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How did you first meet and then how did you fall in love???...With Quilting, that is!!!


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Question: How did you first meet and then how did you fall in love???...With Quilting, that is!!!

What is it about quilting that makes some people (like us) go "goo goo gaa gaa" and froth at the mouth?

Well, for me, I never really had a hobby or a passion. I dabbled in a few things here or there, but nothing really stuck. When I first got married, I did, however, enjoy learning to cook and experimented my meals with DH who happily ate them even if they weren\'t "just fabulous" but now after practicing all these years, I am a pretty good home cooker and he even says so! Yay! ;)

But the real question is about quilting... For me, back in early 2001-ish time, my dear MIL made me and DH a couple of quilts and I was fascinated; enamored with it. I made my first baby quilt then, and got hooked and made more that I gave as Christmas gifts that year. No one else on my side of the family made quilts, so I must admit that I was the "star" of the family and my sisters, nieces and nephews all loved and appreciated their gifts from Auntie Shana...

I was hooked and I discovered something very cool...what really blew me away about quilting was that there were these things called "quilt shops" and in these pretty little shops, they offered things called "quilting classes" and pretty much thereafter, Bar the door, Katie!!... I took all of those classes; sometimes two or three a month! I took every possible class there was to take for about a year\'s time. And, we had two shops in town so there, I was a quilt class-taking fool! And what was even more cool than the quilt classes, was that I discovered NEW FUN FRIENDS who were not only very nice and kind to me, they were also "goo-goo gaa-gaa" about quilting and gosh darn it, I could not believe that life could be so much fun. And, I even was awe struck with the fact that this quilting industry was exploding into its very own galaxy right before my eyes...quilt shows, all sorts of professional teachers and their books, magazines and tools, and they all wanted to share their tricks and advice and they were so very warm and welcoming! And I just could not believe how huge quilting was becoming in this world. We have so many choices with all sorts of fun threads, fun fabric designs, and I can\'t believe how much there is offered to us. We all are truly fortunate to have these things readily available. It\'s amazing and gets more huge even now!

And, that we can sit here and stare at this light blue screen and ask questions and my friends in Australia and Germany and Kansas City can pop in and answer that question and share photos and advice. Wow! And, where the heck was I all those other years that this was happening? OK, so fast forward to today and here I am with a nice sewing machine and a nice longarm and a gazzillion dollars invested in fabric, patterns, books, tools and equipment. Oh my goodness what the heck did I get myself into!!!

I love quilts. I love quilting. I love quilters. I love quilters who love quilting quilts... I am a quiltaholic. Now, where is that chocolate. I need some!

So... I ask you: How did you first meet and then how did you fall in love???...With Quilting, that is!!!

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Shana,

Quilting is a wonderful way to make new friends and for me it is so rewarding to turn plain fabric into a beautiful quilt! I started crafting pretty young, I think my mom had me on the sewing machine by the time I was 6. She never quilted but showed me how to make clothes and other things for the home. She also taught me to knit and crochet. During high school I sewed a lot of my clothes and made some gifts. I was married very young, 18! I met my husband during my junior/senior (I doubled up my junior year to graduate early) and we got engaged at our prom! LOL we were so young. Anyway he was already enlisted in the Marine Corp and left for boot camp 5 days after we graduated high school. I grew up an Army brat and said I would never marry a military man...my father never let me forget that. 9 months after HS we were married...now we get to quilting! LOL

He was stationed at New River Air Station in Jacksonville, NC. Off we went to start married life. I will never forget driving into Jacksonville late at night and wondering what the heck I had done! I recall asking him if he moved me to the boonys! There was nothing but tabacco fields. We got to our first home, a two bedroom trailer, and I was in tears but pretending I just didn\'t feel good! LOL I lost my voice the day we were married and had bronchitis. Anyway I was so bored and lonely. One of the wifes said she was going to a quilting class and said I was free to join in. OK! I went to my first class in 1981 and I was hooked! Of course then I did almost everything by hand. I strayed every now and again but I always went back to quilting. Now I can\'t imagine a week without it. 26 years and still going strong!

Heidi

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Welllll.....

I fell in love with quilting about ten years ago, while browsing at the library with my then young kids. I found these big coffee table books filled with pics of gorgeous quilts. I took about fifteen of them home and poured over them. The history of quilting fascinated me just as much as the actual quilts. But, with two kids under five, life got in the way. (Darn those kids!:D)

Jump to about \'04, and I found myself with a new friend who happened to be a quilter. I remembered "Oh, yeah. I wanted to learn how to do that!" So, got the Bernina (\'cause that\'s what the friend had), and started taking classes.

I tend to become obsessed with my hobbies, and it was the same with quilting. Books, classes, Tivo-ing tv shows, and then I discovered this APQS chat. It put all kinds of ideas in my head (expensive ideas!). I bought my machine in October and have been loving every minute. I\'m quilting my own quilts now, and a few friends. My business, Daffodil Quilting, is up and running legally, but I won\'t be taking customers until I have ppp\'d a lot more; probably end of the summer.

That\'s my love story. :)

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Great stories! I guess mine is also very similar. My Grandmother (Mother\'s mother) was a quilter. She pieced on her sewing machine, and then hand quilted. She belonged to a quilting group that met at her church and the ladies all sat around working on the same quilt. My grandmother was an excellent hand quilter. My mother was really not a quilter (although she did a few - also, hand quilted). My mother and grandmother always sewed clothing. My grandfather worked in a mill near their home which dyed woolens which were then used for men\'s suiting. We always had plenty of wool from the end of the bolt; all the odd end pieces. So, growing up I had lots of wool jumpers and skirts, also jackets and coats. My mother also bought "pretty" fabric to make my clothes out of, too. At an early age I was taught to sew clothes. My mother also did lots of knitting and crocheting, rug hooking, crewel work, needlepoint, cross stitch, everything. She is also a great cook. She loved to can blueberries and tomatoes and lots of things during her younger years. She is 90 now.

So, when I was ready to move into my very own apartment, I started to buy pots and pans and other needed items. At that time I also bought my own sewing machine because a girl certainly couldn\'t survive in an apartment on her own without one. :) I sewed all the curtains, tableclothes, etc, and also lots of my clothes. I knitted, crocheted, etc, just like my mother.

Well then marriage and my own kids. I sewed for all 5 of them, as well as the knitting and crocheting.

I thought about quilting, bought a few nice "coffee table" books, but decided it looked too hard. There weren\'t any directions in those books, just beautiful pictures of exquisitely made quilts.

Years tumbled by. About 5-6 years ago a woman I was working with brought a quilt in she had made for a wedding present for a relative. My interest peaked! I asked her lots of questions about how she made it. She insisted it was easy and said I would definately be able to do it with some instructions, as she knew I could sew already. About that time a quilt show was at the Ft. Washington Expo Center, nearby. I decided to go and get a look at some quilts. At that time I really thought quilting was a rather dead art. I didn\'t know anyone who quilted, except Betty. Anyway, I went to the quilt show, not expecting to see very many people there, because who was interested in quilting? Well, was I shocked! I had to park so far away from the Expo Center that they were running shuttle busses from that lot to the door. There were thousands of people there. They weren\'t all 90 years old. Many were quite young and interested in quilting??? Oh, boy were my eyes opened that day.

I walked around looking at these beautiful quilts and felt I would never be able to make anything like them in my wildest dreams.

I told Betty about my experience and she suggested I take a class. A class? They actually have places that teach you how to quilt? Duh! Was I out of touch!

I signed up for a 6 week class at a local quilt shop. I never new there was such a thing, either. I had only been to fabric shops with fashion fabrics.

After half the class session was over, I grew restless; it was moving too slowly. Betty lent me directions for a very easy pin-wheel quilt - lap size, and I went out and bought fabric to make it. I finished it in a week and took it for show and tell to week 4 of my class. I had also bought half a dozen books that taught how to sandwich the quilt and how to make and sew on the binding. My classmates were so excited that I did it on my own. I was hooked at that moment. I finished that class, but by the time it was over I had made an additional 2 baby quilts for show and tell, plus the top from the class.

Oh, and at week #2 I bought a Bernina. I had an old White and decided I needed a brand new machine to quilt with.

Well, 5-6 years later I have made hundereds of quilts, table runners, wall hangings, jackets, etc. I have 4 sewing machines and a serger, so much fabric that I\'ll never be able to use it all, but I continue to buy more anyway, bins of batting and thread, 2 bookcases of quilting books and a pile on the floor in the corner of my sewing room, stencils, many rulers, the list goes on and on. I also have tons of yarn and needles, hooks, books. My husband really thinks I am out of my mind! (He reads and watches TV - no real hobbies.)

Now I am totally obsessed with getting a LA. I went from wanting a Millie for about 3 years, to wanting a Lenni when I read about it last spring, to now wanting a Liberty. Well, I am still saving as I try to figure out how to fit one in my sewing room. I have to get tons of fabric and yarn out of here to get a LA in. Lots of logistical problems, but I\'m working on it while I try to resist the urge to buy tons more fabric since it will just take up more space and the money should be put in the bank towards my LA. What a struggle to walk by a beautiful piece of fabric - especially when it\'s on sale!

Well, that is my story. It comes out on paperback next month. :) (Sorry it was so long.)

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I learned to sew clothing and crafty things when I was 6 years old. I\'ve always loved looking at quilts but didn\'t know anyone who had ever made one.

When my husband and I married (he\'s a retired Navy man) we moved to Scotland and being the bored and lonely Navy wife in a foreign country, I thought about making a quilt. I bought fabric and a book and tried to cut out all the little pieces with scissors! Needless to say that attempt was not successful.

Twenty years later, my boss brought in a quilt that she had made and I was smitten. I HAD to make one for myself. I found a class and haven\'t stopped since. It\'s been 8 years now and I love it more every day! Luckily I have the best husband ever because like Jen, I tend to be quite obsessive over it and he just supports me and helps me any way he can. :)

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Shana,

What a great question! I love all the stories so far.

I grew up watching my grandma (mom\'s mom) quilt, with the other ladies coming to her house to quilt all together. She did teach me to crochet and then by that time I was learning how to sew in 4-H with my mom as leader. My mom also quilts and in about 1980 when my first was born I made my first quilt by myself. I made an occasional quilt through the years until about 2001 when empty nest hit our home. Freed from school events, a friend and I joined the local guild and took classes. What fun! I think a monster was created! We took the classes offered by our state guild at their convention and now we can\'t stop. In the last few years I decided that I wanted to machine quilt as it takes me about 1 year to hand quilt a quilt and I had quilted 4 bed sized quilts up until then. I like to piece too and wanted to do it all. I didn\'t want to have someone else quilt my quilts so I bought a longarm in August.

So far I plan to do just my own but several people have said "If you have one, they will come!" so I guess I will just decide later. I haven\'t started a business yet and will see how life goes as I do have a "real" job that keeps me busy.

I am like Sandra, I have more fabric than I can ever use (don\'t tell DH!) and I can\'t resist touching fabric. That gives enjoyment on its own! I tell others that you don\'t have to have a plan for beautiful fabric as it gives enjoyment just by being touched and looked at!

Thanks for listening. I\'ll be waiting to read others\' stories.

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Before our first two were born in 1959 and 1960, I stamped Aunt Marthas baby animal patterns on the fabric, embroidered them and put sashing between to make a quilt. Had no idea how to do it, so somehow put a binding on them, and flannel in between. LOL didn\'t know they even made batting any more, nor what it was called.

From there Jump to 1980 something, when someone put a round the world pattern in a magazine as a Quilt in a Weekend.. and I did it.. Still have and use it. LOL, ugly thing.

Fast forward to 1993 when we found out one of our kids had AIDS and was in Crisis, meaning critical condition in the hospital.. Of course we took him home and I nursed him thru the rest of his life (two years). Being deaf, it also took extra time to speak with him using manual sign language, and make sure we both understood each other. I knew once he died, (and we knew about when he would die, as average life span after their first Aids Related Crisis was 2 years), that I would need something of my own to keep me busy and some times away from others so I could think. I\'ve always needed alone time, and especially in times of crisis.

I decided on quilting and hubbys bosses wife gave me all the materials for top, back and batting for a queen sized quilt.

Like many others, I began with scissors, ruler and chalk.. Not the easiest nor most accurate, though it\'s been done.

I\'ve since added to, had others literally give me hundreds of yards of fabric and crates of more of cut fabrics in 2 and 4 inch blocks.

Much of it was given to the Vets Home in Yountville CA for the guys craft and quilt projets, some was unsuitable for quilting. I didn\'t know much, but knew that. much was given away to quilt groups, as it just would not fit in a motor home, which we mvoed into in 1996, for 10 years.

While still in the motor home we got the HQ frame only and I used the Viking on it.. Then we switched to the DM, the )&(*&Y machine.. lol, the converted thing.. and now finally up to a good machine that is my Friend, not Butthead.

I began giving quilts to new babies at church and to friends whos kids or gkids were having babies until i found out they were putting them in a closet to "save till he\'s an adult". No more baby quilts.. Then I found Project Linus, and in NC, they just don\'t want quilts enought to contact donors, nor give us a place to deliver them.. so I finally founda guild, with 3 instigators just like me for company, and thoughts that fly around at meetings and on sew days like swarming bees.

We this past year donated to Teen and Adult Pregnancy Crisis clinic and families in Crisis..

Next year we will be donateing to the Two Sr. Highschools a finished quilt to raffle for funds for sewing supplies.. a quilt to go to Lions to Raffle, for their 70th year at sponsoring our tiny local Regional Fair, and to Disabled American Vets Auxiliary which is the female side of it or spouses.. the last we will many be participating in are Quilts of Valor for our GIs, mostly wounded or disabled in this ghastly war.

It would be nice if I can earn enough to help pay for the machine, but just being able to do all the donation quilts I do, would be terrific.. plus 3 or 4 for the guild.. the ones we will donate as a group effort.

I love figureing out patterns or something similar without actually having the pattern.. I love changing colors to what I want, not what someone else puts in a quilt.. I can\'t do the work by hand, so machine work is my choice.

I meet so many wonderful people, so many cheerful people, so many generous of knowledge, willing to share, and I can\'t forget those with a sense of humor. Mine is kwirky I know, not kinky kwirky.. off into the wild blue..

thank you so much for all being you.. it\'s great fun.. and remember, sew love into every stitch!

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Shana,

What a wonderful topic..

My mother taught me how to make garments when I was young and I made my own clothes for about 15 years. Then times changes, career progressed and the the old Singer Machine I had was lost in a move. WIsh I still had that thing!

Fast forward to 5 years ago. I was semi-retired for a year (by choice - needed a break!) and decided I needed a hobby so I went to a chain fabric store and bought some cotton and made the uglist quilt of squares, but I did it and had no idea what I was doing. So I started reading, bought some books, watch shows like Simply Quilts and then finally went to a few LQS\'s to find some fabric and patterns. It has boomed from there. I make about 12 to 14 quilts of various sizes each year now, a few for my DH and I, a few as gifts to family and the rest are charity to local nursing homes and groups/orgs Victory Junction Gang Camp . Did several QofV this year. Have started doing Block of the month at LQS and the fabric stash is out of control. It just doesn\'t end and that wonderful.

In Oct 06 I bought my Liberty - not to go into business (which I haven\'t), but for me. There are people that think its silly to buy one just for yourself, but hey - Men have boats, we have longarms!!!

I started free motion PPP and that seems to be my favorite thing to do. I love piecing quilts and then going to LA and finishing it. My quilting has taken over a 1/3 of our little house.

It is so interesting to read how you all got started.

SANDRA your story was not too long it was wonder

And RitaR, your story has a lot of love for family in it.

I hope this post get longer and longer and we hear from so many others.

Happy Holidays!!!

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I have to tell this story of how my quilting journey started. Sadly, I lost my mother to her second battle with breast cancer. I wanted to do something special for my dad since I lived out of state and we did not see one another enough. After some thought I decide a quilt was the perfect gift. So I walked into this little quilt shop one Saturday and told my story. Faye, the owner, asked me if I could sew a straight line and of course I thought I could. (mind you I had not sewn since some home-ec class in high school and I was now in my 40\'s). For all of $40, yes that\'s right, $40 - I took an all day one-on-one class with Faye. She cut my fabric, ironed my seams, and yes, had to setup my machine since I would not thread it or even put the bobbin in right. I made a king-size around the world over the course of 4 weeks with lots of help from Faye. I had them take pictures of me making it since NO ONE would believe it. I\'m far from a domestic goddess.

I have now been piecing for 9 years, LAing for 4 years (and it was Faye who encouraged me to get into the LAing business even though she had two LAers associated with her shop). I still get emotional when I think about how quick and supportive Faye was. The shop has since closed but I was a faithful weekly workshop customer for 5 years. The woman is wonderful.

I\'ll always be thankful to Faye and as a thank you I make quilts for breast cancer patients so they have a warm lap quilt to take to chemo sessions.

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Many moons ago when I was 17 I found a craft book on a sale table (most of everything I\'ve ever learned has been from a book) and began to sew hexagons together by hand, as you do. I made mainly cushions. I still have hundreds of cardboard templates. That book started my love of craft and craft books. I\'ve beaded, sewn, painted, leadlighted just to name a few, but always came back to fabric/patchwork. I simply adore quilts.

For the past 2 years I have enjoyed the company of other quilters and I\'m loving the experience, mostly I find quilters to be so very giving of their time and knowledge. I\'ve been on this site for less than a year and have learned more than I ever imagined possible... thank you all :)

So why quilting? I guess it\'s the romance of making something beautiful out of scraps and a little love that inspired me, although can I tell you that some of my "scraps" aint that little anymore, nor are they all that scrappy. I love the idea that our craft is open to everyone. You don\'t need a lot to make a quilt but it sure is nice to have all that and with bells\'n\'whistles too ;)

I do charity quilts and recently saw a photo of one of the quilts hanging on a wall in Palliative Care. I now realise that they do make a difference so I will continue to make the time to do more.

Have I said I love quilts, my millie, quilters, books on quilts, fabric, thread, scissors......I think you get the picture lol

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I was born in the 50\'s and never knew my father\'s mother....Grandma Daisy. She lived in Gresham, OR and we lived in Montana. I never knew her..had never seen her until I was 9 and she moved back to Montana to live in a rest home and she passed when I was 16....BUT she was the quilter and I wanted to be just like her.

Each year my mom would make my school clothes and each spring the next year postage squared "Trips Around the World" tops would show up...and I would crawl around each one finding my dress fabric and my brothers shirt fabric. I would help my parents tie each one....mom didn\'t hand quilt and heaven forbid even try to sew them on her DSM. She would repair my dad\'s heavy heavy canvas dams for irrigaton, but would never even try something as soft as cotton...never made much sense to me but that was my mom.

As I said Grandma died when I was still in high school and the tops stopped coming and mom really didn\'t want to make any herself, but she taught me how to sew and l still sew garments today, but not as much as quilts. We need to fast forward to the early 80\'s to when I started quilting myself, but only really made baby size quilts...and everyone who had a baby was sure to get one, but then I moved to Reno, NV and my sewing machine was damaged in the move, and it wasn\'t replaced until about 1992 when I was working in Advertising and needed a stress relief, I took my first formal quilt class and the rest is pretty much history...I haven\'t stopped and the baby quilts just flew off the machine. It wasn\'t until 1997 that I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to make bed sized quilts for the Christmas season and when I got to checking out what it would cost to have them professionally quilted I decided I needed one of \' "em thar machines and just be doing me own quilts". Then Gene thought if there isn\'t any others around here (which at that time there wasn\'t...closest one to Reno at that time was Elko) why don\'t you do it for money as well. So that\'s how I got my "Old Girl".

Quilting became my lively hood, and then became my life, its something that once its in your blood you can\'t really put it down. I have many other hobbies, but I have to say those have either long gone by the way side to get pulled out once or twice a year....but quilting has become soemething I can\'t explain...its like I can\'t get enough. Whether its fabrics, books, thread for even package patterns....I have enough I could start my own store...when I moved out here the load was over 600 pounds of just my fabrics and books :), and now the basement is bulging with all my toys. Now I just need to find a guild that I can play with and life would be great.

Now we live in New York and are right now in a huge blizzard you can\'t even see across the valley...so guess its time to warm her up and get some work done.

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I began quilting 20 years ago when I took a beginning quilting class at Hancock Fabrics. I have been hooked ever since. We made a sampler quilt in the class and mine was a queen size in blue, yellow and muslin. While I had always been doing some type of needlework, I decided to take this class after a catastrophic injury in a car accident. My neurosurgeon tried to use some reverse psychology and told me I was OK, that I could do anything that I wanted to do. He was wrong! In fact, he lost his license while he was treating me. I have always found a way to keep quilting over the years as I had this surgery and that surgery. Quilting has been the only constant in my life.

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I started sewing when I was 3 years old. My sister was on the way, and I started making toys for her before she was born. Mom always sewed. We weren\'t rich and most of our clothing was made by Mom. I liked having stuff that nobody else had. Once, I saw patten leather shoes and asked Mom if she could make them for me! I thought you made everything! I was making a lot of my own clothes by 4th grade. People have always been shocked when they ask where I bought something and I reply, "I made it."

Our family has always been "do it yourselfers". If the truck needs an upholstry job, we would buy a used industrial machine and go to work! You would never know it wasn\'t done by a shop. We\'ve done boats, fire trucks, cars, couches, chairs, and anything else that needs done.

I\'ve made clothes, tailored men\'s suits, formals, wedding dresses, dolls, drapes, etc., you name it, I\'ve probably done it. My first sewing machine was a hand-crank Singer kids sewing machine. Now, I have 6 different machines, and one is going all the time.

As for quilts, I grew up sleeping under them. I have quilts my grandma made. Quilts were always something we did. Mom loves scrap quilts and makes a lot of beautiful ones. Most of her\'s change the minds of people who never liked scrape quilts. Even a long-time quilt instructor was over at the house going through my "to quilt" pile and saw Mom\'s tops. She told me she hated scrap tops, but after seeing Mom\'s, she said she had changed her mind. She had never seen tops like Mom\'s and couldn\'t find any that she didn\'t love!

I really came into my own on quilting when my friends started having babies (about 35 years ago). I started making baby quilts as shower gifts for friends (most of which I had already made all their wedding and bridesmaid dresses). I couldn\'t afford a lot, and by making these myself, I could give a pretty nice gift without a lot of cost. I never considered my time.

I got interested in machine embroidery after I had my daughter and bought a machine (on a fair special, lay away). Now I could make really cool blocks for baby quilts. I started digitizing designs when I couldn\'t find what I wanted. I thread matched what ever colors were in the prints I chose for the quilt (who ever follows a pattern for real). I became very frustrated trying to quilt larger quilts on my DM. Then, I got injured at work. (I was the quilting cop.)

I made it back to work full duty a few months after surgery, but I was told by the doctor I would eventually need more surgeries and end up being retired later when the surgeries wouldn\'t help any longer. He wanted to retire me then instead of later, but I talked him into "later". That scared me to death. I started to think about what I could do to make up my loss of income when I was unable to continue in my career. I decided not to promote up the chain because I would be under the microscope more, and might end up retired sooner, so I just laid low.

Well, Mom and I had started to see the ads in the quilt magazines about longarms. Wow, really neat, but I never thought I could afford to get one. With the amount of quilts and quilt tops I had made and was too frustrated to actually quilt on my DM, and retirement looming over my head, I found out people actually had businesses quilting for others! Then I started seriously investigating. My husband was supportive and I bought a Millie. I\'ve quilted on a limited basis while I was going through the retirement process at work (2 years worth). I had to continue working light duty full time, (12.5 hour shifts with a commute of over an hour each way). I would work 5 on, 5 off, 2 on, 2 off. so I quilted on my days off. I didn\'t advertise, but stayed low key and learned as much as I could during this time. News spread anyway, and I became the "quilting cop". Anytime someone one the team was expecting a baby or getting married, I was hit up for a quilt. Then other Deputies started wanting quilts for family and friends. They still call even now that I\'m officially retired and off the department!

All ends well, I\'m getting very busy quilting for customers. I have a couple of local quilt shops that want me to teach and hang quilts to advertise for me as well as serve as a quilt drop off and pick-up place at no charge to me. My first class is scheduled to start Jan. 8th. Most people never knew I was around, but once they found out, LOOK OUT! That\'s great and I\'m loving it. I\'ve been so busy that I haven\'t had any problems adjusting to "normal" life after spending 14 years as a Deputy. I haven\'t even had time to think about it!

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This a is fascinating topic! We all have so many things in common - DUH! As a child in the 70\'s I loved anything patchwork but there wasn\'t a quilter in the family. My Mum did a lot of dressmaking - that I never understood or particularly enjoyed wearing.

I just wanted to make quilts and she couldn\'t see the point of that! I never had any Home Ec lesssons either. At first they were two pieces of fabric with poly wadding and the back turned over onto the front - no piecing or quilting at all! Next I had a go at piecing hexagons over paper by hand - it took ages! Then I moved on to squares...

At 19 I bought a basic Janome to make curtains etc when I was student teacher and it still never occurred to me that people could take lessons. I made a few simple quilts but couldn\'t do triangles as I did not realise that you can\'t just join half a triangle to a square of the same size. Didn\'t know about quilting feet but I bought books and looked at the pictures. I did read the text too but never seemed to understand the instructions. I mde my little machine run up all sorts of thick stuff that little machines aren\'t meant to do - also didn\'t know you had to change the needle before it broke. Finally blew it up! By now I was living in Scotland with 3 kids taking a career break from teaching. For my birthday in 2004 my husband said I could get a new machine. I\'d already had no success with 2 junk shop models with no instructions. We spent more than we thought and got a Husqvarna Platinum - LOVELY! I even had a lesson on it. I used to hang around my local fabric shop so much that they offered me a part time job. Next I took a UFO class in the evening - I still had not thought about beginners classes. The teacher was a bit bemused as ahe watched me using a rotary cutter incorrectly but I picked it up and entered the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham never having been to a quilt show or guild meeting!

Now it\'s all I do or want to do... I bought a megaquilter and frame next but it was frustratingly small, then I took on some cleaning jobs to buy a Designer SE, a serger, felting machine, gadgets, books, classes, trips to quilt shows. I took over a room in the house then part of the garage then a bigger part. Finally I came up with the idea of longarming and one day converting our garage into a quilt retreat. Now I still go to the UFO class and challenge myself to do tricky stuff like paper piecing and piecing round things. I still haven\'t taken a beginner class and still struggle with any instructions but nowadays I\'m prepared to work it out - usually the hard way and I have plenty of quilt friends to ask advice :D- real and virtual!

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I made my first quilt many years ago with my Grandma. We cut the fabrics

( must have been in the early 1970\'s or so... )

using scissors and cardboard templates out of cereal boxes. Then we just

put a blanket inside the layers and tied the quilt together with it layed out

on top of Grandpas pool table. Worked pretty good too. Still have that quilt

and I LOVE it! It is so faded, the fabrics were from a Ben Franklin store. I

actually came across some scraps I saved to make a pillow case with. It is

only a twin size, and some of the yarns need to be re-tied now and then...

but it is still my favorite! She is and was my inspiration - that is why I

named my first born after her. Miss her dearly!! Love to hug my quilt and

think of her!!:)

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The short answer is yes, I used to live in England. The longer answer is that first my Dad then my husband have had jobs related to the North Sea oil industry. As a child I lived in England, Norway, South Africa, Scotland, England (my mother is a Scot and my Dad is English). As a grown up I have lived in Bath - England, Ipswich England then back to Scotland with one English born child and two Scots! Many people in my area have lived overseas but we have not yet been offered a posting. I would only take one in USA or another quilt friendly country but my husband says there should be more reasons to move overseas than to be nearer to the centre of the quilting universe! Seriously - where I live now is pretty good and if it snows over Christmas I will try to figure out how to post a scenic photo!

LINZI x

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What a great topic! I am rally enjoying getting to know all my new quilting friends better.

Like many of you, my first inspiration was my Grandmother. When I was a little girl, in the years right after WWII, we lived with my grandparents while my Dad was still in the Navy & moving around a lot. My grandmother was a painter, fabric artist & sewer, taught me the love of design, fabric, thread & yarn, but she was not really a quilter, nor was anyone else in the family. As I grew up & got busy, I kind of forgot about it, other than making some clothing for myself & my 2 daughters, because the stuff in the stores was not "my style".

I discovered quilting in about 1990, when my husband & I came to Hawaii & I saw those beautiful hand-made Hawaiian quilts. I decided I needed to know how to do that, so I bought a video. Watching it, I realized that the instructor lived near the place where we were buying property to build a house. I looked her up, begged her for a private lesson. She invited me over, showed me a housefull of beautifully handcrafted quilts, offered to teach me. She told me to plan on taking two years to finish my first quilt (I did it in 9 months!). The hook was set, but at that time I knew nothing about patchwork quilting. This lovely lady, who is still my friend, invited me to join her "club". A whole new world was opening.

At that time, Hawaii was still a vacation home. I was living in Southern California & had a busy law practice, & did not have time for more than a little weekend hobby. It grew, and became a much-needed creative outlet. No time for classes, my first quilting teachers were Fons & Porter on PBS. I did everything they did (probably still do). In what was at that time a largely male-dominated profession, l had few women friends, so getting to know the quilters was an eye-opener in another way, & I really enjoyed that also.

When I retired, I decided I needed to cut back on my other hobby, photography, because it was too expensive. Little did I know!! I began to quilt (& buy fabric) a lot more. What the heck, you can buy a whole yard of fabric for the cost of a roll of film, right? Luckily, my husband had grown up in a family of quilters (all of whom had passed away before I met him, sad to say), so he was very supportive. It kept growing, to the point that I was giving away charity quilts as fast as I could, to make room for more. One day my daughter, who owns a bookstore in San Francisco, was visiting, & saw a scrap crib quilt I was about to give away. She asked if she could put it in her store, just to test the market. It sold the next week for $80. We thought we were on a roll. I have been making custom quilts for people on a DSM, just by word-of-mouth advertising, ever since.

Five years ago, my husband passed away suddenly. I became very depressed, & I am sure my quilting friends saved my life & my sanity. Both kids are grown & involved in active careers of their own, I probably would not see any more of them even if they lived in the same house. You know how that goes. I had to scale back, so moved to Hawaii full-time. After all, most of my quilting friends were here. So, quilting kind of became the focus of my life. That & the farm, but that\'s another story. I got a Mega-Quilter, found it disappointing (it is still for sale, if somebody else wants to try), & got my Milli just a few weeks ago. That\'s after I went to Innovations & met a member of this group, who encouraged me to join. Thanks, Laurie! This group is SOOOO awesome, I feel it was levelled the learning curve greatly for me, & I am loving every minute of "PPP". I feel just about ready for Prime Time already. I made a cute Christmas quilt for myself, & as soon as I figure out how to post photos (probably after Christmas) I will show it to you.

Now, I am off to California & will be gone for a week. Happy Holidays to all.

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WOW...your stories are impressive...I will share my short story....

Many moons ago I was a sewer of my own clothes. Not by choice, but by necessity. My family didn\'t have a lot of money and if I wanted new clothes, I had to make them. I guess I started around 10 in 4-H. I made many a poly dress and many shirts to go with my homemade poly pants...let me tell you, they were a sight to see. I was always intrigued with Quilts. My mom would make them out of the old polyester material and boy were they exciting.

I bought my first machine when I got married in \'85 and didn\'t think much about it until about 10 years ago. I decided to take a class at my LQS and I was hooked. I have never looked back and am still impressed with all of the work that goes into a quilt.

I also have since learned that one doesn\'t make a quilt out of polyester!!!! I guess one could, but why would they with all of the exciting new material that comes out each and every day.

:D;):D

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My paternal grandmother was a seamstress. Her specialty was wedding gowns, prom dresses, and other frilly things. Growing up, I always dressed like a princess! Since she lived in Alabama and we lived in Georgia, we would spend a month with her each summer. During that time I would help her with the seam ripping and cleaning up and she would teach me to make my own clothes. I really don\'t remember exactly when I started sewing. I think I always did... I do remember that my first sewing machine was an old singer. It was so old that the electric connections were actually made with wooden ends. (I still have it down in my studio!). I was in the second grade and got it for Christmas. I really thought I was big stuff that year!

When I got married, my husband\'s grandmother was the quilter. She used a treadle machine, and made about 50 quilts a year. That was in the mid 70\'s and she thought polyester was the best stuff ever made! My kids each have a great quilt made from that double knit fabric!

While I would rather not remember my FIRST quilt, I can tell you many more have paassed since then. I first learned to tie them, then started quilting on my DSM. This past May I was given my KenQuilt, and while it is not living up to my expectations, It has taught me a lot. When I am able to get my NEW long arm, I will be ready to hit the ground running...

By the way, my DIL has now been bitten by the bug! For Christmas she is getting a new sewing machine and a quilt kit! I can\'t wait to see her face!

Nini Morris

Monroe, GA

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Like many of you, I learned to sew clothing from my mother and moved on to other needle arts as an adult. About 10 years ago I started dabbling in quilting. Then about 6 years ago I was confined to the house recovering from surgery. I\'m a 3rd grade teacher and I am used to being busy so recovering was borrrrrring! I decided I could quilt and recover at the same time so I dusted off my old quilt books and magazines. Life has never been the same since. I have three sewing machines just got my Lenni a few weeks ago. I was in a fabric store last year choosing some calicos for a quilt when I heard a woman in the aisle next to me say to her companion, " I just don\'t understand quilters. They buy beautiful fabric, cut it into little pieces, and then sew it back together again. I just don\'t get it." I wanted to tell her, "You don\'t know what you\'re missing."

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Mom taught me to sew at 12 and I made all my clothes for school until I got a job and swore I would never sew in another zipper or set in a sleeve again! After 30 years of knitting, crocheting, tatting, bobbin-lace making, beading, and hand embroidery, I met a quilty friend at work who mentored me through those first tops. Silly me, she didn\'t tell me not to start with watercolor quilts! Had a ball, received a work-horse machine and sewing table that Christmas from my DH. Amassed a stash to be proud of. The next Fall I bought a Viking. Three years later I bought my dear Millie. How could life be better!!!???

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Well for me it started about 7 years ago. I lost my job sold our house and moved to gods country. So now I was a stay at home mom with one in school and a 3 year old at home. We were building our new house and living in the basement until we could finish the upstairs. I got invited to my cousins baby shower for twins. I knew that money was tight and I couldn\'t afford to buy two gifts. So I decided to make baby blankets. So I drew up a pattern and called my MIL, she had done some quilting, so she walked me through some of it. Didn\'t know any thing about cutting mats and rotary cutters. Which my MIL forgot to tell me about til 3 months later when my other cousin was having triplets and I decided to make 3 baby blankets. The backs were bunched and full of tucks. Didn\'t know about spray basting either. Would hate to see if those first blankets are still around.

Well that was it I had to go buy stuff. I learned to crochet when I was a little girl from my mother. When my SIL had her baby I thought I would crochet a blanket for my niece. I tore that thing apart so many times that I could have made at least 5 blankets. That was it I have never crocheted again. But made my niece a quilted blanket. Little did I know that my husbands sister, grandmothers, aunts all quilt. Well I was hooked and decided to make my daughter a quilt, since my sons loved their quilts that other people made for them and not the crocheted ones I made. She never took to the quilt but loved the crocheted ones. Go figure. Now she is 5 and has been begging for years for me to make her a quilt.

Of course I have made curtains and other things for the house too. My husbands aunt found out I was interested in quilting and when she moved she cleaned out her sewing room and gave me boxes and boxes full of fabric and books. She worked for Bernina and was traveling so much she never had time to quilt. I was hooked. Not sure what got me to buy my LA. Just got interested one day and that was it. I have had my machince for a year now. And LOVE it. I have since taken over half of the garage. My DH asks me all the time if I still enjoy it and if I wouldn\'t rather be doing something else besides quilting all the time, I smile and say yes I still want to quilt all the time. Of course he doesn\'t get it. But he supports me anyways.

I love all the wonderful quilters I have met over the years. Plus it has brought me and my MIL close together. (She tried to talk my DH out of marrying me.) I think she is glad that he didn\'t listen. I know I am (14 years).

Sorry so long. Don\'t get much adult interaction. And I can\'t stop once I get going about quilting. Thank you to all the wonderful people I have met on this site. Great question Shana. I am not sure if quilting is just a love or more of an obsession. And one can never have too much fabric.

Angela

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I made my first quilt with the help of my Grandmother. Perhaps some of you might remember going to Woolworths or the 5 and Dime and buy some pre-printed embroidery blocks. I was able to talk my Grandmother into buying them for me. I carefully did the embroidery of birds and she helped me put sashing around them. She had a treadle sewing machine and I had trouble reaching the peddle, but she tied on a large book, and I was sewing. Next came out the quilt frames (she called it the loom) and the quilting began. I know she probably did 90% of the quilting, but I did stich away for hours. That was almost 50 years ago. I was hooked. I\'ve been making quilts, at least one a year for the next 40 years, but recently I\'ve made more. This year I\'ve done 15. In May I finally got a long arm and it\'s stayed busy for a while just catching up some of those tops. Thank goodness for family. Sounds like that\'s how many of us got our starts and inspiration.

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