Quilt Ideas

I have done some snooping around the blog world and flicker... I have found some things. Its hard not to come across blocks or quilts that pull on the heart strings. Occasionally I come across an idea that I cant' help but want to dive right into! I see these images or the pieces that will become a full quilt and just have an overwhelming desire and want to have my own. If possible I flicker save them into a gallery for future reference but their are just to many. I started saving stars. I thought it would be so neat to have  quilt of wonky stars. Still do... but stars are such small potatoes at this point! Then I moved on to wonky houses and neighborhood quilts. This is when a bee is fabulous because everyone makes different size houses with different wonkiness and colors. Very nice. But recently... and I mean RECENTLY as in this week I have found some new loves.

As a history person I have been trying to figure out how I could work in a map or something along those lines and create a quilt... I guess for the classroom. Well I haven't exactly figured that out yet... but I did find this.

This is a map quilt. The recipient requested maps. The makers took that as they wished. There is subways, states, treasure maps, etc. The one with the US map is quilted by outlining the states. I figured I could do this on a much larger area or send out blocks in the shape of the state and have the person go from there. I just basically love the idea.

Then I found The Calendar of Houses. You are paired up each month and must create (using your scraps) a house that represents that month. Now I don't see this as a time or place to do the wonky houses. I don't want red white and blue houses or pink and red ones either. I would however love some brown houses with snow on them or red houses with flowers all out in the front. I would approach this with a more realistic approach but I would join a bee with this them unless everyone else did this also. I also think this would be a great family quilt. If there were members of your family that would sew or quilt a block for you I think getting them to do a version of their house during a month or season would be so much fun! I think this could be a very manly quilt since it would be brick and siding based. This could also be a fun quilt for a class room. Teaching the months of the year or the seasons. Three houses in four rows, winter, spring, summer and fall. Granted that would leave December in fall and March in winter when I think they belong more with the leading season... but starting a quilt in December would be awkward... so what do you think? Would you want one of these?