My Departments

Title: My Departments
Finished: ??
Techniques: Appliqué, Free-motion quilting, Fussy cutting, Crayon coloring
Size: 18 x 21"

Description: This mini-quilt was hanging on my office door for many years. The idea for it came from Krystyna Mrozek, a colleague and friend who wondered if we could find fabric to represent the various departments for which we were responsible. So we took a trip to Mill Outlet, a very good source for novelty fabrics, and spent a couple of hours shopping for just the right prints. We had a lot of fun! I don't remember what year we did this, but it's been several years since Krystyna has moved on. I did not include a label of the back of this mini-quilt.

Some of my departments were easy to find fabrics for. Biology, for example, I could find almost any animal print. I chose a butterfly print. Now I don't remember if I actually bought this fabric at the time, but it is possible I already had this one in my stash. For Physics, I used an astronomy print. For Geology, I found a print with rocks at Mill Outlet. I knew they had a variety of "landscape" type prints.

For some prints, I had some pre-conceived notions about what might represent certain departments. For Sport Science, I knew for sure and was hoping they would have some sort of hockey print, which they did. For Environmental Science, I was hoping for some sort of rain forest or forest-type print. Not seeing anything I liked along those lines, I chose a green leaf print that worked; at least it was green! For Computer Science, I was wondering if I could find a print with computers on it, but was delighted by the keyboard keys print I found.

For a couple of departments, I got lucky. I didn't know how I was going to represent Mathematics. I didn't want a print with just equations on it, but when I saw the geometric shapes in many colors, I knew that would work. For Education, I had been thinking "books" but the school bus print said "education" much better. One thing about that print thought was that it was too beige and light. So I used a yellow crayon to color it in a bit.  I also didn't know how I was going to represent Psychology, but as soon as I say the rats in a maze print, my problem was solved.

The one that gave me the most trouble was Chemistry. I was hoping for a print with test tubes or something along those lines, but not seeing anything like that I had to improvise. The closest I came was the fireworks print. I figured pyrotechnics involves a great deal of chemical knowledge, so I went with that.

So after getting all the fabrics I needed, I figured out an arrangement that was pleasing. I had some gaps, so I appliquéd tiger paws on black fabric and put on a tiger stripe print on the sides and also used that for the binding to represent Colorado College.

I no longer have Education, nor Math and Computer Science as my departments, but this quilt holds fond memories for me.

I don't remember all of what Krystyna may have bought for her departments, but she ended up giving me some of the remnants: A native American pot print to represent Anthropology, a castle print to represent History, and a gorgeous African print to represent African Studies.