Introductory Post

I'm not new to blogging, or even to Blogger, but this is the first time I have attempted a quilter's blog. 

I am 41 years old, and I have been quilting for almost twenty years now.  My mother taught me how to sew when I was a child, and through college I would cross-stitch and attempt a random dress pattern, so when I saw an amazing quilt hanging in the home of my parents' friend, I thought I'd teach myself.  My first attempts were disastrous, which comes from skimming a book, saying, "ehhh, I know all this," and then cutting and sewing random fabrics like twills and poly-cotton blends from templates without seam allowances.  I remember being pretty discouraged when looking at that first Card Trick block I attempted!

Over the years I've taken many classes and learned all sorts of techniques (paying closer attention to instructions!), including redwork, various methods of applique, machine and hand quilting, foundation paper piecing, and so on.  I've read hundreds of web tutorials and blogs, and made all sorts of quilts.  The elephant quilt currently set as the background image took over ten years to complete, and is hand appliqued, hand embroidered, and hand quilted (blocks and borders are machine pieced).  Like many other quilters, I have at least a dozen quilts in progress at any time, and at least a dozen or so more that are in a planning stage.

You'll learn more about me as we go, but I am divorced from the father of my 10-year-old son, and living with the love of my life, with whom I reconnected after a hiatus of twenty years.  He has two daughters, and we get all three kids during the summers (off and on) and weekends, which leaves us lots of alone time during the week to do our own thing (including sewing!).  I work full-time, I also enjoy cooking and reading, and I'm a member of the Star Quilter Guild in Roanoke, Virginia.  Lest that all sound too boring, you should also know that I am rarely outside the house without high heels, and can often be found grooving to the Lady Gaga channel on Pandora.

I hope that's good for starters ... there will be more to come.