Howdy From Utah
 

Hello everyone!

I'm Darryl however my quilting friends call me Quilting Grampz or just Grampz. I call them my Grandquilterz. lol Here is a brief introduction of myself.......

Happily married to Susie for over 21 years. (This is my second time around) I have 3 children 35, 31 and 14. the two older are from my first marriage the 14 year old Susie and I adopted. We have 4 grandchildren ages range from 6 to 14. I served in the US Air Force for over 23 years. I love it. I miss it so much. I'm very active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). In the VFW I am the Sr. Vice Commander for my post, I'm the Quartermaster/Adjutant for my district and the Judge Advocate for my State. In 2019-2020 I will be the Commander for my State. So, as you can see I keep myself very busy in spite of PTSD and a bad back.

I quilt to help with PTSD. It keeps me calm and focused. Yes even when I have to use the seam ripper. lol I belong to the Mapple Mountain Quilters here where I live. I recently was introduced to paper piecing and enjoy it as well as english paper piecing. My favorite YouTube tutorials are Rob from Man Sewing and Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Company. However, I like to watch all tutorials that I come across. I have my own sewing machine a Baby Lock Rachel which I made more "manly" by placing an Air Force sticker on it. lol

I would lke to finish my introduction by saying that mental illness is real. But don't treat us differently because of it. In fact most of us want desperatly to be normal. This is the time of year that we need you to love us and tell us. Instead of asking how are you? say, tell me about your day today. Then listen. Don't try to fix us or the situation(s). Just having a caring ear helps more than you know.

Sending out Luvz, Hugz & Prayerz
Grampz

Welcome from Vermont. Looking forward to your contributions!

Welcome, Grampz! Waving a big "Hello" from NC. I think most of us here use our quilting as some form of therapy for ourselves. I'm happy that you found us. Jump in and ask questions and join in on the fun we have in here. We've got lots of friendly quilters here who are more than happy to extend a welcome.

Welcome from Nevada. Thank-you for your service. So glad you found a happy place with quilting.

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*** Hi! Y'all from the upstate of South Carolina.
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Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

PTSD is quite real. My 37-year-old son deals with it after serving twice in Afghanistan. He has had some very difficult days, but seems to be doing fairly well at the moment. However, as I'm sure you have experienced, emotions can be erratic and change moment to moment, almost. Welcome from the beautiful mountains of western NC.

Welcome from Michigan!:) Thank you for your service!

Welcome from OHIO! :wave: THANKYOUFORSERVING!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]563795[/ATTACH]from Kentucky!
I love your "manly" sewing machine idea. LOL
Thank you for the suggestion of "tell me about your day." I will definitely use that!

:) welcome from se TX

Hi Grampz, and welcome! Sew glad you have found that sewing helps you. Looking forward to seeing your creations.
Thank you for your service too!!

Welcome, Grampz, from lovely CT! Hope you will be joining us on the mug rug swap in January -- will let you know!

Well Grampz, welcome from NY state! Thank you for your service. I'm sure you're going to enjoy yourself here on QB! Quilting is therapy for probably most of us, as well. Maybe not from PTSD, but from whatever is ailing us.

PP is the unknown for me, so I can't sympathize. However, I love quilting/piecing/binding and enjoying/sharing my love of quilting with others too!

Enjoy your time here and thanks for the suggestion/insight into MI/PTSD.

Hi Grampz and welcome from Mississippi... THANK YOU for your service! I am married to a 100% disabled vet. Lots of challenges but you guys are WARRIORS and our heroes. Glad you found your joy in quilting. It's therapy for me, too. Wish I could get my husband to try it!

Welcome Grampz from freezing cold Minnesota. A big thank you for your service to our country

welcome from wyoming

Warm welcome from Southern California!

Howdy from Texas & thank you so much for your service to our country and to all of us. I'm glad you took up quilting & as time goes by you will find it very addicting. This board is full of helpful quilters so don't be afraid to ask questions as we all can use any help we can get. I don't make a lot of quilts but find myself always making something on my machine (even if it's not a quilt). I've been sewing since I was 14 years old & have loved every minute of it. Don't forget to show us pictures of what you are making.

Welcome from South Texas. I have always said that quilting is my therapy. Thank you for your years of service. We are an Air Force family. My brother is retired Air Force, our son was in Air Force reserves and so was his cousin. We have another nephew in Afghanistan right now in the Air Force. And our granddaughter is at Wright Patterson right now. She is in aerospace medicine and loves it. Right after Christmas she is headed to Sacramento, CA for more training..

I'm sorry to hear your Son has PTSD. I hope you give him a hug from Grampz here. Tell I said welcome home and thank you for your service. Then please get serious for me and say Ole Sarge wants you to NEVER give up! You are a WARRIOR you fight this PTSD with every bit you have and NEVER surrender to it. I got your 6. I'm here if you need. Thank you