Quiltingboard Forums - New to this site

Hello from northern VA! I grew up quilting - literally. There was always a frame (2x4s wrapped in old jeans and held together with c-clamps) leaning aganist the dining room wall. My mother would push the table aside and pop would set up the frame on the back of the dining room chairs. As soon as I could hold a needle, I would sit on a phone book next to mom and quilt. The quilt would be sewn to the jeans, and then rolled around the 2x4s as it was quilted. All the kids quilted (the three boys included!) and visitors inevitably ended up sitting around the frame 'putting in a few stitches'. Mom quilted almost to the day she left this earth, and her quilts were exquisite. After her death, I inheirited her stash, (and my grandmothers feather weight) and after a break of a few decades, I have started quilting again. I machine pieced and am currently hand quilting a baby quilt for a co- worker, and find my mind flooded with memories of my mother, friends quilting, mom's templates cut from cornflakes boxes, and the whole cloth quilt she made for me when I was 6 from the most beautiful pink fabric with ballerinas on it. I had forgotten the simple joy of pushing the needle through the fabric and the satisfaction of a completed row of quilting. I am thrilled to have found this site, populated by folks who love to quilt!.