Getting ready for a little sewing

The fabric for my daughter's twin-bed quilt arrived yesterday--I'm going to do a pinwheel quilt, using charm packs of Tweet Tweet and white fabric. I'm looking forward to it, however long it takes me! (It's a good thing she's not quite ready for a twin bed yet, eh?)

But first: I've been enjoying doing some smaller projects to keep my quilting momentum while I wait for Dad's flannel quilt to get back from the long-arm quilter's. My very first charm pack experience was a Christmasy tablerunner:



And the goal this weekend: Quilting and binding this 'everyday' Fandango tablerunner--it will look great in our family room:

Testing out images...

Here's a peek at my very first quilt, a summer wallhanging, which I completed as part of a class.



We used Alex Anderson's beginning quilting book, and the original plan to 'learn how to quilt' was that I would complete four quilts from that book, one for each season. My second quilt was a log-cabin winter-themed wallhanging, and then I got sidetracked: I took a stack-n-whack class (and made a large lap quilt) and then I started on the buzz-saw quilt that is only just nearing completion (it's at a long-arm quilter now).

I've got plans for a fall all-batik quilt, and I'm learning hand-piecing and hand-quilting with the spring wallhanging. Pictures of all will be forthcoming! :)

Hello, quilt world!

Hello and welcome!

My Christmas present in 2003 was a sewing machine, and I took my first quilting class in early 2004 -- I lived near a lovely quilt shop (Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa). Apparently I decided, while writing my dissertation, that I needed a new hobby!

I've been an off-and-on quilter since then; in 2009 my father delivered my custom-built sewing cabinet and in summer 2010 I'm finally close to finishing the quilt I'm making him in (partial) payment. I'm also learning hand-piecing, and I've found the quilting blogs--talk about getting bitten by the quilting bug!

I'm not a fast quilter: I'm a university professor and a mom to a three-year-old, so my sewing time is limited. But I love it, and I'm looking forward to sharing and finding inspiration.