Hi,
I began sewing clothes for my dolls when I was 7 or 8. The lady who lived in the apartment on our second floor first showed me how to sew. By the time I was 12 I was making clothes for myself on my mother's featherweight singer. I made my first quilt summer between my junior and senior year in high school out of scraps from the clothing I had made over the years. That was 40 years ago. I quilted by myself for many years before I discovered quilds etc. I went to my first quilt show in 1976. I actually made a quilt and entered it in the Great American Quilt contest that year. When I got to the show and saw the quilts they accepted I was amazed. Since then I have been to many shows and learned a whole lot more. My mother was an excellant sewer but didn't start quilting until several years before her death in 1996.
My favorite quilt is a whole cloth. I am a handquilter for hire as that is what I enjoy most. I spend lots of time handquilting small preprinted panels. They make great gifts. I just returned from a 4 day quilt retreat with one of the two guilds of which I am a member. We had a great time and I got a lot of pieceing done. I also learned how to make bowls from fabric scraps and cotton clothes line. Just what I need another project. My stash is unbelievable but I have been at this game for a long time.
Most of my quilting is either for other people or items I give away. Three of the tops I put together this weekend where for Linus quilts.