Trip Around the 18 Year Old World

I am astonished at how quickly this went together.  The whole top from cutting to piecing went together in two after-dinner sessions.  Wow!  And it's a great stash-buster, too!  The colours aren't as vibrant in this photo as they are in the ones from yesterday, but this is due to the leaden, overcast sky.  I pinned this up to the line before breakfast, just to make sure I got a snap of it before the imminent downpour.  Remember yesterday, when I said I wasn't so sure about the colours of the fabrics I chose - they are growing on me.  It is a low-contrast Kaffe-like composition, just as I intended, so I am warming up to it.  I forgot to measure it, but each square is 3.5" finished, so that makes it about 65" square, more or less.  Again, I used Bonnie Hunter's tutorial for this quilt top, and I recommend it if you are interested in making a TATW.  I will definitely make this again - probably using my precious stash of Marcia Derse fabrics.

And about the 18 years referenced in the title of this post: We are celebrating my daughter's 18th birthday this week.  I am astonished at how fast these years have flown by.    From a tiny baby, under 6 lbs, she has grown into a gorgeous young woman, poised, confident and kind.  She is smart, funny, and loyal.  The three of us have always been a close family, with no teenage trauma - I have heard some parents say that the internal squabbling gets so bad that you are relieved when they finally leave the nest.  That's not the case with us.  In three weeks we will be taking her to McGill to begin university - my husband and I have been like deer in the headlights for the last month.  However will we redefine ourselves without her?  I, for one, will be making lots of quilts!  In fact, I remember 18 years ago, getting larger and larger, trying to finish up some quilting projects before my due date - that was the last of my quilting for 15 years.  It is somehow very satisfying that I have taken it up again as she begins to leave the nest - it reminds me that the world is round, just like my quilt.  Happy birthday, dearest Daughter - you will always be my sweet Munkus, my baby girl.