Thursday, September 28, 2006

Inspiration: Guest Bedroom

I'm trying to buckle down and work on my book. You know the book, the one about the letters and houses etc... There won't be any patterns, just techniques, ideas and inspirations (such as this one, this one, and this one). Well here is another inspiration. I haven't actually made a quilt along these lines, but I'd like to when we get settled down next year.

I can envision a couple of different ways to do a quilt for the bed in the guestroom. First would be to make a bunch of blocks for the center and do words in the border or inner border such as:
  • You are welcome in our home
  • Sleep well, sweet dreams
  • May all your journeys be safe
  • This quilt is made with all my love - may it keep you warm and safe.
Or, a humorous approach:
  • Guests of guests may not invite guests
  • Guests are like fish - they stink after three days
There are, of course, many other options to include. Think of specific visitors who might use that room. What would you wish for them? Why are you happy to have them visit?
And then of course the name of the maker, the city (possibly the street address), the date... all those usual things that look so marvelous on quilts and really make them personal.
Another way to make this quilt would be with the words as the focal point, just like the bed quilt I made. (Well, the top I pieced.) I think the letters in that one came out to 3.75" finished - if I were doing it again I'd probably make them smaller. I do like small letters and I would have been able to fit in more words that way and still fit them into the area I wanted them in.
Anyway, the words could be a heartfelt welcome or it could be fun. I was thinking something like a pretend B & B (using your own name etc):
Welcome to the Case de Ricardo in lovely downtown Burbank. Your hosts are Ricky and Lucy. Breakfast is served between 8 and 10 am. First one up makes the coffee. No noise after 10pm. Enjoy your stay.
If I'd thought about it I could have made this quilt:
Welcome to Cairo, my friends. Make sure you visit all the sights of our fair city including the Pyramids of Giza, the colossal Sphinx, the river Nile, and the mummy of Ramses II. No vacation is complete unless you spend much money at the Khan al Khallili. Thank you for choosing The Lazy Gal Hotel.
I tried to write that using the patter that you hear in Cairo, like "my friends." If I were actually making it I would start doing letters for the most important words and that way if I ran out of room I could leave out the adjectives like "colossal" and not change the meaning.
I might just make something like this for Paris, where I expect we might actually get some visitors. Now just because you don't live some place exotic doesn't mean you couldn't have lots of fun with this. "See the dining room chair that Tonya fell out of and broke her collarbone." Make it personal and meaningful and that's what counts. Or just pretend that you live somewhere else and have fun with it.
Somebody please make one of these. I need quilt pictures for that imaginary book. (If you want to go that route, please don't use anyone else's copyrighted patterns or blocks.) If you want help brainstorming or fitting it together, or anything, just let me know. Or if you have some fun ideas but don't want to actually make the quilt, I'd still love to hear them.

24 comments:

Shelina said...

This sounds like such a fun way to make a guest feel welcome in your home. When I first saw your sayings, I was thinking "that's too many words, I would do something like 'WELCOME' or 'make yourself at home' or just the name of the house" but then I clicked on your sample and wow! That's a lot of letters!
How about Make yourself at home and don't forget to do your chores.

Shelina said...

Oh and since I don't get many guests, it would be nice to have signs all around the house rather than just the guest bedroom.

Dianne said...

Hi, Tonya,

Glad to see you're blogging and that the cats are settling in. I'm in Oz right now, but back to CA on Sunday. Hope the cats are settling in. How was their flight? Were their cages disgusting when they arrived?

Love your ideas for word quilts. I'll definitely do one like that once I have my machine in Australia and am settled in. Our furniture was delivered on Tue. and everything is put away, pretty much.

Holly said...

You come up with the best ideas, Tonya :)

Tracey in CT said...

Maybe I should make one for my dd's room that says:
Make your bed
Put your clothes away
Empty the trash
Practice your flute
Go to sleep

Unknown said...

Tonya - you're most welcome to use my Liverpool quilt when I get it finished - if you'd want to that is :o)

Carol E. said...

What a fun idea!! And the person who suggested signs... you could have quilts with arrows (guest room this way) and directions all over the place (Kitchen - please make yourself at home and cook something for all of us.) haha. I hate to cook, can you tell?

Sweet P said...

I still haven't tried one of your word quilts. I really must try one. Every one I've seen just makes me smile!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Your ideas are so funny and cute! Where do you get that imagination of yours!

Life with you has got to be funny!

Quilts And Pieces said...

How about your bathroom? I saw a sign once that made me laugh - took me awhile to get it (ok so I"m slow):
4U2P

Clare said...

Hi Ton,

Having done B&B and always having a houseful over the summer (where do these people come from?), words like "Treat this bedroom as you would your own", "We love having guests but we ain't a taxi service", "Towels are meant for drying. They are not bath mats". Oh the list is endless, but I love your Cairo words.

More later - bus stop time.

x

Anonymous said...

you could do what my dad's wife's sign says. Friends welcome, family by invitation only. Except she means it. Means. it.

I like guest of a guest. best

Judy said...

What if you made one of those cool maps on the quilt? You know the type that you get where all the locations are drawn in oversized goofy proportions and look like cartoons. Sort of like the maps from Disney World? You could put the words all over, and still make the greetings in the border, with the areas and such inside the map all done in letters. But making the Eiffel(?) Tower in cloth, but funky, would be neat. Big goofy cut raods and street vendors. Boy I can picture that whole thing in my mind! I'm gonna have to draw this out and write it in my journal. I live right in the middle of Colonial Williamsburg, Water Country, Jamestown, Yorktown battelfields, Virginia Beach, SPace museam, etc, etc. Gotta go sketch!!

Lois R. said...

Sheer genius!

I gotta quit reading your blog, because every one of your ideas inspires ANOTHER idea in my head. I already have about 12 ideas (based on yours) that I want to try -- one I even bought fabric for.

Lois R. said...

I just thought of two more ideas for you:

How about a prayer, such as "Now I lay me down to sleep..."

Or how about "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite."

Finn said...

What a wild idea Ton! It could be sooo much fun...once a person starts thinking about words and sentences, it seems the sky is the limit.
I've often wondered about a Scrabble board kind of quilt, but with family names of significant words spelled out. No limits I think..! Hugs, Finn in the Land of Lost Black Cats who Wander Aimlessly

comicbooklady said...

An excellent idea! I already love your tutorials, I would definitely buy your book!...as for contributions, I'm thinking! I'm thinking! the ideas are swirling!

Deni said...

Tonya,
Welcome back to the USA!!!! Glad to have ya' here.

I am loving the idea of your alphabets, cups, and houses. I am ALMOST ready to step outside of my box. I am still scared to work without a pattern and not have things measured and even. YIKES!!!!

I think you have very lucky friends to have recieved a piece from you. Wish I was a friend!!!! I have never recieved a quilt and have given all that I have completed away to friends and family. Maybe someday I will complete a quilt just for me!! ?

Thanks for your blog and your inspiration. I plan on growing as a quilter with your wonderful guidance.

Denise in Sisters, Oregon
P.S. I am looking for you to publish a book!!! HINT HINT

ForestJane said...

I think you ought to make your guest quilt reversible... :) So for the first week of their stay, it says "Welcome" and "Mi casa es tu casa" and several good friend quotes.

Then when they've overstayed their welcome, you flip it over (and if you have to be washing their sheets and re-making their bed, that's a sign) and you'll put the more ... unwelcoming quotes face up. :D

Laura said...

Great thoughts Tonya! I love how that mind of yours works!

Anonymous said...

I like ForestJane's suggestion. ;-)

Joyce said...

Now I am full of ideas and in the middle of a different quilt. Maybe the border on my ninepatch needs words...

Hedgehog said...

Oh Oh Oh! So many great ideas - from your post and then from the comments!! I have the feeling that I'll get many more guests in Finland than I did in Romania - I need to work on a guest quilt, too! I'm working on a rather simple top at the moment - maybe it needs words all over the back.... You really, really should do a book. I bet there are so many people who would contribute pictures of pieces inspired by your techniques. Keep it up!!!

Passionate Quilter said...

I'm so glad to hear you are still plugging away on your book. All my friends who helped on my Quilt Pink day loved the "liberated quilting" as soon as they were over their need to be perfect. You have some awesome ideas--hmm, I'll have to put into fabric what's in my head! Hope all your tests come out okay so hubby can stop stressing. You are moving there in Nov.? I think I'm going to be in Paris in Jan. with 160 of my closest friends! HA! Actually, my hubby takes a big group to Holland for a softball tournament he started and then on to Paris for a few days of touring. If I come, I'll look ya up!