Learning by doing...

I finished piecing block three of the sampler quilt last night - a simple log cabin.

It was actually a pretty useful exercise for getting to know my sewing machine. I have a Bernina, which I inherited along with everything else from my mother. Because she was already bedridden by the time she gave it to me, she wasn't able to show me much about using it, so I've been finding things out as I go along.

One thing I just couldn't figure out was why, although my seams seemed to be the regulation 1/4", and all my strips were the right width, my blocks finished up about a 1/4" too small... It would seem that the patchwork foot I have, if I line the fabric up with the outer edge, actually makes the seam about 9/32" wide instead of 1/4", and over a couple of pieces, that adds up... Soooooo... if I move the fabric in just a tad, I get my 1/4" seam, and my block's the right size. :-)

And this is how my first quilt turned out :-)