Progress...and a Store-bought Quilt

I've been working like crazy on the Big Quilt this week. I've decided that I need to get this quilt done before the weather turns warm, and I'm happy to say that I've finished all but two corners. They're big corners (40 inches square each) but should go relatively fast. I've already quilted parts of them, and I won't have to wrestle the quilt as much because there will be very little quilt in the harp space of my machine. Also, I'd like to think I'm getting faster at machine quilting.  Of course, my most important reason for finishing (aside from the fact that it's now a very much overdue gift for my son and daughter-in-law) is that a year is plenty long to have been blogging about my slow progress. 

Here's what I got done in the last few days:

And a little closer:

So anyway, I'm getting there. 

In other news, our bedroom painting project is finished. It is now green instead of off-white--a huge difference for us, but we like it. The whole look is more vintage-y than what I was first aiming for, but this color looked best with our carpet, wood trim, and antique furniture, and it will work well with lots of colors in further decorating. 

If you remember, I blogged awhile back about needing to replace our bedspread as it was literally fading away. Now that our walls are green, I decided to (GASP) buy a quilt in off-white. Then, to add some color without committing a year (or 13) to making a quilt, I plan to make bed runners as the whim hits me (I'll call them quilting practice quilts.) So here's what part of the room looks like now:

The carpet is actually forest green, not gray. It never photographs well. I put the throw quilt from the family room at the end of the bed to add a bit of color for the picture. For future bed runners, I hope to explore some more modern designs and colors. I'm also planning to make some different window treatments--something lighter than the old valances. But they'll do for now. 

About the store-bought quilt. I got it on sale at a big box store. It's not bad for store-bought, but it's not big enough to be a bedspread, so I'm using the bed skirt I used with our old quilt. The size is really odd--118 inches by 102. There's a ton of quilt tucked under our pile of pillows. It would probably fit perfectly if I put it long-way across the bed, but the scallop edge only goes around three sides, so that doesn't work. Maybe once it's washed the size will be a bit less cumbersome. It must be difficult to determine what size commercially made quilts should be nowadays with all the variations in the sizes of mattresses. I had looked at coverlets, but they were way too small for our bed. The quality of the quilting is okay--definitely done by computerized machine. There are some thread ends here and there, but I've come to expect that with big box store merchandise. The border quilting is a little sparse for my tastes; maybe I'll add lines between the lines that are there. 

Here's a close-up of the main quilting:

But here's the thing: a part of me feels really guilty as a quilter having a store-bought quilt as the covering for my bed. I do have several other commercially made quilts that we use as blankets. I bought them several years ago. They are densely quilted and well made, and because they are cotton, there's no static or itchiness that comes with polyester blankets. I don't feel bad about having bought them--maybe because I call them blankets. But buying the covering for my bed just doesn't feel right somehow. I probably need to get over that. Maybe when I make some bed runners, I'll feel better. But I'm curious. How do you feel as a quilter? Do you have a commercially made bed covering? Does it bother you if you do?

Well, now it's time to get back to quilting. Or blog reading. Or looking out the window at the silly Mallard couple who are house hunting by the unused tarp-covered pool next door. They are pretty sure that the snow-melt water on the tarp is the perfect private pond for them. There are two or three perfectly fine lakes a few blocks away. I don't know what they're thinking. 

I'm linking up today with Sew Fresh Quilts. Have fun quilting, whether your progress is fast or slow. And I won't hold it against you if you bought your bed quilt.