My mom taught me to sew when I was about 8. First thing I remember making was a pair of flannel pyjamas. This is where I learned about shrinkage - we pre-washed the fabric, and it was no longer wide enough to lay out the pattern pieces as instructed! Definitely a learning experience that has stuck with me.
I have never had a sewing machine I didn't like. *My* first machine (as opposed to using my mother's) was ahigh school graduation gift from my parents - I've only had 2 others since then, and my sister still has the first one which I gave to her when I upgraded after college.
My current machine lives in a sewing cabinet - the cabinet folds up nicely and closes everything in, but I don't think it's been closed for years. I started quilting in 2004, when I made a block for a friendship quilt for a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. I loved it, and was hooked on quilting from that day forward.