I have always had a sewing machine. Well since I bought my first one, a turquoise Singer 327, in 1965. I still have it and it works great. I used it for my first quilt. I sewed lots of things, but never considered quilting. About 20 or so years ago I used to watch Simply Quilts while I ate my breakfast before I left for work. Just liked it. Never in a zillion years considered doing it. Then almost 16 years ago I retired. My son said "now that you are retired you can make me a quilt". What? Where did he get that? He was on his own and had no idea I even watched Simply Quilts. I said "I don't know about that. I never considered it". He said "well, you could learn". Just like magic a few days later I opened the local newspaper and there was an ad for the senior center and a beginning quilt class. How about that. I signed up, made what the other women were making. Which was a flannel 3 1/2 inch trip around the world baby quilt. On that Singer. What in the world. But, since I already knew how to sew, I did it. Had baby granddaughter and she used it on her bed for years. Then tackled his quilt. I thought he needed a different kind of quilt and had seen on Simply Quilts a man doing an ultra suede quilt with giant blocks placed in 45 degree orientation so the shading showed. Never could find ultra suede but got microfiber!! What was I thinking! Very thin, slippery, stretchy. By then I had a Brother XR52 basic Costco mechanical machine. I sewed the blocks together fine, used fleece for batting and stitched in the ditch - it was a king size. He loved it. And by then I was hooked on quilting. I did go to the senior center for a few years, and brought my project and enjoyed it, and then the instructor moved on and the next instructor wasn't a quilter, but tried to convince us she was, and it all fell apart. Then I never had a good place in the house we lived in. So did it sporadically. When we moved here, I finally got my own room and now I do it because I love sitting in my little room and smelling sewing machine oil, and listening to the whir of the machine, and like the iron, and just do it because I enjoy it. I always say I quilt for my own pleasure and my mojo comes and goes. But, I'm fine with all of that.