Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Howdy, neighbor! Good to meet you here in Blogland.

Marleen, over at Stichin' By The Lake, has started an old-fashioned welcome committee of sorts so that we can meet our neighbors. What a great idea! So let me tell you a little about myself.

I'm a 50-something gal from Idaho who still has a Day Job but who would love to retire from it and quilt full time. Or at least 4-5 hours a day.  Each day that goes by I get a little bit closer to that big 6-0 number and I feel a great pressure like never before that now is the time to really do the things I'd like and want to do because, well, one just never knows how many days one has left.

So to that end I began quilting in earnest about two years ago.  I love creating beautiful quilt tops, but really, really hated trying to push and shove a quilt through the throat of my Viking. So a year ago I took the plunge and invested in a long arm machine. Boy, what a difference it has made for me!  I'm still on the learning curve of things, but I've got my back log of quilts almost quilted, and am quilting for others now. How fun is that!

On the home front, I am an empty-nester. I have a son, 30, who lives in Portland and a daughter, 26, who lives in Seattle. Neither are married. Hence, I have no grandkids!!!  Which makes me awfully sad at times, but of course, I definitely don't want to rush them. On the other hand: they'd better get on the ball SOON. Here again, my time clock is ticking away. . . .

My husband and I live just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Sun Valley ski resort. I used to downhill ski, but a hip replacement seven years ago squelched that activity. I still cross country ski, hike, bike, and walk, and I love to do most anything outdoors.  When I tried to come up with my business name, I finally thought I'd make it as simple as my love for the outdoors - Mountain Quiltworks.  It doesn't take too much effort to look at any of our mountainsides, mountaintops or scenic panoramas to see glorious 'quilty' possibilities! The colors, angles, depth and hues are amazing.

I guess the other thing that I'd like to share with you is the joy that I have found in being a creative person. I have a business degree in marketing, and so my career has been spent in both the insurance and accounting industries, as well as a long stint (while raising kids) as a freelance writer for a regional newspaper. The writing offered a wee bit of creativity, but nothing to satisfy my inner desire to think about a project, develop it, create it, tweak it, finish it and then step back with a smile on my face and say, "Yep - that's what I envisioned!"  Guess you could say I'm pretty much hooked on quilting!

So how about you, neighbor?  How did your love for quilting develop?

Be sure to check out Marlene's blog so you can visit your other quilty neighbors.

Barb

Oh - just for the fun of it, here's a self portrait of me in my favorite fishin' hat. I'm positive that it helps catch more trout if I'm wearing it!