Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the tremendous response! I just finished work and came in to see if anyone replied to my post yesterday, and found 5 pages of replies! What a lovely surprise.
I wish I could reply to everyone individually!
I really appreciate the support, and feel SO much better about starting a quilt now. Glad that my machine & table are going to be OK. The tips about using a TV tray, ironing board or chair for support are going to come in very handy. And I'll go to the library and look for all the books recommended here -and whatever else they've got! And I'll be sure to check into the web resources everyone pointed out, too.
I'm fortunate in that even though this is a fairly small city, there about half a dozen local quilt shops in the area, one of which is just over a mile away. I haven't looked into classes but I will see what's available. I think I saw an announcement for an upcoming quilt show, somewhere nearby. Not sure about a guild but there probably is.
I admit, I've always been a planner - honestly, probably an over-planner when it comes to new things like this. So I've gotta let go of that and just dive in I think and play with it. Thanks to everyone who suggested I do t that way.
I'm just so inspired by all your comments, and stories. So glad to have discovered Quilting Board! I'm sure I'll be hanging out here a lot soaking up all your good knowledge from here on out.
Thank you again, a million times for all the encouragement!
cheers -
Denise