Great story. You are dedicated, for sure.
When I was a small child, I recall the quilts my great-aunt put on my bed at night. I would try to make 'streets' out of the patterns and drive my car on them :-D Very fond memories. When she died, her quilts had mysteriously disappeared and I wasn't able to get one to remember her. Then, as a young mother, I took a class. I didn't want to use a standard pattern... I designed my own blocks... only finished 3 of the 8 blocks of the sampler. Through the years, I went to quilt shows, but never had the time to make quilts, even though I was an avid sewer. When I took early retirement, I decided that the time was now. My first quilt was for my DGS... a tumbling blocks baby quilt. [didn't start with something easy!] I've been quilting ever since. Love it!