Monday, October 24, 2011

i have an idea. and i need your help!

i know i don't usually post about quilts until i can at least post a WIP picture, but this time, i'm posting before i even choose the fabrics!


i have an idea for a baby quilt, partially using Sonja's amazing Winter Critter's paperpiecing pattern that was published in the Nov/Dec issue of Quiltmaker, and partially using patchwork letters. i plan on using the full tree and the raccoon, and possibly the two birds at the bottom, but leaving off the higher branch and the squirrel. i want to fill that large space with a quote of some sort. i'm not sure if i'll paperpiece the letters, improv piece them, etc, but i won't do them too wonky, i want them to match stylistically with the raccoon.

this is where you come in. i need to find the perfect quote!

my first thought was to find a quote about curiousity, because raccoons are incredibly curious animals, and curiousity is such an invaluable trait, but i'm now that i've spent some time searching around for quotes, i'm not as tied to that idea.

i'm looking for a quote aimed at a child. i don't want it to have confusing language, or require a lot of explanation from a parent once the child is older. there are a lot of really amazing quotes out there, but i can't imagine explaining the language in them to a 3 year old! i don't want it to be faith-based, and i'd like to be able to credit the quote on the quilt label, so if it's a "real" quote, and not just a phrase stuck on a picture for tumblr purposes, that's preferable! also, there are great quotes out there by people who have questionable stuff connected to them, so i'd like to avoid that. walt disney, for instance. (i was going to link to something there, explaining why so many people don't want their kids exposed to disney, but when i went to google and typed in "disney is", 10 different reasons came up! so i'm guessing you can figure it out if you want to.) i want it to be a life lesson sort of thing, if possible... anything connected to creativity would be awesome, but it's not limited to that.


it might seem like i'm being picky. am i being picky? i just want to find the PERFECT quote!


i've spent ridiculous amounts of time watching the food network/history network and searching pinterest. a RIDICULOUS amount of time. plus, i bet anyone who was following me for crafty purposes is really bored right now, i've pinned more than 200 quotes because i got a bit distracted and started pinning all the quotes that i liked, whether they'd work for this or not!


anyway, here are the ones i've found that i like....




i adore this quote, but i don't know what the source is. i need to e-mail and ask. i tried googling it and i did find a quote with the same first line, but fairly different ending.



Source: flickr.com via Amy on Pinterest




Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest






just the "follow your dreams. they know the way."








this quote is actually wrong, the correct quote is "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see" - Thoreau
i kind of like the misquote better!



Source: flickr.com via Amy on Pinterest



this is from a poem by Mary Oliver titled The Summer Day. i'm REALLY liking this one, and it seems to match the Winter Critters better than any of the others....



Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest



Dr Seuss said so many great things!





like this one... but this quote would be better suited to a stacked block quilt, or something like Holly's awesome Book Quilt.



speaking of Holly. i mentioned at thursday's VMQG meeting that i was looking for curiousity quotes, and within a day, she'd sent me some! I really like this Albert Einstein one she sent - "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. " i'd seen the first half, but i think it's stronger with both lines.



so! this is where you come in! what do you think? what are your favourite quotes? do you have a favourite that you'd suggest? brainstorm with me!

(but i refuse to draw a web! can you believe that i was once in a college class where they tried to teach us brainstorming webs?!! what, did they think i'd skipped grade 9? it was a 200 level class! blew me away.)


(also, thank you for the get well wishes! i'm still coughing so much that my neurotic cat won't come near me (i miss sofie!), but otherwise, i'm feeling better!)

4 comments:

Natalie said...

I'm not sure what if anything is controversial about the movie, but I have always liked willy wonka and the chocolate factory and there are some good quotes from the original movie :)

felicity said...

There's a fabulous e.e. cummings quote that you may or may not have pinned: "to be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." From A Poet's Advice to Students.

Digital Misfit said...

Ahhh so THAT explains the zillion pinterest quotes!
I love that Mary Oliver and the Picasso.
My favorite quote is this one:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

karen said...

What a great idea for a baby quilt!

Found these 2 quotes to help in your search

Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.
Bryant H. McGill
An american poet - don't know him tho

Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.
Freya Stark

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