Post by opalpyrexia on Nov 14, 2022 15:33:09 GMT -5
My wife is a quilter and always has one in the works. She donates them to the University of Washington Medical Center's hospice department. They try to match quilts to their patients' interests or careers, and the families receive the quilts after their loved ones pass.
She values my artistic eye and often asks my for opinion about pattern, colors, content, etc. This week she had a quilt back in progress laid out on the floor. She had placed a single, relatively wide stripe across the lightly patterned back, and asked me if it looked OK.
My initial reaction was that it looked fine, but then I said, "You should take advantage of the Golden Ratio."
"What's the golden ratio?"
"It's a very pleasing ratio that's been used by artists, sculptors, architects. It also appears in nature. It's pleasing to the eye."
"But what is it?"
"It's a ratio. It's related to the Fibonacci Series."
"The Fibonachi what??"
"Oh, just forget that. It's a ratio."
"OK, but what's the ratio?!!"
"It's algebra. What's the length of your quilt?"
"What's the ratio?"
"I'll solve it for you. What's the ..."
"YOU'LL solve it for ME?! I TAUGHT ALGEBRA TO MY STUDENTS!! JUST GIVE IT TO ME!!
At this point I say, "This is going into your book, isn't it?" (She writes everything down in spiral bound notebooks.) "You're going to bring this up again and again, and beat me with it, aren't you?!" She's now ranting, but with a smile because she will definitely bring this up in the future.
But I now have the length of the quilt back (less border): 55 inches.
So I calculate the golden ratio's shorter distance, and just before I give it to her I decide to round it: no sense in digging the hole deeper. "You should place the stripe so that it's middle is about 22.5 inches from the top. Here, let me grab a tape measure." I pull out 22.5" and... what?!! It's exactly 22.5" to the middle of the stripe — where she had originally placed it!
This will be another one of her favorite stories. They always evolve with retelling, and I always appear to be more the doofus.
She values my artistic eye and often asks my for opinion about pattern, colors, content, etc. This week she had a quilt back in progress laid out on the floor. She had placed a single, relatively wide stripe across the lightly patterned back, and asked me if it looked OK.
My initial reaction was that it looked fine, but then I said, "You should take advantage of the Golden Ratio."
"What's the golden ratio?"
"It's a very pleasing ratio that's been used by artists, sculptors, architects. It also appears in nature. It's pleasing to the eye."
"But what is it?"
"It's a ratio. It's related to the Fibonacci Series."
"The Fibonachi what??"
"Oh, just forget that. It's a ratio."
"OK, but what's the ratio?!!"
"It's algebra. What's the length of your quilt?"
"What's the ratio?"
"I'll solve it for you. What's the ..."
"YOU'LL solve it for ME?! I TAUGHT ALGEBRA TO MY STUDENTS!! JUST GIVE IT TO ME!!
At this point I say, "This is going into your book, isn't it?" (She writes everything down in spiral bound notebooks.) "You're going to bring this up again and again, and beat me with it, aren't you?!" She's now ranting, but with a smile because she will definitely bring this up in the future.
But I now have the length of the quilt back (less border): 55 inches.
So I calculate the golden ratio's shorter distance, and just before I give it to her I decide to round it: no sense in digging the hole deeper. "You should place the stripe so that it's middle is about 22.5 inches from the top. Here, let me grab a tape measure." I pull out 22.5" and... what?!! It's exactly 22.5" to the middle of the stripe — where she had originally placed it!
This will be another one of her favorite stories. They always evolve with retelling, and I always appear to be more the doofus.