Well, my story . . .
We had to make money go farther than far when I was growing up. Mother didn't make all our clothes but made a fair portion. My brother, sister and I learned to do everything we needed to take care of the basics; sister to fix a car and my brother and I to use the sewing machine. Everybody planted the garden, fixed things that broke, etc.
I also have an art background which my father supported. It was one of the first things he observed about me as child that he recognized as part of my personality. So, I have been doing visual things like drawing and painting all my life. We lived up a 'holler' in the coalfields of West Virginia, but my father arranged for me to apprentice to a traveling artist who painted wall murals as his specialty. He was a coal miner by profession.
I spent weekends traveling around the tri-state area learning composition, color theory, perspective, and cleaning a lot of brushes and packing a lot of gear.
Years later I took formal training in high school and college, but never worked in the field.
Ten years or so ago, I needed a tree skirt for my Christmas tree. Saw one I liked in the department store for over a hundred dollars and said it can't cost that much to make . . . It didn't, but some of the quilts I have made since then have!
I went to the local fabric store to get supplies for the tree skirt. Didn't know there were quilting supply stores at the time. Four sewing machines and one sewing studio in my basement later, and I know what LQS means.