabrics (like we did), you need to pick a couple of colors to repeat. We chose to start at dark, go to light, and then build back up to dark for our shamrock strip set.
Sew strip set together and iron seams flat
Shamrock Mug Rug Day 2: Steps 5-10
5. Construct turning slit in backing fabric (mark a 2-inch line down the middle of your backing fabric. Sew a narrow satin stitch all around this line, then cut the line open.)
6. Iron 2 layers of batting (these are mug rugs, so you’ll need the extra insulation)
11. Cut out shamrock. Leave a ¼ inch seam allowance between where you cut and the stitching line. Snip the points – it’ll pucker if you don’t.
12. Turn shamrock right side out, gently, through the turning slit.
13. Gently push out the seams and points using a corner turner
14. Iron flat, front and back
FINISHING the Shamrock Mug Rug Day 4: Steps 15-17
15. Sew turning closed by hand! Use a hand sewing needle, matching thread, and a whipstitch.
16. Following the template lines, draw in leaf lines with chalk.
17. Quilt on lines (you can do this with a straight stitch for a quicker finish, or with a satin stitch in a brighter thread for a more stand-out statement)
How the Princess YellowBelly team accepted our own challenge and transformed a Bargello table-topper into a stunning (if we do say so ourselves) farm-to-table runner.
We’ve heard the most dangerous words in the world are “we’ve always done it this way.”
Here at Princess YellowBelly Designs we take a certain amount of pride in the fact that we don’t allow traditional quilting “rules” to define the limits of possibility. Just because quilters have always done it one way in the past doesn’t mean that we won’t try doing something completely crazy just because it might be:
Easier
Faster
More beautiful
More unique
…Or all of those things at once!
Thinking outside the box is a lifelong challenge, and recently we found ourselves challenged to get out of a box we hadn’t even realized we were in.
When one artist wanted to re-imagine one of our favorite original quilting patterns as a more traditional quilt, it kind of shocked us. Somehow we’d gotten into the habit of believing that we were creatively stretching our limits just because we were making new patterns.
What we weren’t asking ourselves was, “are we taking these original patterns to their full potential?”
Taking a Strawberry from Farm-to-Table Runner
One original PYB quilting pattern that we’re very fond of is the “Bargello Strawberry Table Topper.” That one was a lot of work in terms of figuring and technical difficulty – pretty standard for any Bargello design.
It came out beautifully, and we love hanging it on our wall every spring and summer.
After taking a second look at many of our patterns through the lens of “could we do this a different way,” the strawberry stood out to us as one that would be fairly easy to adapt, and possibly mixed with other patterns.
Questions to Help Guide Change
If you’re a fabric artist who likes to adapt and change patterns to serve your own purposes, here’re some of the questions that it’s good to ask yourself before setting out to change a pattern:
What are the elements?
Like a tasty recipe, every pattern is composed of a variety of materials, techniques, and steps. If you want to go about altering a pattern, you need to understand all the different elements in order to understand what needs to be changed, or not. For something as apparently simple as our Bargello Strawberry Table Topper, for example, there’re 4 distinct elements involved:
A Bargello pattern
A shaped outline
Inside-out turn over style
Appliqued (leaves and seed pips)
What – if any – elements are changeable?
Some elements can be altered with barely any thought or effort, and others are extremely precise in terms of measurements and outcome.
A Bargello pattern is one of the hardest to make any individual adaptations to because the size, width, and color layering is extremely precise and creates incredibly distinct optical illusions.
On the other hand a simple shape – strawberry outline – can be shrunk or enlarged, flipped, and adapted in dozens of ways without too much figuring.
How much do I want to change this?
If you’re starting with something like a quilting pattern – a rail-fence or pinwheel for example – it’s not too terribly hard to think of shrinking it. We make all different sizes of pinwheel blocks for backgrounds, borders, and table runners.
On the other hand, changing a small, contained pattern – like a shaped wall-hanging – into a full-size quilt requires quite a bit of creativity.
What do I have that would look good with this?
In our case, we had a printed panel of an original photo that we’d had made up for our shop. The strawberry fruit smoothie in a fine-dining setting makes for an eye-catching piece, and we’ve always wanted to do something more with it.
How well do the new elements match up?
We realized that the sizing of the two elements we had that were easily adaptable – the strawberry outline and the printed photo panel – were very close in size already. So we decided not to get too crazy and make a whole quilt, just a table runner.
How much time do I want to spend?
Making a big quilt takes time. Making a super-complicated wall hanging takes time. Making a table runner / table topper / baby quilt doesn’t take nearly as long – usually. We’ve got a lot of big projects already planned out this year, and we didn’t feel like adding a whole other quilt – and the 1-4 months investment in time.
So, we decided to change the Bargello Strawberry pattern from a single large table topper to a printed photo panel & shaped applique table runner.
What do I not have to figure out on my own?
As quilters and fabric artists we have a tendency to collect patterns. We’re especially fond of those that come in the little baggies at the quilt store, with a unique pattern and a simple style with as few specialty rulers as possible.
Lo-and-behold, we had a table runner pattern that was very generic, diamonds, triangles, 9-patch squares, and half-square triangles, that fit the measurements of our printed photo panel nicely.
Bringing the Strawberries from Farm-to-Table
It took us about a week of mornings, an average of 4 hours a morning for 5 days, to figure out how we wanted to transform the pattern to our own design.
Some of the challenges we faced included:
“Cropping” the strawberry smoothie printed photo panel to the right size (without losing any of the detailing that makes it so special)
Re-sizing the strawberry outline to fit the same size background panel as the strawberry smoothie block
Changing the Bargello pattern on the interior of the shaped strawberries to be reasonably easy and quick without sacrificing the visual effect (the whole point of using the Bargello pattern in the first place was to create the illusion of a “real” strawberry)
Figuring the 9-patch blocks to best fit in with the colors of the strawberry printed fabric we used for the outer triangles
Finding the right color big-block sashing strips to separate the jewel-tone greens and reds of all the different strawberry elements.
Overall, it was a simple and entertaining project. The result was better than we’d originally envisioned, and we discovered a much, much simpler way of creating the optical illusion effect on the shaped strawberries alone!
Once we were done tweaking our strawberry pattern, the table runner pattern, and our original printed photo panel, nothing looked much like it had to start with.
The result was – if we may be allowed a bit of a brag – stunning!
Want to Know How to Make Your Own “Farm-to-Table” Runner?
We took careful pictures and videos of every step of the process of creating this beautiful, strawberry farm-to-table runner, and we’ve turned it into an easy-to-follow video.
A few months ago an enterprising artist had an idea for us on how to change up one of our original patterns. It was such a fascinating idea that we offered her a series of gifts:
A FREE quilting pattern for Freedom Flight (the pattern she was interested in changing)
FREE access to the video tutorial series
Exclusive access to our help (if and as needed)
In exchange, we wanted the rights to publish her story, and follow along as she worked on adapting it. If and when she does need our help, we’ll do it via a Zoom call and then publish those videos for your viewing and learning pleasure.
In short, we saw a fantastic, fantastic opportunity to grow our own creative reach. I’m about to tell you that you have an opportunity to:
Get in on the Action!
Get any original pattern by Princess YellowBelly FREE!
Also get complimentary access to any supplementary tutorial materials – videos, articles, pictures, etc.
And get the kind of exclusive access to us that Carrie’s enjoying
That’s right! If you choose to take advantage of this offer, you won’t have to pay a cent for any one of our unique, tested, hard-won and original patterns that inspires you. We’ll send you the original pattern of your choice, access to any video tutorials we might have, and give you inside access to our hands-on help and advice, completely free.
How to Take Advantage of this Unprecedented Offer
I’d love to be able to just offer any-and-everyone this kind of insider access. Unfortunately, though, we do have to put some limits on this opportunity.
One thing that we’ve found about Princess YellowBelly is that our creativity grows from the creativity of others. Each unique artist, each Seam Ripper Champion that we’ve had the privilege of meeting and learning from has made us better.
In short, your creativity is both inspirational and vital to us.
Most Important: Have a Creative Idea
What we want – what we’re actively looking for – are your ideas of our designs. How can you think to change, update, and transform the patterns that we’ve spent so much time and love changing and transforming ourselves.
Take a look at any of the original quilting patterns in our Shop; Freedom Flight, My Pad, The Christmas Bells; and think of how you’d like to do it differently.
Would you like to change The Christmas Bells pattern (coming soon) into a runner, rather than a topper?
Could “My Pad” be made into a centerpiece for a (more) traditional quilt like Carrie’s doing with Freedom Flight?
If you’ve got an idea for us, here are the conditions to meet in order to get that FREE pattern, insider access, and supplemental tutorials.
For Newsletter Subscribers
If you’re a newsletter subscriber, congrats! Not only do you have FREE insider access to our newest content, insider access, and first-look privileges, (not to mention a copy of our 52 Fabric Art Success Tips), now you can take advantage of this offer in four easy steps.
All you (loyal subscriber) have to do is:
Open your email
Find any one of our newsletter issues
Hit “Reply”
And tell us about your brilliant idea
We’ll review your idea, offer any answers or suggestions that we can, and set up your first sharing article and receipt of your new PYB original pattern – and support elements.
For Non-Subscribers
If you’re not a subscriber yet…what are you waiting for?!?
Seriously, though, if you’re not a subscriber you’re still more than welcome to participate in this challenge and win yourself a FREE pattern, plus all the supplemental materials.
All you have to do is purchase something from our Store; anything at all:
Once you’ve purchased something from us, all you have to do is Reply to one of the confirmation emails, let us know that you’ve got an idea to change one of our original patterns, and Bob’s your uncle!
Or you could subscribe to our newsletter, and Reply to any of your “Welcome to the Family” confirmation emails.
Your choice.
We really do hope that you take advantage of this unique and brand-new opportunity to participate in our ongoing fabric art adventure! We’re all about building a community that supports real quilting creativity (what we call “quiltivity). We want to both preserve and update the traditions and memories of those who came before us, and impart this artistic passion to a new generation.
Please join us! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
“Can you use a shaped wall hanging pattern as the centerpiece square of a traditional quilt?”
If that question sent shockwaves down your backbone, then you’re not alone! That deceptively simple little question sent ripples out into our curiosity. It’s inspired our interest, our creativity, and it’s suggested a whole new section that we hope will prove to not only be insightful into the arts of quilting and pattern alteration – but also inspirational for your own quiltivity!
Welcome!
Join Us for One Pattern’s Journey from Idea, to Wall Hanging, to Heirloom
As of this moment you’re invited to embark on a new journey with Princess YellowBelly and our newest artistic friend on the ever evolving journey of one of our very favorite original patterns.
Arguably our single most popular item ever is our soaring red, white, and blue shaped American eagle wall hanging.
“Freedom Flight” was created as a celebration of the Fourth of July several years ago.
Since we first put it up, it consistently has the most views, often by the day, and certainly by the month and year. And it easily leads the field in our original pattern shop, as well.
An Intriguing New Design Idea
Just a couple of weeks ago we received an interesting question via our Etsy.com store.
Carrie asked us: “I am thinking of using the pieced eagle as the centerpiece of a quilt. Do you think it would work to piece this onto a base fabric that could be used in a traditional quilt?”
Fascinating.
At Princess YellowBelly we spend an awful lot of time trying to figure out how to turn more traditional quilting patterns into shaped wall-hangings, but we’d never thought of turning one of our original designs back into a traditional quilt!
We sent back an answer that we thought would be useful – and I’ll share that a little later. However, as helpful as we were trying to be, we got to thinking that this question deserved much closer attention, and Carrie’s ingenuity deserved a lot more support from us.
Let’s Figure it Out Together!
There’s a lot of icky, picky details to try to figure out if you go around adapting other people’s existing patterns.
Especially something like Freedom Flight, which is already “abnormal” to an extent, and which we’ve played with and perfected until it’s a pretty much self-contained pattern.
So after we sent off that early response, we reached back out to Carrie and asked her if she’d like a little bit more help on trying this incredibly interesting – and potentially difficult – creative adventure.
She Said Yes!
While Carrie goes about re-creating Freedom Flight as the centerpiece of a very, very special heirloom quilt, she’ll be generously sharing her story with us.
A Loving Mother’s Self-Made Trap
Carrie, in her own words, never planned on doing this type of super-creative quilting.
“I’m not really a quilter – I much prefer handwork, crochet, embroidery, stuff I can do in the car or while watching TV!
But I dug myself a hole in 2014, when I made our oldest child a high school graduation quilt (mostly embroidered silhouettes of Paris and hand appliquéd PARIS down the center squares) and thereby set the precedent of having to make the younger children quilts as well for their graduations.
The most recent one was a college graduation for her younger sister last May. I’m now working on brother’s high school graduation – set for May 2022. He wants to go to a Service Academy, so I’m just using a patriotic theme. I’ve hand appliquéd USA onto individual squares and also embroidered words:
Courage
Discipline
Honor
Duty”
Wow! In my opinion, that’s brave, and that’s a real show of love – doing something you don’t particularly enjoy just because you want all of your kids to know that you care for them equally, and you want them to have something to remember forever.
I started quilting for the same reason (my kids were little), but I enjoyed quilting to start with.
Getting this Party Started
Which is why I’m so honored that Carrie chose our pattern to complete her journey with. Especially since Carrie hand-pieces her quilts!
“All the while, I don’t have a pattern that I’m following – just kind of making it up as I go. And trying to do as much by hand as I can, since that’s actually what I really enjoy. When I saw your eagle pattern, it looked like something that I could piece by hand and then appliqué onto a background fabric.”
Piecing together a bunch of different squares around a central theme and without a formal pattern is something we do a lot of ourselves. And while it’s tricky, it also makes for amazing and unique quilts.
At this stage of her project, this is what Carrie is working with:
A digital download pattern of Freedom Flight (which includes step-by-step instructions, graphic illustrations, and a master template)
And access to a step-by-step video tutorial series, as well
She also has the outer-border squares that she’s already appliqued and embroidered
Access to Our Hands-On Help
In exchange for being able to share Carrie’s story, and pictures of how she adapts Freedom Flight in her heirloom quilt, we’re offering her hands-on help and access to our ideas and brainstorming.
Depending on what issues Carrie may or may not have, we’ll keep adding updates:
In articles
Social media posts
Pictures
Possibly videos
That last one, videos, may come about if Carrie wants to talk to us directly, probably via a Zoom call.
In our next article we’ll share the advice that we initially gave Carrie – which was basically our personal experience with putting shaped centerpieces onto background squares. We shared several different ideas, and we’ll see which option she does decide to go with. (The hand-piecing should add an interesting element).
Don’t you just love autumn designs? I know that Princess YellowBelly does – in her role as my quilting muse she seems to return to autumn designs and elements for probably around half of all my original quilts and quilting patterns.
Which leaves us with A LOT of autumn, harvest, and fall quilts – or at the very least, autumn-interpretative.
For instance, our Tiger Quilt isn’t technically an autumn design, but it can be used in that way!
Which leaves us with a weird problem. It’s one of those problems that we’re actually glad that we have, because it’s a problem of overabundance.
We have too many fall-themed quilts, wall hangings, and table toppers!
It’s like Old MacDonald had a farm, and on that farm he had some fabric and some fall leaves and left them alone for a while. And having hung many of these projects on my walls for my internal “changing of the seasons” decorating efforts, I think my creativity is running a little low.
Please Help Us Get Our Creativity Going this Fall!
Would you please share with us how you decorate for autumn? Especially if you use quilts, wall hangings, and other forms of fabric art as part of your interior decorating scheme. But even if you don’t really use fabric art in your home, please share with us how you make a fall-ish look.
Do you decorate more for Thanksgiving or Halloween?
Do you do a lot of decorating or minimal decorating?
How would you incorporate unique pieces like furniture?
Would you use antique – well, anything – to help display a wall hanging or quilt?
Please let us know your ideas, your decorating tips, your past experiences! Fall will be on us before we know it – thank goodness, since I’m done with the summer heat – and I want to do something really unique.
We’ll be sharing some of our past fabric art decorating methods on Facebook & Pinterest, and there’ll be some fun prizes for anyone who gives an answer!
As I’ve gotten into restoring antique quilts that I’ve found at the thrift and antique stores around here I’ve been thinking a lot about what connects “you” to quilts and fabric art. What is it that makes each one of us love fabric art and quilting, beyond a simple appreciate for color, texture, or skill? Is it:
The fact that quilts make a room so much more homey and inviting?
The rich addition to our daily lives?
A warm blanket under which to sleep?
Something to hand down to the next generation?
Any of these things might – or might not – be true for each of us. Personally I do use my quilts, both to hang from walls and staircases and to sleep under. Although I have a rigid list of rules about actually touching the quilts!
But my theory is that it’s something deeper.
Your Quilting Heart
As you may know from our last newsletter, Suzanna recently entered a social media challenge hosted by Fiskars scissors on “Create Your Happiness.” She had only one story that she felt had a connection – and that was the story of the first quilt she ever made, and the first heirloom-level quilt I let her have on her bed.
It was a story that made me tear up, it was so beautiful.
She didn’t win, which makes me a little sad because I thought it was the most perfect quilting story ever written. (I might be a little biased). Suzanna, who loves to enter writing competitions, shrugged and said, “oh well, I’ll get the next one.”
But I still thought that her story about my husband’s grandmother, a Sunbonnet Sue quilt that I tied (yes, tied, if you can believe that I ever did something like that), and a pair of scissors was a beautiful picture of what our quilting loves are all about. The heart, the history, the art, the beauty, the love!
That’s why I quilt – and that’s why I hope you quilt as well.
While the he/art of love might be what ties us all to fabric art, it’s my belief that the individual stories of what connects you to quilts and fabric art is infinitely unique and special. So, win or lose, I’d like to encourage you to enter our latest challenge – open indefinitely – on your quilting story.
I look forward to hearing what connects you to quilting and fabric art!
Some of our earliest memories involve quilts. Even if we don’t consciously know it.
And even if they weren’t “quilts” in the sense that we use it here at Princess YellowBelly Designs; which is “a pieced top of some kind that incorporates beauty made into a fabric sandwich with a backing and a middle batting layer.”
The warmth, comfort and security that quilts generate are, quite frankly, priceless.
Quilts are Tangible Links to Our Past
For some of us quilts have been there from our earliest childhood as symbols of warmth and love – gifts from Mom or Grandma; the quilts that kept us warm and safe for years.
Or, for those of us who are active quilters, our most poignant memories of quilts often involve the first quilt we made, and the events that surrounded it. The hopes, dreams, smiles, and tears that we stitched into each line of that carefully pieced coverlet.
Whatever it is, that quilt is a part of our history, a living and impressionistic link to our personal past.
Now is the Time to Celebrate Those Treasured Memories
Whatever your special connection to quilt memories might be, we want to know about it! We’re building a sort of special library of the emotional connection that we have to quilts and quilted items – whether that’s an appreciation for the art or as an artist yourself.
So please, take a few minutes to fill out the form and share your special quilting memories with us.
We’ll start publishing our own stories – and depending on what responses we get – we want to start adding video content to this special trip down our quilted memory lane. So if you do make a submission, you might get a chance to be live on video with us!
(Your choice, of course, don’t worry if you’re camera shy, we’ll be perfectly happy with a couple of paragraphs.)
Please, help us celebrate the special connection between quilts and memories.
Lots of love,
Your guide to Quiltivity,
Princess YellowBelly Designs
P.S.
We LOVE pictures! Unfortunately it’s really hard to get pictures (or videos) through the website. So once you share your quilting memories, we’ll contact you personally via email to get any pictures or video content you might have. You can also just send us a really quick message via the contact form and let us know that you have a memory, and we’ll get back to you via email with a more personal connection.
Today at Princess YellowBelly Designs we are proud to announce the first steps in a grand new adventure for our team. We are no longer simply making our own quilts – we are now restoring and enhancing beautiful antique quilts!
Hurray!
And now that we’ve announced it, we must ask for your help once again. You see, one of the quilts that we found, lost and almost forgotten, at the local antique store, is a real treasure. But it’s unique. Its crazy unique. It is…
The Craziest Crazy Quilt You Ever Saw
We found this amazing ode to an old wardrobe. At least, we think that’s what it is. Some quilter in the bygone days apparently took every old shirt, curtain, and a few potholders, cut them up into funny shapes, and arranged them – sort of – in squares.
Nothing on this quilt matches, and on top of that the sashing is this amazing fire-engine red corduroy material that matches with nothing on earth.
And yet, somehow, this quilt works brilliantly.
Making Insane Crazier
One of the reasons that this quilt had been lost and forgotten was the all the different weights and textures of the different fabrics break the cardinal rule of quilting – use like, if not identical, fabrics.
There’s a reason for that. If you use fabrics of different weights and thicknesses then it puts a lot of stress on the weaker fabrics.
In this case, some of the fabrics had shredded completely away.
So, we dumped our wardrobe rejects out – old scarves, thrift store ties, shirts from the 80s, and cut more patches to cover the torn and stained pieces. It’s still a quilt that breaks all the rules – but it’s gorgeous.
Choose Your Favorite Crazy Name for Our Special Crazy Quilt
And, now that we’ve almost got the quilt fixed, we need a good name for it.
Crazy in Love
Our first two options are kind of the obvious options. Crazy in Love kind of describes the journey of life and love – not to mention this wacky color scheme that somehow works despite the odds, don’t you think?
Crazy for You
Then there’s being Crazy for You. Which is really fun. In some ways this quilt feels like when you love someone so much you just hate them, and your brain is flinging out all these contrasting colors and emotions.
Scrambled Squares
I think this option sort of speaks for itself, don’t you? It’s exactly what the original quilter did to this quilt, she took a bunch of fabrics, scrambled everything around, and served it up on a dish of steaming hot corduroy sashing!
Beginner’s Luck
You know how you learn something, like a game or an art and you spend hours and days and years perfecting your technique? And then someone comes along who really doesn’t know what they’re doing, but somehow they win, or create something amazing and surprising and almost magical that you couldn’t have conceived of in a million years?
That describes this quilt pretty well. Like we said at the beginning, it breaks all the rules, and there are little signs throughout that this was either a first or second attempt for the artist.
Yet, it works. It’s magical, unique, a crazy quilt that no “accomplished” quilter could manage.
Apatches
This one is kind of a personal favorite. My kids grew up not far from the Apache reservation, and when Suzanna was about four we had this common calico cat. Suzanna named her Apatches, because at the time she thought Apache was the coolest word in the language, and the cat fit the bill.
Kaleidoscopic
This quilt is also pretty reminiscent of a kaleidoscope. It even has some of the shapes that spin for just a second as you turn the kaleidoscope.
Kaleidoscope Innards
Our final choice. Is it too much? We think its funny and descriptive, but what are your feelings?
Actually, what are your feelings about every name we’ve come up with? There’s two weeks to think about it and decide. In our next newsletter, we’ll announce the winner. Speaking of the newsletter – you should take this opportunity to subscribe! You get crazy exciting news and fun little bonuses – like the results of a name poll.
Have you ever noticed that human beings are a tad lazy? I have. Mostly my son when I want him to vacuum the living room – but I’ve observed it in a few others. Even myself from time-to-time, if you can believe it.
I’m convinced that the fine art of procrastination was where the acronym first came from.
For one thing, it wasn’t two days after my daughters and I had come up with the name “Princess YellowBelly Designs” for our new fabric art and quilting endeavor that we were saying “PYB.”
By now we’re so used to our little pet name that we almost never bother to use the real name for our own business – and we’d almost forgotten that “PYB” might possibly stand for some other things.
Can you think of any?
PYB On Everything, Hold the Designs
It was; “have you opened a hosting account for PYB?” Or, “I think we should make a PYB Facebook.”
At first we nobly kept to “Princess YellowBelly” in public. But, by the time we opened for business we’d already shortened the URL to www.pybdesigns.com, I mean – who’s got the time to type the other URL: www.princessyellowbellydesigns.com into anything? Not me, that’s for sure.
Designs has gotten more than a little misplaced in all this acronyming – which is fine.
But, the other day, Suzanna was talking to some friends, and she apparently said something “for PYB.”
“What’s PYB?” one friend, who’d forgotten the details, asked. Venkat, another of Suzanna’s friends and a newsletter subscriber, knew the right answer – but supplied a more interesting one:
“Peanut Yogurt Bread,” he promptly replied.
Please Share Your Procastination Interpretation
So here’s our latest challenge to you lovely readers (and subscribers):
Come up with your own fun take on our (in)famous PYB acronym.
It can be anything you like (as long as it’s not inappropriate). We’d love to hear it. Just fill in the quick little form below, and you’ll be on your way to sharing what “PYB” could be designing in another life!
If your answer tickles our fancy, we’ll be sharing it over the next weeks on Facebook and in our newsletter.
So sign-up, follow, do whatever it is you’ve gotta do – and please, leave your favorite “PYB” acronym for our delight.
