Being Ambitious

I found another swap to join via whipup, and it's right up my alley too. The Quilt Block Swap sounds like lots and lots of fun, and I can see myself doing it for many months to come. But that doesn't start for me until July. Until then I have turkey feathers' Finish What You Have month to keep my busy.

I am really really really going to try to finish the quilt. I started working on this redwork quilt for Beebs 5 and a half years ago when she was still an infant. Honestly, I've been making slow and steady progress, but I'm really ready for it to be done with it now. It is so close to completion that it almost kills me. I've embroidered each of the 31 redwork squares, I have pieced all of the Irish chain blocks, I have pieced all of the filler pinwheel and star blocks and I have added a border. I am already one third of the way through hand quilting it too, so really, the end is in sight.

Sometimes I wish that I had finished it earlier so that it could have spent all of this time decorating her bed, but truthfully, I think it has grown to be a better quilt this way. I've made artistic changes that I might not have made had I done it quickly, and Beebs has been able to watch the process and participate is deciding which animal we should add next and which block goes where. The quilt has already gotten a bit of use too. Since I started the hand quilting in November, its home has been on the back of the couch. It gets pulled fown in its safety-pinned form for Saturday morning cartoons and storytimes.

We shall see.