I started my first quilt in 1979. It was an Irish chain and I used cardboard templates and scissors to cut it out. The solid block fabric is a sheet and one of the chain fabrics is a twill weave. I sewed it on my old machine that had problems doing quarter inch seams. I found a batting and backing in 1982 and got it basted together. It laid around like that until 1999 and I got a frame and quilted it by hand. By that time they had invented rotary cutters and cutting mats.
I made another 5 quilts on my old machine and then I bought a Pfaff and it made a huge difference!
Basically that's just the quilt part of the story. My first marrige ended and my second marrige began between the time I started and finished that first quilt. My oldest son was 5 when I started it and 25 when I finished it.
I still have that first quilt. It hangs over the back of hubby's chair. The floral fabric has faded really bad in the last 10 years. The burgandy twill is as vibrant as it was to start with though.