I've sewed in close quarters before and it didn't seem so bad. Guess I was just glad I had a sewing machine and a place to sew. Now that I have my big quilt cave, I tend to get lost and sidetracked a lot. I have found, the bigger the space, the bigger the mess you can make, so if you keep it small, you don't have as much cleaning up to do. LOL! Enjoy sewing with your Mom. Her quilt is really pretty! Thanks for sharing with us.