Gal

I have always sewn from an early age having learned from my Mum making dolls clothes etc, I began making my own clothes as a teenager, when I got married I designed and made my own wedding gown and things for my home, I have always admired quilts especially the old traditional American quilts, scrap and country styles. I am retired now but most of my working life has been in fabrics and I always knew that when I had more time I wanted to learn to quilt. I began with a series of classes first in hand piecing then in applique to learn the skills, I taught myself hand quilting and now I am about to have a go at machine quilting. I have only been quilting seriously as a hobby for about a year I guess, needless to say I do not make my own clothes any more I am too busy making quilts Lol!!

Gal

tmg

I started sewing when I was 22. While I worked at a custom drapery factory. I quit working in 1999 when I had my 3rd. child. That how I got sewing. No one in my family sews.

Moving forward. This last Christmas break I gave up my sewing room so my two girls could have there own room. Well my oldest daughter Tamar could not find any bedding she liked. She can to me and said that she thought I could make her a quilt. I have an older friend of mine that quilts ( she gave me one for my birthday). She let me borrow some books. I went out and bought the ruler because I had the other things i needed. Picked a pattern (rail fence). Tamar and I went fabric shopping. She wanted purple black and gray. It took me about a two weeks to finish it. Tamar was very happy with it. I have finished three more quilts and have four more in the works. Oh my avatar is picture of Tamar's quilt.

jljquilter

Made one in the 60's with my Mom from scraps and tied it. In 92 she died and I got her scraps. I took a night class and learned strip cutting and piecing. Hand quilted it and have been at it ever since.

Borntohandquilt

I have always been a crafter. As a child I made clothing for my dolls, I knitted and did crochet an other things. My mother teached me. It was not until 1989 (I was 23 years old) before I found a book about patchwork quilts - but I must say I was immediately hooked. There were no workshops or other quilters around me in that time so I'm self taught. My first quilt, a sampler in 4 shades of blue solids, is hand sewn and hand quilted. I recognized very early that I loved the handquilting process much more than the sewing - but I didn't know about wholecloth quilts. In 1993 I found a book about handquilting and wholecloths and this was the start of my handquilting career! So I stopped doing patchwork and until that time I have only done wholecloths and strippies.

Janetlmt

My grandmother was a quilter, my mother is a quilter, my sister is a quilter..I am a quilter.
Growing up around quilts..loving fabric and color..just seems to come naturally. I started my first quilt 25 years ago. Once the quilt bites you..look out!

StitchinJoy

[quote=lclang]There was an old treadle sewing machine in the haymow, the kind with the long skinny bobbins. I asked my mom to come up in the haymow and clean and oil that machine so I could sew doll clothing. She did that and I sewed many happy hours, not making anything much but sweating like a trooper in the summer heat. quote]


What's a haymow?

StitchinJoy

I agree--it's addictive,

Are you going to the Hershey show? I lve that show and have been attending every year since it started in Gburg. It's big enough to be impressive, and small enough to be personal and fun. I get overwhelmed at humpngous shows--these old knees cannot handle the walking, and I get over-stimulated with too many vendors. Hershey is perfect for me.

Juliebelle

It started for me about 9 years ago, I had been an avid scrapbooker and one day while buying supplies I walked over to the fabric and it just called out to me. I took a class in hand quilting at LQS and the rest is now an addiction. Most of the quilts I have made have been given as baby gifts and to friends and relatives. I now have more reasons to make more quilts, I have a 4 year old grandson who loves everything I make and I just retired at the end of March so now I have time to do what I love. :-P

mms61371

My first experience sewing I was 4 years old on my Grandma's treadle. Been sewing off and on ever since. Then my family and I took a trip to Arkansas and Missouri about 10 years ago. There was a place selling quilts and I wanted one. We went to look at them, but the pattern I wanted did not come in the colors I wanted. I looked up at my husband and said I can make one. We came home a week later and I started. It took 6 months. There are no accurate 1/4 inch seams and nothing lines up but I kept practicing, looking on the internet, reading books, and at the time started watching Simply Quilts. I never took classes, I like to learn things at my own pace. Now, I couldn't imagine not doing it.

CarrieAnne

I started hand sewing when I was a kid, then I got a sewing machine for my graduation gift...well money and I bought it. Started making clothes ect. then when I got married, my Ex'smom was a quilter. She's an awesome, backwoods type, does everything on her own.....still uses a woodstove to heat her house at 80! I learned to quilt from her...she saved all her scraps, and let me take what ever I wanted from them, gave me old books, she was awesome! I made my DD a quilt, then started making them as baby gifts!