My Mom taught me the basics; hand sewing with needle and thread, some embroidery stitches. In Junior High, I learned to sew by machine with pattern. Absolutely HATED it. Especially hated putting in zippers. Wouldn't touch one now with a 10 foot pole, would rather go naked and that's saying something. Around 1977 or so, there was an adult enrichment class at our public school. A southern lady was teaching quilting. The rest is history. She taught to hand piece, make your own templates from scratch, etc. No machines or rotary cutters to be found. In fact, think rotary cutters were just coming on the market about that time.