Getting started ...

Getting started with a new blog must have a reason. Mine is multifaceted: I joined an awesome Yahoo sewing machine group and a quilting group; i love to sew/quilt, needlework, knit, and bead. I am a jack-of all trades. Thus I want a blog that can encompass all of these, not so much for others, but as a means to compile, keep memories, and share my endeavors.

Starting something new such as this blog, brings up many new questions, questions that don't always rise to the surface immediately. Thus the phrase, "work in progress" is very apt.

Do I go back and try to put up past projects? Do I make separate pages for each separate entity? Do I even have pictures, and if not, do I even mention those entities that can't be verified? And so they go ...

Instead of pondering, I will jump right in with 2 feet and 2 busy hands.

What started all of this?

I am a Peace Corps volunteer and, with other American volunteers in my community, am teaching basic sewing and quilting lasses to the local women. We are hoping for a sustainable project by teaching not only the craft of quilting but also basic business sense and methods, that will allow the women to add to their income. We are also encouraging "social conscience" by doing group donation projects. Of course, with this endeavor, one must sew and/or quilt the anticpated class project beforehand as a demonstration and model. So here I was, doing all of this on a basic Brother sewing machine that I absolutely loved, until it came to machine quilting anything bigger than a table runner. Then it was a long string of curses. My dear DH offered me a new (if not too expensive) sewing machine that would allow me to quilt larger projects without the blue air surrounding me and the machine.

This led to an internet search and ultimately a new Janome 6600P machine. Through a local contact here in-country I learned of a quilting Yahoo group and a Janome Yahoo group. Joining both has opened up a whole new world for me and quite a few of the members have blogs of their own, far more sophisticated than mine. Both groups are not open, but easily joined. [Links found to the side.]

In the meantime, I had also found, and joined, a needlework Yahoo group. This has proven to be a great help in my learning curve for needlework. Through this group, fortunately or unfortunately, I have discovered many more projects and now have embarked on a huge one that will no doubt take up much of my stitching time over the next few months.

As with any craft/interest that one is involved with, one has many UFO's (unfinished projects). And I think this is where I will start ...