Look what I've finished...

Minnow's quilt

This is Minnow's baby quilt. I started working on it in my second trimester, just after turning in my dissertation. I was working on it the evening I went into labor, using some of the nervous anticipation and energy that I couldn't channel into any academic work. After Minnow arrived, the nearly-finished quilt sat out for a while, until I couldn't stand it anymore and hid it away for several months. Around Christmas, I decided that I really wanted to finish the quilt for Minnow's 1st birthday. I didn't quite make it in time, but now it is done, and I dare say it is fabulous. And I'm already dreaming of the quilt I will make for her "big girl" bed.

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Wow! So pretty! I'm impressed.

That's great! I like how it's so colorful.

I know what you mean about sticking projects away. I have so many half-done or unstarted ones, I think I'm going to go crazy this summer once I've finished up my masters business.

Beautiful!

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Beautiful indeed. Especially when looking at the larger pic at the flckr page. You really get a taste of the patterns in the individual colors.

Very nicely done.

...tom...
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By ...tom... (not verified) on 11 Apr 2008 #permalink

Wow! Since I consider sewing on a button high accomplishment, I am blown away by anyone who quilts. This is beautiful!

Wait, so that means you didn't do a postdoc before getting a tenure-track position? (You can tell where my mind is right now.) I've been reading your blog for a while now, but somehow I missed that detail.

Beautiful. :) (And I also didn't realize that you hadn't done a post-doc. It's getting harder and harder to get tenure-track jobs without additional research and/or teaching experience. Clearly, you are awesome! :) )

Emily and Kim: I did do a post-doc. I just stayed in Utopia and worked with my advisor on a different set of projects. It wasn't long (~9 months, 2 of which were on maternity leave, and 3 of which were ~1/2 time), but it was long enough to count for Mystery U's search comittee. I also had taught a summer course as an instructor while working on my PhD. I think that helped a lot as well.

OmegaMom: A big reason it isn't a pink quilt is that I started it while pregnant, and I didn't know that Minnow would be a girl until she was born. But even if I had known, it wouldn't have been pink. I'm more of a purple fan.

justapie: A wonderful friend in Utopia taught me how to quilt. My mom never taught me how to sew or even iron, but she did teach me how to do science and to love the outdoors.

Wow, that's masterful -- you really hit everything; great quilt overall, awesome colors to attract a baby's eye, interesting and mentally stimulating pattern, the whole schmear. It's beautiful.

Wow! It's beautiful!

"And I'm already dreaming of the quilt I will make for her "big girl" bed."

That's the spirit! Sometimes I even start dreaming about my next project while I am working on something else.

Very beautiful.

Is it just a teensy bit hard to let Minnow use it after all that tedious work? I sometimes kinda don't want to wear things I knit so I don't mess them up (but I do wear them of course).

Actually, she shows no interest in it, which was a bit disappointing at first, but is fine with me now. I've got it draped over our banister, so I can enjoy looking at it.

Don't be disappointed in Minnow's current disinterest in the quilt. She will appreciate it more and more as she gets older. I still have--and use--the quilt my mother made for me when I was a baby. It's a little small, of course, but it makes a perfect lap quilt!

You really did an amazing job on this quilt. I love how the squares look like they are interlocking. And the bright colors are wonderful. You're right--it's fabulous!

Wow, that's awesome! So: you're a mom, a tenure-track prof, a blogger, AND you quilt. How do you do it all? Seriously, you're making me feel like a piker.