Houses

Thursday Evening

As I was tidying the basement before the advent of the plumber, I came across some fabrics that I had packed in a bag with a note that they were to be used in a wonky log cabin wall hanging (I even had the book title on the note - sometimes I do things right!).  That got me started thinking about some of my favorite kinds of patterns, you know, the kind that seem to call to you from the page.  I keep (or try to) magazine quilt patterns in a binder with divisions for types of quilts.  Most of the divisions are by type: applique, embroidery, paper-pieced, table runners, bags, wall hangings.  Other divisions were decided upon after noting the kinds of patterns I am drawn to, more of a subject matter classification: Christmas, stars, log cabins and houses.  I have a lot of patterns in the last category and several books as well.

I began to wonder why I find the representation of houses so appealing.  I remember that I painted a folk-arty rendition of our home on wood (D had cut it out for me after I had given him a sketch of the outline of our house) that hangs above our family room door.  I had a ceramic bank on display (until it broke) that was house-shaped and glazed in the colors of our own house.  For the last several years I have sent a photograph of the previous year's Christmas wreath as it hangs on our front door as our Christmas card.  The symbolism of a front door is pretty clear.  It denotes an entry point, and if you show others where to enter, you are offering a welcome. 

Maybe my attachment to the images of houses goes back to my childhood.  I didn't care a lot for dolls and didn't play with them often.  As I remember it the dolls I had were few and usually stayed in one place for a long time while I busied myself with other toys.  However, my grandfather made me a doll house that I adored and played with for hours at a time.  Maybe that's it.  Who knows?  And it really isn't very important except for quilts and mt back yard.

We have recently acquired a fifth bird house, and it's a gem.  It's only the second one we have purchased as most of the others were gifts.  We refer to the houses by the giver's name:  Cindy's house, Nancy's house, and Alice's trailer (it's a darling old time trailer shape in red).  The first one we bought is called the Vermont house as we bought it there, but our latest one doesn't have a name, yet. 

It's between one of our forsythia on the right and bridal wreath on the left.  Quite something, isn't it?  It has an opening for birds on each of its four sides but only one area in the house itself.  This one was purchased at a home near where our daughter lives.  They had quite a few in style similar to this.  Some were smaller, a few were larger, and they were painted in different colors.  There were a number of choices, but I really love this one.  What should we call it?

No matter where my admiration for houses comes from, I enjoy my small collection of birdhouses, and I look forward to making house-themed quilts.  Think about it.  Do you have a symbol, shape, or object that calls to you?  Do you know why?  Does it matter?