I asked my youngest son (now 48) what kind of quilt he'd like and he said "history of science". I don't like to do applique, and I'm stymied as to what I should design. Any ideas?

Too bad they don't make fabric for the theme song of Big Bang Theory. They tell the history of science in one short song!

I think they made some BBT fabric. I can't remember what the designs were though.

How about a applique showing a flat Earth, a monkey in a suit, and a telescope with a religious symbol over it?
(The Earth is flat, Darwins theory, and Gallileo...)

I've made four t-shirt quilts for a friend of mine who was willing to pay what I thought was a reasonable fee. After making them, I realized how much work they are and that I greatly undercharged her. However, they were all different and I considered them a learning experience for me. At least the materials were covered. I would like to start a Very small word-of-mouth business but I think what I am going to do is make "samples" or use quilts I've already completed and put a price on them. That way any possible customers can see my work and the cost of a quilt before making any awkward (for me) requests. (Or sell already completed quilts.)

Many years ago, a co-worker saw me working on my quilt at break-time. He wanted me to make one for him, and he would pay for it. We agreed on the price. He wanted a TATW, so I brought in various fabrics from my stash, he chose what he wanted, and I made the quilt, as agreed.
When I took the finished quilt in, he said "I don't have the money right now, but I will take it home, and pay you next week". I told him that I would bring it back the next week, and I did. I got the same story the next week. I took it in the following week, and got the same story, so I took it home, and even though I wasn't crazy about his color choices, I kept the quilt and put it on my bed.
A few weeks later, I overheard him telling another co-worker about how I had "shafted" him out of his quilt, and kept it for myself. I still make quilts, but I have never, ever tried to sell one again. I make one quilt a year that is raffled off at my family reunion, and the rest are given to family members, or as wedding gifts.

Thank you all very much for the ideas. I searched for the fabric for BBT and I don't think it's appropriate for what I have in my head. Too much of the characters and too little science but it did get me started on a new train of thought and maybe now I can get over the hurdle and get started.

This sounds like a very good idea!

I wonder how he figured it was 'his' quilt since he hadn't paid for it!! Some people.

Hi, Donna.

I googled "novelty fabric science" and there were a lot of nifty science-related fabrics here:
https://www.etsy.com/market/science_fabric

There are also a bunch of math- and science-related fabrics here:
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/math-fabric

Hope you can find what you need there. Good luck with the quilt.
...dany

Oops...I forgot to include what I was replying to. It was to:
"I asked my youngest son (now 48) what kind of quilt he'd like and he said "history of science". I don't like to do applique, and I'm stymied as to what I should design. Any ideas?"