Mila's new quilt...eventually...I hope...

My mom is a quilter.

I'm not saying this casually, as in she sometimes makes quilts as a hobby. I mean she actually has an enormous long-arm quilting machine and people pay her to quilt (and sometimes bind and finish) their work. She pieces quilts of her own as well, sometimes for fun but also for dollars. Don't even get me started on the non-quilting sewing she has done. The woman has talent and I am endlessly impressed with the work she does.

(She is, of course, reading this right now and feeling incredibly embarrassed that I'm writing about her at all. Mom: no need to blush. You do good work. Own it. Be proud. You are awesome.)

So yes, my mom is a quilter...and I? I am not. I can sew a straight line--usually--but that's about as good as it gets. I have made exactly two quilts in my life. One was made of cut-up old jeans, and I honestly don't remember if I actually sewed that one together or just cut the pieces out and let my mom do the hard stuff. That was more than ten years ago. The other is the little quilt underneath Mila in this photo (from last March) which I made last year.

It's not perfect, but it's not too shabby either, and I was proud of myself for doing it at all.

Anyway, when I finally decided on a quilt pattern and fabric to use for Mila's big girl bed--which she won't be sleeping in for a while yet but which I would like to set up anyway when we put her bedroom together--I had a choice: I could give the fabric to my mom and let her turn it into something gorgeous, or I could attempt to do it myself.

Pride and nesting instincts and maybe more than a little foolishness (because goodness knows my projects have been hit and miss lately) led me to choose the latter. Much as I'd like to think it will turn out as beautifully as I imagine, I'm genuinely concerned that I may lose a finger in a rotary cutter accident or mangle my sewing machine beyond repair or just end up giving my poor daughter a really pitiful quilt. Especially since I'm kind of making it up as I go...

I started cutting blocks out on Saturday, though, so there's no turning back. Wish me luck!

(The fabric came in the mail last week and it is exactly what I wanted. That coral in the middle will be the main color, by the way. I'm so excited to start gathering things to make Mila's bedroom pretty and happy and sweet and her.)