I REALLY have trouble coming up with names for my pieces, and I struggled with the name for my latest piece. You can see the quilt in this blog post. Here are a couple of detail pictures. (I'm happy I decided to hand quilt this piece.)
I asked friends (who came up with some very good ideas--"Poppy Daze" was my favorite), I did some research, and I thought about it A LOT. I looked for synonyms for "poppy," but I didn't think "opium," "drug," "brown stuff," "opiate," "heroin," or "morphine" were appropriate. While doing some research, I read about how the poppy was the inspiration for a famous poem and was touched by the story of how the poppy is used as a remembrance for fallen soldiers. I thought I had stumbled upon something I could work with here.
"The sight of these delicate, vibrant red flowers growing on the shattered ground caught the attention of a Canadian soldier by the name of John McCrae. He noticed how they had sprung up in the disturbed ground of the burials around the artillery position he was in. It was during the warm days of early May 1915 when he found himself with his artillery brigade near to the Ypres-Yser canal. He is believed to have composed a poem following the death of a friend at that time. The first lines of the poem have become some of the most famous lines written in relation to the First World War."
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
The information in the previous paragraph comes from the website listed below. If you'd like more information about the poppy and how it became a symbol of rememberance check it out here--http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm
So, I chose "Remembrance" as the name for my quilt. Not only does "Remembrance" refer to the poppy's being the recognized symbol of Remembrance for fallen soldiers, but (in this case) it is also a nod to Marie Webster--a "remembrance" of her accomplishments as a quilter and early female entrepreneur. She authored a book and had a business at a time when that was a rare occurrence for a woman. "Remembrance"--here's to you Marie Webster!
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4 comments:
I am in awe of all those tiny little stitches. All so neat and even. No wonder it took a long while to get this done. I can't imagine how something would look if I tried this.
I think the name you picked is perfect. It is fun to read how you came to this conclusion. Remembrance will be a name that will hold so many connotations for people who get to see this quilt in person.
Remembrance is perfect for the name...and I so enjoyed reading the story! Who knew!!! Your piece is wonderful...think I've mentioned that a few times! HA But I do really like it!
Thank you for the closeups and the story of the name. At first, I thought you might have named it in remembrance of Marie Webster. Your quilt reminds me a little of your zentangle practices, so perhaps there is a little influence in the quilt art from the pen art. =)
Beth, Perfect in every way!
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