Quilt-y, WILTI, Naming Fun

OK, I think this is going to be the last post about Al's Quilt til it's done. I started some of the quilting on it and, oh, it's amazing what that step does. But before we go to pictures of that -- or find out what WILTI is -- first wanted to also show what Al got for me:

So cute! Have to show some pictures from inside...

Here's the author/designer, clearly enjoying his little critters...

It tickles me, the way he posed them all and made up little stories...

Am going to love digging into this book...

But will try to wait til The Quilt is done...

Speaking of which, here it is with one almost-completely-quilted row, done in concentric squares. Finally settled on using red thread on this side -- to emphasize the red centers of each block...

...and orange thread on the other side, for some fun pep. And 'cause Al likes orange. And 'cause it's close enough to red that if (er, when) my tension is a little off (meaning thread from one side peeks through to the other) it won't be as noticeable. I'm SOOOO glad I was able to borrow my friend's machine for this part. Came with a walking foot (no ugly puckers yet -- joy!!!) plus there's a setting so when I stop sewing, the machine automatically stops with the needle in the down position. Which helps out a lot when pivoting at a corner. And considering I have ... 10 x 10 blocks x 6 squares per block x 4 corners per square... 100... carry the 2... TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED CORNERS at which I must pivot, I'm happy for any help I can get.

So then, what's WILTI? Stands for Why I Love The Internet. I probably should call it HWOTTISPAAAC (Huge Waste Of Time That I Should Probably Avoid At All Costs) but WILTI is shorter and easier to type. See, I loved your name suggestions (great list, Jenny) and was all set to use "Mary Bobbins" (of course I get it, J! That's my kind o' humor! And it didn't help that I'd been singing "Supercalifragilistic" all day long -- thanks a lot, Delilah!).

But Al's girlfriend's name is Mary so don't think I want to do that after all. Had also thrown out Bob because it was a boys name, but I've always loved the name Bob, sounds so friendly to me. And who's to say a sewing machine has to be a girl anyway?!?

But then saw Dee's note. Bertha was more in line with Edna (the first name that I thought of but don't quite like). Almost perfect, except its "bigness" seems too big for my little friend.

Sooooo off to the Internet, to a site that almost convinces me to have more babies, just so I can browse all the possible names. There are a ton of "baby name" websites out there, but this one, this one is one-of-a-kind. You can type in some names you like,

e.g. Mary, Bob, Bertha & Edna,

and it'll give you similar ones, based on style, popularity, and a host of other characteristics. Try it yourself at nymbler.com; see what "matches" your family members (or be a responsible time manager and just email the link to a pregnant friend...).

Really, I didn't spend too long there before finding my winner:

Beatrice Bobbins.
Or Aunt Bea, to me.

And since my friend's machine is a "Brother" brand, I figure this one can be

Bea's "brother," Bob.

(I wonder how my friend will like her machine's new name. Ha ha.)