My father could sew and do lots of handy things, but my mother could not. Mom hated sewing. Dad passed away when I was five so I never got a chance to learn from him, but I took every sewing class in public school that I could and when I was in high school, my oldest brother bought me my first Singer machine so I could make him stuff for his room, his van, and his girlfriend. I learned how to make teddy bears from a pattern just for him. I never had the itch to quilt until I learned that you could do most of the blanket on a machine and here I am. I just pieced my first practice quilt top and I'm going to quilt it on my Bernina 1530 this coming weekend. My family is having a hard time keeping up with all my crafting. I knit and crochet, as well.