Moving on (pun intended) - Let the Quilting Begin!

For the past six weeks I have been busy with moving from Massachusetts to Colorado. Not a simple move even without two toddlers. It feels like we have met one difficulty after another along the way but right now the final boxes are being brought into our new (but old - it's a long story involving a very large fire) home and we can finally start settling in.

During those six weeks I also managed to get involved in four 'swaps' which were great fun and about which I meant to blog. I welcomed the distraction of the sewing (the swaps were: 12 mug toppers, 9 wool bunny/chick Easter baskets, a cupcake pin cushion, and my first mug rug!), to take my mind off all the decisions that had to be made, even just for short periods of time in the evenings. And I even took photos. But they never made it here and now it seems Iike so long ago!

Well during the move I made sure to keep my sewing machine available so it didn't end up buried in boxes somewhere. I'm not signed up for any swaps right now (I don't think the hubby would be too happy what with the move and the summer class I'm teaching starting in less than a week!). But, I did find a fun Quilt-Along to join in on! Now that I've wet my feet on the virtual world of crafters' swaps, I can go back there. And I'd like to explore the _____-alongs I keep seeing mentioned!

So this Quilt-Along is called 'The Skill Builder Sampler' and it will go for one year. My understanding is that every month there will be a tutorial on a different quilting skill and everyone joining will plan to make 3 blocks by the end of the month. Everyone that does complete 3 blocks can post them in a Flickr album and will be entered to win a prize! And at the end of the year, if you have completed all the squares, there will be enough to make a queen-size quilt! A year sounds like a long time at first but I think it will be just right. I have been wanting to jump into quilting somehow and get beyond my novice (self-taught) skills but I wasn't sure where to start. I don't know a group of quilting moms that I can meet with once a week to share tea and cookies with as we quilt so this is the next best thing, and modern version of that I suppose! So enough chattering. I will hopefully share my progress here as I participate. And if you want to join in as well, check it out here or click on the 'We Can Do It' button on the right side of my blog. We begin on June 17th!