Cone Nebula Quilt - Section 12

My oldest nephew graduated from high school last weekend, and there was a nice party the day before. He's made a lot of really big decisions already, and we'll be offering our auntly/uncly support at various events this summer. As I said to his mother, "He's plunging headfirst into adulthood." What a nice young man he's become!

In any event, I went into the sewing room about 12:45p on Sunday and at 6:45 I pinned this to the design wall:

It was quite a moment when I was sewing together that last block (which is the upper left block with orange, yellow, purple, and black). I really agonized about the pink diamond in the upper right. At first, I put some bright pink there, then I put the Fossil Fern pink, and finally, I used the back side of the Fossil Fern pink. (Fossil Fern is a line of fabric.)

Here is the third column:

And....... heeeeeere is the whole thing (with the third column lying next to but not sewn to the first two columns:

I dragged my husband outside, and he gasped and pronounced it "beautiful". I know that I learned so much from the process of putting this together. It will be quilted by a friend who has a long-arm quilting business. I will show you the preparation process in coming weeks. For reference, here's the inspiration photo:

There is a part of me that wants to make other quilts, using different techniques, from this picture. I have a couple of ideas, perhaps incorporating those tissues I painted back in April. This may end up being a real journey of discovery.

Within the next month I will have a dyeing day, and I will also be making some small items that will serve as giveaways at the quilt guild's three-day weekend of workshops at the end of July. It's going to be a full summer. I will post pictures as I go along.

The Brat just now reminded me that she helped yesterday. I was getting way too distracted by the peanut butter granola, so she gladly took over the bowl from me.

I had to move it off the mini ironing board so that she wouldn't accidentally burn herself. Just to show you that she's been cute since she was a kitten, here's a photo I have on the bulletin board over the mini ironing board:

(That is drying rack on which she is climbing.)

The ABCs of Me

I saw this meme on Flying Pigs Knits, and (plagiarism alert!) I'm also hopping on the bandwagon. Follow the links back, and you'll see that a lot of folks have been playing this game:

A. Age: Old enough to have voted in eight presidential and nine gubernatorial elections.
B. Bed size: I'd rather talk about the summer quilt made from kitty blocks that I made and received in the only block swap in which I've successfully participated. Every month for a year, I'd make 12 blocks, send 10, get 10 different ones in the mail. So much fun!
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning floors - dusting, sweeping, mopping, waxing - all of it.
D. Dogs: Grew up with them but would prefer to not be around them
E. Essential start to your day: Print. If I'm not reading within five minutes of getting up, it's probably because I'm ill.
F. Favorite colour: Pink in any shade
G. Gold or silver: My hair was golden when I was a girl, and now it's mostly silver
H. Height: An inch shorter than when I graduated from high school. Truly appalling
I. Instruments you play: The iPod - I love listening to podcasts
J. Job title: Financial Specialist Associate. I solve other people's problems.
K. Kids: Wanted them very much but there were these barriers called dating and marriage - both happened late, so I've enjoyed watching nieces and nephews and kids from my various circles grow up
L. Live: So that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it. (William Saroyan)
M. Mother’s name: Doris
N. Nicknames: Liz
O. Overnight hospital stays: Never (knock wood!)
P. Pet peeve: People saying "myself" when they mean "me." Come on people, if you are the actor, it's "I"; the acted-upon, "me"; both actor and acted-upon, "myself". Got it? Good. Never screw it up again!
Q. Quote from a movie: Adopted during my first year out of college when funds were very low, and I was barely scraping by: "I will never be hungry again!" (Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind")
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: One brother (dead), his ex-wife (adopted as a sister since his death), two younger sisters by blood
T. Time you wake up: 4:30a most days
U. Underwear: My business, not yours
V. Vegetable you hate: Brussels sprouts
W. What makes you run late: Thinking of one last thing that needs to be done before I go....
X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth, knees, chest. I've had a couple of MRIs
Y. Yummy food that you make: Brownies - lots of varieties
Z. Zoo animal: Penguins. The summer of 1973, when the Watergate hearings were going on, we came down from the north country to the Detroit area to visit relatives. My mother's brothers and their families took us to the Detroit Zoo. In the penguinarium, my mother and her brothers proceeded to name the penguins after the various figures in the controversy, and they drew a bit of a crowd. It was truly hilarious watching them riff off each other. I've been fond of penguins ever since.

Before I go, I do have to show you that the Big Guy knows how to totally relax.