Self-introduction

Well, I'm finally doing it ... dipping my toes into the blogiverse after what I believe is called "lurking" for the past few months. I've been immersing myself in the wonderful, inspiring, and somewhat overwhelming world of the craft blog for the past few months, and I've become hooked. I just got turned on to Google Reader last week, and I have 70+ subscriptions. (Wow, I just blew my own mind when I counted them).

I started this blog because I joined my first swap (see sidebar -- thanks, Kate!), and I've noticed that most internet swaps prefer that the participants have a blog of some sort. But I am excited that it represents my emergence from lurker status to one of involvement and interaction. Who knows where it will lead, but I am excited to poke around a bit, get involved, and maybe make a few new friends.

First, the stats: I am 33 years old and married to my college sweetheart, with whom I have 3 beautiful and remarkable children. Our twin girls are 3 1/2, and our son will turn 2 next week. Yes, we have our hands full and are exhausted 110% of the time. My hobbies keep me sane. I was born & raised in Brooklyn, NYC, and moved to North Carolina for college. I have both my BA and MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill (and yes, I am still mourning our Final Four loss last week). I work in the field of Brand Management & Design and have worked in the snack food, apparel, and home improvement industries ... today, I am working at a small but powerful technology company here in Raleigh.

One thing that has become very clear is that I am not the stereotypical quilter. First of all, I'm a guy. There are not too many of us poking around these parts -- in fact, I think I've come across one, maybe two crafy blogs written by men. And I get a huge kick out of the assumed "hey ladies" on almost all of the blogs I read! No bother ... in my mind, it's a creative outlet. Plain and simple, I love to make beautiful things, and to admire the beautiful things made by others. No different from photography, or painting, or woodworking -- all perfectly acceptable as hobbies for men -- right?

It all started when I bought my wife a sewing machine about two years ago. She was a new stay-at-home mom with twin babies and another on the way and, like I said earlier, needed a hobby to stay sane. I think she had grand ideas of making all of the kids' clothes (still hasn't happened), but she really sparked to making all types of bags and purses. She also signed up for a beginning quilting class at our local sewing store. I started getting really excited when I started to see the fabrics she was bringing home from the store -- Amy Butlers, Joel Dewberries. My head immediately started spinning with the possibilities.

I started asking her to show me how to work the machine, and slowly started going with her to pick out fabrics for her bags and quilts. (P.S. Ever try fabric shopping with two 2-year olds and a newborn? It's ... interesting). I was hooked. I started messing around with some easy patterns -- my first attempt was Amy Butler's free Brick Path pattern -- and even though I made a TON of mistakes, I'm still proud that I completed it, and my wife uses it almost every night when she cuddles up to watch TV. I messed around with a few more easy patterns, learning something new each time and (in my own estimation) dramatically improving in a relatively short time.

This past Christmas, my wife signed us both up for a Beginning Quilting class, and I learned a bunch of the tips and tricks of the trade ... and now know some of the mistakes I made on my first few projects. I am in the process of finishing up the quilting and binding of the quilt I made in that class.

Pictures and posts of all of my projects (so far) on their way.

Wow, first post ... pretty long. Sorry about that. Better self-editing in the future!

P.S. Here are my three greatest masterpieces: