Well - I have to chime in as one of the "moderate" quilters. I am retired now, but became a quilter wanna be in the 3rd grade. My grandmother had passed on, and I snagged some Sunbonnet Sue squares from her sewing items as we were clearing out her things. I kept them, had no idea how to complete the quilt, no one to ask or teach me, and they stayed in my storage area with my dollies for years. Those squares lit the "quilting fire" in me.
The same grandmother had a whole cloth tied quilt that I also claimed, and I used that for years, taking it to collage with me and on to my new life as a bride. Life took its toll on that quilt, and I got bold and decided to re-cover it in my twenties. I knew I didn't have the know how or patience to do a genuine patchwork quilt, but I designed a two tone large piece pattern, with two different sides to recover Grandmother's quilt. I made it and enlisted my hubby to help me tie it with yarn. It was the family standard for picnics for years, and my firstborn took it off to college with him.
Since my inaugural quilt, I have quilted on and off (mostly off) for years. I have done 17 baby quilts, 6 bed sized quilts, 9 or 10 mini's or wall hangings, and have SEVERAL UFOs waiting for me downstairs. I quilted here in Delaware for 9 or so years once a week with a small group of friends on Tuesday nights to make strictly charity lap quilts and kid quilts. I don't really have a count on those - they were done by us all, and were well received.
I mostly machine piece, and am trying to get better at FMQing on my Janome6600. I have hand quilted quite a few, but machine work is definitely faster, if I could just get a little better at it. I usually have several projects going at once, but am trying this year to clear out the UFOs. Easier said than done with my wandering mind!
I don't usually read whole threads here, but have enjoyed reading all the others, so thought I'd chime in. We all have our own stories, don't we!!