Athenagwis, amma, and Honey, thank you so much for your responses! I did introduce myself in one of the forums... i have quilted before, but only under guidance from either a teacher or a kit & instructions.
as to space, I meant it when I said tiny... we don't have a kitchen table. flat surfaces = kitchen counter (2'x3') and my desk, which would work except there's no light over there, and no electrical outlet to plug a lamp into! it's less than 400 square feet - i'm counting the days till we get out!
as to designing, i'm finding a combination of the iphone app + colored pencils and paper to be working out pretty well. another question: should i alternate blank squares with patterned blocks? or just make my 5 x 6 block (or whatever) quilt with all patterns? i'm concerned about it looking too "busy" lol