Small Wonders Revisited

My third quilt: "Julie Silber" named in honor of the birthday girl!

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this quilting thing. This quilt is my third completed quilt, and I was having trouble deciding what to call it. When I found out it was Julie Silber's birthday, I thought, "why not name it after Julie?"

Naming quilts after admired ones is something Andrea Balosky did in her unbelievable series of doll size quilts in the original "Small Wonders" exhibit and catalog. She made more than 100 quilts over a five year period, and named each one. There is now a "Small Wonders" challenge that's part of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and while it isn't officially connected, I think it was really inspired by Andrea's Small Wonders.

I sent a picture of this quilt to Andrea, who now lives in the Himalayas and goes by the name Nyima Lhamo. She was very encouraging, and suggested that quilters were probably shocked and surprised by my quick progress. We laughed about that, mostly because we're a lot alike. When we get ideas, watch out!

Making this quilt was a surprisingly relaxing experience. Even my old Featherweight was giving me fewer problems than usual. I like using orange and blue together. It's an eye-popping color combination, and although I didn't originally set out to make a "Julie Silber" quilt, per se, when I think of eye-popping quilts she comes immediately to mind.

So, it seems I may be starting a "Small Wonders" series of my own. Many of Andrea's quilts were named after people who never knew a quilt was being made and named after them, but I think I'll take a slightly different approach and include the step of letting the person know whenever possible. Julie was very gracious, and thanked me. I enjoy that she knows about the quilt. :)