I read the book "The Quilter's Apprentice" by Jennifer Chiaverini. I chose it for our bookclub the next time it was my turn to choose a book. The people in that book sounded so appealing, and I wanted to be a part of that.
I checked out "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Quilting" and "Quilting for Dummies" from the library and learned from there. All kinds of designs popped into my head. I got out some graph paper and designed my first quilt. It was completed on my 59th birthday in 2010. It took a year to finish. I still haven't learned how to follow a pattern... mostly because the terminology is foreign to me, and I have enough designs roaming around in my head to keep me busy.