Welcom from coastal NC. So sorry about the loss of your animals. As you can see from my avatar, I am a dog lover. we lost one of ours a year ago to cancer - I still miss her terribly. As far as the quilting, you'll find lots of help on this board. And yes, there are lot of fabriholics here too, including me :) Good luck with your new passion - it is addicting, but in a good way. I call it my therapy.