I finally got around to making a quilt for me. I designed it a while ago, and the cutting and piecing has been haphazard at best. Over the past weekend, however, I finished the last block. Now I'm ready to lay it out and get crackin' on sewing it together. It's my first quilt on point, and it's my largest quilt this decade: a queen. I'm also set to donate a custom quilt to my son's school auction, which is alternately exciting and terrifying. I already have some ideas about my next project. So why the foot dragging?
In part I think I am freaked out about the piecing. I mean, I thought I took care during cutting to get things right, yet when I did the blocks there were inevitable times when the blocks didn't quite work. Several are definitely not quite square, with longer pieces or shorter seams. Very frustrating. And the black background fabric turned out a bit disappointing. I don't like its hand: it's a bit thin, but not as bad as the yellow I used for the last 2 quilts I did. At least it's not transparent. Still, I think I need to take more care in the future.
Another thing that bothers me is necessity: this quilt will just be too large for me to machine quilt, which is sort of my favorite part. Every time I tuck my daughter in (yes, this will sound egotistic) I can't help but admire the quilting, especially the bubbles. To trust my quilt to a professional long-arm quilter is very scary. Even though I'm sure the person has scads more experience than I do, it's a control issue and an issue of ownership. How can I say I did it when I didn't do it all? Yet I know it will be cheaper and turn out nicer. And I know that whenever I show it off I will feel compelled to point out that I didn't finish it. I'm not usually so "finish-obsessed". God only knows I can be a quitter. Sigh. This is different, but...
Moving on! Going downstairs now! Next post will show progress... Honest.
