Originally Posted by miriam

Who taught you to sew? I taught myself, mostly. My mom sews, so she was there to answer questions, and I did take a home ec class in the 8th grade, but I am mostly self-taught.

What frustrated you the most about your sewing machine? Everything. It would be easier to tell you what didn't frustrate me - I knew how to turn it on. Beyond that, it was impossible ... hard to thread, hard to get the bobbin set right, hard to set the tension ... I'm amazed I ever got past all that.

What would make it easier to learn to sew? A better machine. Lessons from an impartial person (seriously, lessons with my Mom resulted in tears for both of us, I think!). Step by Step instructions.

What did you do to conquer the sewing machine? Put it in a box, left it there until I had to use it ... and then it was sheer determination to master it. I hated that machine.

What kept you going? I'm really, really hard headed. And we didn't have much money, so I felt guilty about spending money on fabric then not using it.

Where did you keep your sewing machine? Case or Cabinet? Cabinet most of the time, box when it frustrated me. Yes, I sent my machine to time out!

When did you conquer the sewing machine? I think it conquered me, because I ended up buying a new machine with lots of bells and whistles - that's when things "clicked" for me.

How did you ever learn to quilt? I went to the LQS and told the girl there I wanted to learn to quilt but I didn't have time for classes. She sold me the fabric and a book and said, "We'll still be here when you realize you need a class!" The next week, I took my finished baby quilt to the store and told her, "I hope you're a really patient person, because I'll not be signing up for a class just yet."

Did you use a straight stitch or zig zag sewing machine to learn to sew? Zig zag machine. It had been my mom's back up machine, and it was fancy ... for 1975! It had something like 20 stitches.

Were you a child or an adult when you learned to quilt? Adult. Sewing never entered my mind as a child, and quilts were something "old women" made. So naturally, when I turned 31, it was time for me to start. ;-)