When my youngest daughter was 2 I asked a friend to teach me to sew clothing for the girls who are tall and lanky and it was hard to find clothes to cover them properly. At that time, my friend also helped me make a simple Double Nine-Patch block for a wall hanging but it didn't stick with me. That was 4 years ago. Then, last summer I had an emergency appendectomy followed by an unexpected, full hysterectomy, 6 weeks apart. I was devastated to have to give up that child-bearing season of my life. In my recovery time, when I was still on bedrest, I came across an Eleanor Burns' show and was fascinated, but determined to learn this. I bought "Quilting For Dummies" and Eleanor's "It's El-ementary" beginner books and just started teaching myself. I took out that old Double Nine Patch I had, sandwiched it, quilted it and even taught myself the binding. I've been hooked since!