Hey guys. Would you help me brainstorm? I signed up for a round robin a few days ago and yesterday my Dad called to chat. He said he's been doing some soul-searching and requested I make him something that says or shows "Calm Energy."

So that's what I'll do for the center of his quilt for the round-robin. I'm still brainstorming about how to show calm energy.

When I interviewed him today about it, he said red isn't calm, but grey is stagnant. He said he likes royal purple, if it isn't done so it looks too girly. There's a picture that reminds him of calm energy which is of a bird singing on a rock during a storm... but he doesn't want me to do that because it reminds him of mom (who passed on 12 years ago) and that makes him sad.

He wants calm energy for himself because he feels either calm or engergized most of the time... not both. He can be really productive and run himself into the ground or he can be calm and get very little done.

He's overweight and used to be a cross-country runner so I thought of doing something with that, but I don't want him to feel badly about where he's at and who he is right now.

I'm sure I'll come up with something great, but if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. It's nice to be able to talk about it with quilters.

Oh and I can piece, applique, etc. So the design doesn't have to be something easy. If need be, I'll learn a new technique. After all, this is for my Dad.

Just a thought, but if this is a Round Robin, will the other members be able to carry out the "calm, energy" theme throughout the quilt? It will kinda be out of your hands once they start adding on to it. Their idea of this theme may not be the same as you and your dad's.

Just thinking here....how about in the center "the Thinker"...{the statue} and then surrounding that any number of the things your Dad likes to do...(busy things).

Goodness that is deep. When I think of calm energy the first thing that comes to mind is the sea. Not when it storms but you know how the waves come to shore and then go back out. It is a very soothing sound but there is so much strength in those waves, constantly moving, changing the shore, churning the rocks, shells and glass until they don't resemble what they were and making them smooth and soft.

I think of the sea also. My thought was to do the center (not sure how big your center of the round robin has to be) in a storm at sea pattern (my avatar is a variation called "stars at sea"). It is one of my favorite patterns because you can really see movement in the blocks. I think it would be a great beginning for a round robin.

What about an island in the middle of the water (with waves) and some trees that are slightly bending signifying the wind, with clouds, etc.? You could incorporate all kind of stuff like rocks, boulders, whales, dolphins,etc.

The color "Sage Green" is very calming. Behr even has a color called "Restful", which is a sage green.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...16054132MXNOLv

Check out that link.......maybe something on the order of that in his colors?

If you are willing to draw inspiration from the Buddhist religious tradition you might like to do a search on mandalas. That was the first thing I thought of when I read the words 'calm energy.'

I think of windmills in a field of wheat. Not easy to do, but there's my two cents.