Bill'sBonBon

I started sewing when Iwas about 8 I guess,on my Mothers singer treadle. My Grandmother and my Mother was a crocheter, imbroidery
and quilter. My Mother did a lot of hand sewing and between the two, we learned to sew. On bad weather days, Mom would get out the scraps,needles and thread. GrandMa gave us a lot of sequins,buttons ETC. We made Pillows,doll clothes all kinds of stuff. I have always kept an interest in sewing,made my 2 daughters play clothes,curtains for house ETC. But did not get into quilting,but always admired people who did, until 2003. So I guess I have been quilting for about 5 years now. I think the Attic Window quilt I am working on, seems like forever is going to be my fave and that is because it is actually the first one I have made for myself. I had to put it aside for Christmas Qults for 3 Grt. Grandkids. But this week I am going to try to get it sandwiched,basted hopefully.
Bill'sBonBon

littlehud

OK. You want pictures. This is the double Irish chain. The only one I haven't given to a family member. It's mine and has turned out to be my favorite pattern and quilt (so far).

2wheelwoman

I have a good friend I've known forever who really got into sewing and quilting back in the mid 70's. When I'd visit her (in another state) once a year, she always had a couple new quilts in progress and ones hanging in her home that still had the blue ribbons from the fair on them. She kept encouraging me to try it, but I was always sure I couldn't.

Then, a few years ago, when I was there she had a beautiful stained-glass wall-hanging that I just HAD to try. Coincidentally she belonged to a guild who ask their members to teach a small workshop each year, and this was 'her' project. So, she still had the kit and instructions and bagged them up for me. I spent an afternoon making 1/2 a flower at her house, then worked on it at home, with long-distance and email teaching all the while. It is my favorite quilt so far. I'll try to post my first picture on the forum of it. I haven't made any other "keepers" yet, but have made two gifts and about a dozen charity quilts, both baby quilts for a shelter and quilts for Soldier's Angels for wounded soldiers.

A funny aside, my friends DH made a big speech to my DH about how he should RUN, RUN AWAY as fast as possible because I was joining a cult. A cult that had taken over his wife and his home and his dining room table and all the walls and the whole basement. The next year, her DH decided I'd be a great way to cull her stash and encouraged her to build "me" a stash and get some of the darned fabric out of his house. Lucky for me! I try to include some of "her" fabric in all my quilts.

2wheelwoman

aarrrghhhh - no picture appeared. I'll try it one more time. The instructions seem simple enough - but maybe I'm simpler. :oops:

2wheelwoman

OK, my last try at this. Sorry for the extra postings.

Quilter101

My grandmother quilted, as I belive her mother and her mothers mother. I don't know if it goes farther back, but I do know that they sewed. My grandmother started quilting was she was 8 or 9 by hand. Pieced and quilted by hand. I had always admired the quilts she had made, because my family has some of them, but I had never really thought about doing any crafts. Then somebody moved that was in my church and we we offered all of this stuff. There were a lot of yarn, and a lot of fabric. I got about half a truckload(big tubs) for free and decided to learn how to do crafts. I couldn't get knitting or crocheting and I happened upon a quilting magazine. That was in, I fell in love with it about July or so, and finished my first quilt, which I posted in the pictures forum. I have been planing to start another quilt, maybe a four patch soon. I have issues with cutting correctly so who knows..
Sorry for being so long!

mpeters1200

I came from a long line of sewers. Clothes, curtains, pillows...you name it, they sewed it. Then, along came my generation and they didn't teach ANY of us. They thought it was a lost art and no one in our generation would do it. I blame them for the "lost" arts in quilting, needlework, and sewing.

I took a class 6 years ago because I wanted to make the type of blankets that my in-laws made. I couldn't imagine blankets being so beautiful, yet home made. I've still only taken the one class, but there's a couple more that I want to take. I've made 4 lap size Rail fences, my first 4 projects; 1 patchwork out of a McCall's magazine (my first and only big project so far), and a couch size handprint quilt for a friend with cancer.

I'm currently making 2 bigger quilts. One's a mystery and the other a Stairway to Heaven for my step-son in the army. I think I'll have to keep the mystery or risk a divorce as I haven't kept any of them yet and dh says he's tired of watching his hard earned money walk out the door.

I've pieced numerous things for charity, but they were pinned by someone else following different patterns I can't remember. It's a small club of only 6 or 7 women and collectively we made over 50 quilts in 2005 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church we meet at. We also make quilts for the church shut-ins and different juvenile charities.

mpspeedy

Hi,

I began sewing clothes for my dolls when I was 7 or 8. The lady who lived in the apartment on our second floor first showed me how to sew. By the time I was 12 I was making clothes for myself on my mother's featherweight singer. I made my first quilt summer between my junior and senior year in high school out of scraps from the clothing I had made over the years. That was 40 years ago. I quilted by myself for many years before I discovered quilds etc. I went to my first quilt show in 1976. I actually made a quilt and entered it in the Great American Quilt contest that year. When I got to the show and saw the quilts they accepted I was amazed. Since then I have been to many shows and learned a whole lot more. My mother was an excellant sewer but didn't start quilting until several years before her death in 1996.
My favorite quilt is a whole cloth. I am a handquilter for hire as that is what I enjoy most. I spend lots of time handquilting small preprinted panels. They make great gifts. I just returned from a 4 day quilt retreat with one of the two guilds of which I am a member. We had a great time and I got a lot of pieceing done. I also learned how to make bowls from fabric scraps and cotton clothes line. Just what I need another project. My stash is unbelievable but I have been at this game for a long time.
Most of my quilting is either for other people or items I give away. Three of the tops I put together this weekend where for Linus quilts.

GailG

Made my first quilt :oops: as the result of a swap that we did at our elementary school among staff members who were interested in sewing. Two of the members were quilters. I still can't believe the awful blocks that I made to swap. At the time I didn't even know that blocks had names. :lol: Well, I was one of the first ones to assemble the blocks into a quilt. To this day, some have not put theirs together. That was in '95. Then I made the first of my t-shirt quilts. (Had a stroke in there somewhere and used the quilt in my rehab.) I haven't made a favorite one yet. I like all of them -- even the whole cloths and the quillows I make for the kids. The little quilt that I have received most pleasure for making is a little 6-hour quilt I made for a then 4-yr-old who travels back and forth to St. Jude's in Memphis. His mom told me that he loves his quilt and that he has worn it ragged. He is now 7. Last week I delivered a new quilt for him to take on his next trip to Memphis. He had told me a while back that his quilt was "getting too small." What a sweetheart. This little boy's grandmother was an awesome quilter. She passed away a few years ago. So quilts are near and dear to their hearts.