The Thread Engineer

I've been quilting for a long time - in fact I feel old when I start thinking about it.  I completed my first quilt in 1988.  It was a twin-sized double Irish Chain.  I still have leftover fabric from it that I just can't seem to part with.  It pains me to think about piecing it since I had no clue what a rotary cutter was back then, not to mention strip piecing or chain piecing!  Every little square was done individually.  No wonder many of the seams didn't line up :/  The piecing and quilting were done on my domestic machine - at the time, an old machine my mother had found for me at a yard sale.  My husband often helped by pressing seams.  During the quilting phase, he would sit at the back of the sewing machine and pull while I pushed - it was quite the ordeal!  Overall, the quilt ended up pretty nice and I was hooked. 

My college roommate had made a quilt for our wedding and she was my inspiration for getting started.  So, in turn, I made a quilt for my high school friend's wedding the following year.  At this point I had upgraded to a nice Kenmore machine.  Between friends and family getting married and my own children's births, I kept up my new hobby of quilting. 

Joshua's Quilt - 1991

Christopher's Quilt - 1992
(although I have to confess...  the quilt wasn't finished until his first birthday
in 1993 - two in diapers doesn't leave a lot of time for quilting )

But, having young kids and working full-time does not leave a lot of time for hobbies.  I dabbled a bit here and there, stitched up some Halloween costumes, created a bed quilt for each of my sons (they had long outgrown their baby quilts), did lots of mending...  Wished I could do more :(
 

 

Joshua's Twin Bed Quilt - early 2000's

 Christopher's Twin Bed Quilt - early 2000's

Then came along my first Viking machine and some time to craft since my children were growing up and had their own hobbies to attend to (lots of sports!)  My co-worker's wife was having a baby - a baby boy!  What a great excuse to make a quilt.  My co-worker,  a math teacher, also happened to be my boys' wrestling coach.  Now, how to design a quilt for a little boy whose daddy was a math teacher and a wrestling coach??

It was a no-brainer, and turned into a family affair planning out the design.