The fabric line was Backyard Safari and the quilt kit had the same title but I was not fond of Backyard Safari for a name. It was too advanced a vocabulary, especially for a baby quilt. Here is one checkerboard block next to one critter block. I wanted something with bugs in the title or something that hinted at the smiles on the critters and perhaps checkerboards.
I could not let go of trying to find a name. I was driving my husband crazy. In fact, when I went to bed at night I could not fall asleep as possibilities kept running through my mind. Counting bug titles does not work like counting sheep! I finally had to resort to an old trick of writing things down on a pad by my bed to let go and let slumber take over. I rejected a whole collection of potential names.
Names that rhyme
Bug Hug, Snug as a Bug, Hug-a-Bug, Bugs with Hugs
Names that are alliterative
Bucket of Bugs, Bunch of Bugs, Bug Bounty, Bug Brigade, Snips and Snails, Bug Buddies
Names that convey a message that is not very friendly (especially if you google their meaning)
Doodlebug (sounds cute but it is a gross-looking larva of the ant-lion or a woodlouse, yuk!),
Bug Off, Bug Out, Bah Humbug, Bugaboo, Quit Buggin' Me
Names that convey friendship
Friendly Bugs, Bug Games, My Bug Friends, Smiley Bugs, Bug Grins, Happy Bugs, Bug Friends
Names from movies
Love Bug, A Bug's Life
Names that hint at non-creative desperation
Bug Medley, My Bugs, Bugs and Me, Checkerboard, Bugs
Alas, none of the previous options seemed quite right. But, by the following morning, I think my subconscious had stumbled upon a winner. Eureka! I found it! I hit upon a name that just felt right.
The name will be Bugs R Us. Yes. Bugs R Us is just right. I cannot do a backwards R or an apostrophe on my sewing machine, but the idea is still there. The name hints about toys or fun things and suggests camaraderie because of the "us" part. I wrote it down quickly before I forgot it. I used the alphabet stitch on my Pfaff to embroider the label on grosgrain ribbon before I changed my mind.
Whatever you call them, those little guys are stinkin' adorable!! Can't wait to see the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I can't wait to see the whole thing either. It is assembled now and I am thinking hard about quilting ideas.
DeleteI know what you mean. I love the part where a name settles in. It's much simpler to think about a project by it's finished name then something like "that mystery quilt that I still haven't finished with all the colors" lol! Those are some great happy critters!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like naming a baby. Sometimes you just have to wait and see what fits! Thanks for visiting and commenting.
DeleteI find that often when I hit a creative stumbling block that I've struggled with the whole day, I process it still at night and wake up with that Eureka moment. Really entertaining to read the process you went through for picking a name for your quilt! Really cute critters!
ReplyDeleteI also scrolled through several of your WIP processes and it was quite enjoyable to see the how-to's and why's of your progress. I'm totally a freezer paper girl, so that always gets my attention, and I'll FP anything that doesn't move!
Greetings from Germany!
P.S. Thank you so much for your super lovely comment - so appreciated!
I definitely will do the freezer paper approach again. It is kind of fun how it sticks when you want it to but comes off when you don't. Thanks for the comment. You may have another freezer paper girl among your ranks!
DeleteWow...you came up with a lot of good name possibilities! I really liked Snug as a Bug...so cute! But, I'm sure that the receiver and his mama will love Bugs R Us.
ReplyDeleteActually Snug as a Bug was a very close second.
DeleteWhat does the backside of the ribbon look like when you sew an R. Could you have flipped the ribbon and sewn an R which would be flipped on the front side? Would you have to use very fine stitched? Would it work?
ReplyDeleteFrank (husband)
Interesting idea but I think that the back would look sufficiently different from the front and getting it placed in just the right position, although theoretically possible, would be difficult in practice. Example of the contrasted approaches of a physicist vs a mechanical engineer, perhaps ...?
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