The Blue and Cheddar quilt is finished, bound, and sent off to the recipient. If it were to have a name and a label, I would call it this:
This is Quilt #311 in my Quilt Index.
I titled it this because of a celestial event. A rare celestial event.
This is called a red sprite phenomenon, when when lightning flashes above thunderstorms, creating a spikey flash of red light high in the sky. By using cheddar and deep blue, the quilt pays tribute to this transient luminous event: an orange sprite phenomenon. (photo) You can read more about it in this gifted article from the New York Times.
Hawthorne Supply Company was having a sale on Kaufman’s navy blue flannel. I ordered two packs for the back, washed them up. They are so thick and yummy, they are almost like chamois. My quilter, Nancy, did an awesome job on the quilting, with the pattern Diagonal Plaid Bias Cut from Urban Elementz. We used a copper MicroQuilter thread (Superior Threads) on the front and a coordinating thread on the back.
Our wisteria was dropping leaves this week, so here’s the requisite “fall” shot from Southern California. The blue fabrics are just ones I had in the stash, a full spectrum of rich, deep colors. Every so often, I feel like a label would interrupt the quilt back, and not that important (no lectures, please), so I leave it off. This happens like (wait for it) once in a blue moon.
I have long been fascinated by celestial events.
We’ve attended an annular eclipse, a solar eclipse, and a recent total solar eclipse.
When I was first married to my husband, we took our children up and stayed at his parents’ house for a week; one night was a star shower. I spread out a quilt on the grass in the backyard and watched the shooting stars. Since we were pretty much newlyweds (he married me and my four children, saving us all), I wonder what his parents and family thought. But he came and joined me on the grass, on the quilt, and we star-gazed together.
I was fascinated by what Jonny Thomson said this week on his Instagram account about the Korean idea of in-yun. It is not the first time I’ve run across this philosophy, and he described it well:
Imagine you pass somebody in the park and say, you nod, you smile, and you go back to your life. Then, a few days later, you notice the same person behind you in the supermarket. According to the Korean idea of in-yun, something important is happening here. In-yun means fate, but it really means the fate between people and relationships….[E]ssentially, it says that if you see a stranger more than once, it is not just a coincidence. That is the universe trying to tell you something. It is trying to say that here is someone important, they have something to teach you.
The French philosopher Gabriel Marcel argued that we should live our lives in a state of disponibilité, which means that we are ready to be at the disposal of the world.** If you stop seeing events as irrelevant accidents, but as messages, then you start to see the world as an opportunity. If you live your life ready to be helped, and ready to be changed, you will be. In-yun is the philosophical version of the crossing paths theory. It says that if somebody comes into your life, it is for a reason. If something keeps happening to you again, and again, and again, the universe is telling you that there is something to learn.
I’ve had more than a few things that have taught me to stay curious, to live in a state of disponibilité (or availability, as I understand it). Quilting, and the constant rate of discovery that happens in any quilt — from choice of fabrics, to colors, to inspiration — seems to match that idea for me, and I enjoy diving into a new project, and I enjoy finishing up. I also enjoy the quilters I meet, the quilters who teach me, my correspondence with all of you who read my blog, learning from every writer.
And so when my desire to rework my Azulejos pattern kept coming back around, and then I read about red sprites…well, that connection propelled me to this place. I hope the person who receives this gift will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. I had fond thoughts of him (my son-in-law) as I worked on it.
UPDATE: He likes it!!
Stay curious, everyone–
**Availability of mind, thought; state of availability, according to this French dictionary page, which I asked Google to translate into English.
Yes, I once did make, not one eclipse quilt, but two!
And an artsy eclipse quilt:
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It’s a beautiful quilt, and you certainly cranked it out! One month, start to finish? Perhaps it’s because you KNOW the pattern so well. It’s a real beauty. Ah, the ease of having a longarmer. That makes finishing much more pleasant, doesn’t it? I wish I didn’t have a self-imposed denial of such a luxury. I say that as I’m facing a pin-basted Posh Penelope, and wondering how in the world to quilt it. Sew Kind of Wonderful gals went over-the-top quilting theirs. I don’t think it’s worth my time to do that, so I’m pondering other options.
In any case, I appreciate the information about in-yun/disponibilitié. It’s an intriguing thought, and one I will now begin to be aware of. I’m afraid that if it occurs to me, and it’s too subtle, I’ll completely miss it. 🙂 Ah, another joy of aging.
Dear Elizabeth. You are so close, but so far. A stellar (forgive the pun) this morning.
What a beautiful quilt! And the perfect name. I had never heard of the red sprite phenomenon – wouldn’t that be an amazing thing to see? Thank you for sharing your thoughts on openness to life – I try to be, but always worth working on and thinking about.
Good for you jumping on the inspiration and getting it completely done in such a short amount of time. I love how the blue with the dots sprinkles star like depth to the quilt. I also love how you find inspiration for a name. Naming a quilt is hard for me. Every once in awhile I feel like the stars align and I can make something quickly but a total finish is harder to come by. I drag out the binding. As I write, I have what I consider a Christmas quilt made last Dec (but not in time for the holidays) needing to be bound so I can use it this year.
I love Orange Sprite Phenomenon, the quilt and the red natural event. I suppose it is an event that cannot be forecast and watched for. How amazing it would be to see it in person. One thing about the quilt that is fascinating is how differently the pattern shows up from a distance from an up-close view. And of course I oike orange and blue together. All kinds of good in that quilt.
Aha! I have a book called The Improbability Principle in my “to read” stack that addresses some of these coincidental events. Now I want to get to it. And those photos are spectacular–no wonder they inspired a quilt!
I definitely subscribe to the importance of staying curious and being open to “chance” encounters having more meaning than just randomness. The backing for Orange Sprite Phenomenon looks delightfully cozy, and I sure hope the recipient enjoys it very much. I feel like that was a quilt that came together quickly, but maybe that’s just my current perception of time (I feel like it is moving quickly).
One lucky recipient! The quilt is vibrant and snuggly with that interesting backing, Elizabeth! And another wonderful name….! You are a word wizard, with such an impressive world view and general knowledge. You always teach me something!
That turned out so well. Of course, I am a fan of orange/yellows, but the different shades make this one really sparkle. Lovely finish with the diagonal plaid quilt design – one of my favorites.
Another wonderful post, Elizabeth! I just love the ideas of disponibilitie/availability and in-yun. My lifelong intellectual curiosity has been a defining characteristic of my life and enriched it beyond measure. And I’m glad we’ve “crossed paths” through our quilting🙂. The blue and cheddar quilt is excellent and I’m struck – and impressed! – by the speed with which you got it done. Kudos!
Pretty and adorable! Well done!
This is a great quilt and I enjoyed learning about the red sprite phenomenon. I also enjoyed the quotes and your thoughts – especially the way you relate your availability to quilting 🙂