I've been sewing all my life (feels like that anyway), My youngest son, 30 now was given a hand made baby quilt by his Fathers mother, He carried that quilt around till it was a rag, seriously, I had to sneak it away at nite while he slept to wash it. I at that point decided to make him a new quilt, similar to, but not the same to trade with him, It worked, however when that one wore out, I had to do it again. He carried his blanket till he was 6, Had to have it at nite till he was 8. I started from there, but my quilts where few and far between, untill about 13 yrs ago, And I started going to antique stores and estates sale and seriously caught the bug. But I'm not a traditional quilter. I've always designed my own.