My mom was a very crafty person (from ceramics to clothes to beads to quilts to anything else you can think of), and she was excellent at ALL of them! About a year before she died (from breast cancer, 7 years ago tomorrow), she started working on a quilt for me. She didn't get to finish it, but my aunt did. My mom had told my aunt one day to go to Costco, as they had a beginning quilter's set, even though she didn't quilt, Mom thought she'd be great at it. So away my aunt went to get the set. She is now an avid quilter, does classes at the LQS, works there half the time (more than the owners, I think!), and is a much appreciated teacher in our local quilting community.
My aunt finished the quilt my mom was making for me, and I treasure it. She also finished one that was not even half-made for my brother, which I currently have, as my brother as decided he's not in a position to really take care of it, and doesn't want it to end up trashed.
Summer '08 we (DH, DS and I) had to stay with my aunt while our house was being built. She'd been trying to get me to start quilting for about two years, but I didn't have a sewing machine, and I had enough going on in my life. However, living with an avid quilter, it's IMPOSSIBLE to not catch the bug! Less than a month later, my first Just Can't Cut It (the coffee one, if you've seen it) was done.
The rest is, as they say, history! Not only did I get a machine when we moved into our own house, I've already upgraded!
(I'll post my mom's quilts in a new thread tomorrow, in her honor.)