Into the Deep End

I generally like my sewing projects to have purpose - something that gets used.  I'm more than happy to whip up another pair of oven mitts when the last pair go to the big oven in the sky.  I love to hear about the baby quilts I've made:  the play-time and washings they've withstood and the kids now using them to build indoor forts. 

So when my mom asked me why I was I was going to put in so much effort on a bedspread for a spare bed I was a little surprised.  Honestly, a wall hanging hadn't even crossed my mind.  I wanted it to go on a bed, not on the wall.  Mom was concerned all my work wouldn't be appreciated.  My spare bed used to be in a very visible spot and now it's tucked in the back corner of the house.  Well, if this quilt is lost and forlorn in my spare room, I'll loan it out (like several beautiful watercolors I "own" until  my sister takes them back).  Or maybe, if I have a fit of insanity, I'll give it away.  Whatever.  I need to complete it, first!

One down, 139 to go

I had planned to spend much of Sunday cutting material.  However, after that conversation and ironing umpteen yards of material, I dawdled.  But I couldn't leave everything strewn all over the living room floor, so I ended up cutting enough fabric for single block.  I wanted to make very sure I had all the correct measurements before cutting thousands of pieces.  And just to be absolutely certain, I stitched together my first block.

Oh, my.

The good news is, my pieces all seem to be the right size.  And the block, for the most part, was square.  Yay!  But my seams aren't even.  My points are all over the place; I had difficulties lining stuff up.  The block was a wee bit smaller than it should have been.  I'm going to have to be more careful than usual.  It was easy enough to figure out what order to piece the block, but not so easy to see where to line up each seam properly.

I wanted a challenging sewing project.  I think I got a bit more than I intended.  A wall hanging is starting to sound enticing.  Although I have enough material for two or three of them.  I think I'll stick with the bedspread.  Sink or swim, I'm going for it.