So...I made a mistake.

(No, the freshman is not the mistake!!)

Before I begin, I really ought to introduce my buddy, my sidekick, one of my favorite freshmen, my photographer, and my comedic relief. Without her, I'd have a lot of trouble documenting my progress. Her name is Sasha Moseley. She sort of knows how to sew and is incredibly photogenic! She's also hilarious, and makes me laugh every single day.

Sasha will be taking photos and videos of me, as well as keeping me on my toes. She'll be making me laugh, correcting my mistakes, She's a little (read: a lot) more experienced than I am, so she's able to help me fix the sewing machines I'll inevitably screw up. Good thing too, because I'm sure that Mrs. Rushing would prefer me not wasting all her time just troubleshooting sewing machines! :) Most of the photos or videos you'll see on this blog will be taken by Sasha on either my phone or hers.

Alright. So without further ado... let's begin with day 1 of my project.

Day 1 - Cutting Squares

I pulled out my five half-yards today in third period. My objective was to cut seven squares out of each half yard. Once I got my cutting mat, straight edge, and rotary cutter I was all set, I thought.

I realized pretty quickly on that I had no idea what I was doing. I started off by cutting the white edge off the edges of the fabric. I kept catching the edge of the rotary cutter on the straightedge I was using, which was sort of funny. Sasha caught a bit of that gem on video.

They never tell you how much the fabric sheds! Thread bits were everywhere. We found some in Sasha's hair, all over my pants, all over the cutting board, down my shirt (shh)... I realized that I ought to invest in a lint roller. Also, when I passed the rotary cutter over the fabric, it didn't always cut through on the first try. Or the second. Or maybe even the third. I guess I just had to press harder... though when I did, I'd accidentally click the blade back into the handle. I did that multiple times, so I just reverted to the "running over the edge 62 times" method... I think it worked pretty well.

(I had absolutely no idea what I was doing...but I love this fabric.)

Well, once we managed to remove all the white edges from the fabric, I began cutting the material into eight and a half inch squares. This proved to be easier said than done.

You see, a half yard is 18 inches long by 42.5 inches wide. The length, when divided by 8.5, makes five perfect squares. Usually, when people cut squares, they fold the fabric in half and, starting from the side that is NOT the fold, they cut two pairs of squares, and then unfold the last square, which makes five. I say usually, because then there's me.

I was careless and didn't bother to check which side was the folded side. Further more, I apparently don't know what a square is. (Hint: same length on all sides). I cut what I thought was a square that was 8.5 inches by 10.5... and once I trimmed some off the edges, I peeled the squares apart to find...that I had cut myself a rectangle that was 17 inches by 8.5 inches. (I found the rectangle mistake after the camera turned off, so I fixed that off camera.) Basically, I ended up with two 8.5 inch squares, a 17 by 8.5 rectangle, and two 8.5 by 4.25 rectangles. Skill.

All of that being said, I did learn a lot. This was my first time cutting fabric with a rotary cutter, so it was good practice. Now that I sort of know what I'm doing, I think that it may go a bit faster next time (tomorrow). I still have to finish cutting "squares" and then I can lay out my quilt design and begin practicing straight stitches. I also have to learn how to do things more neatly.

(The aftermath of Day 1)

Well... at least I had fun today, even if it did get messy. I still have all my fingers too, which is a bonus. I was worried I would have lost a couple by now.