Over all - don't tell hubby!!!

I am over 62, and just started to quilt when my Mom came to live with me about 6 years ago. Her ideas on quilting and mine are miles apart. She did it all by hand, I tried, hated my stitches and went to the sewing machine. She passed away last Dec. and going through her room, neatly packed in plastic containers I have found many, many, pieces of fabric. And many, many completed quilt blocks. Now between my fabric stash and her's my Sun porch is a mess. I have it covered in fabric piles, projects half finished and piles of quilting books, etc. This is so much fun. I am sure I have more money in this hobby than I realize. I don't care. When I die my daughters can sort through it and maybe they will catch the quilting bug too. LOL

There are many reasons. For me, I was doing large quilt tops by hand and I can machine piece a lot faster than I can hand quilt. Once I got a decent machine I began to learn to machine quilt and I've started getting a lot of my UFOs finished. I didn't have a decent machine for the first 16 years I quilted so you can guess as to how many UFOs that added up to. That said, my main problem is sandwiching a quilt. I hate it, hate it, hate it! I love to do binding and I keep trying to find someone locally who hates to bind and enjoys sandwiching. I figure we could switch jobs. So far no luck.


One of the biggest problems is speed. You really have to slow down with this method or your quilting will wobble outside the lines. Most quilters when they learn to quilt do not realize that the quilting can take just as long (or longer!) then making the quilt top. I know when I finish a top, a lot of times I feel as if I've got the majority of the quilt finished when in actuality I'm only halfway done. You also need to make sure you've got enough pins or basting in to really hold the quilt sandwich together or it will shift as you are quilting, which can be very frustrating. Hope some of this helps. Good luck with the quilt!

oh great...somebody had to, lol, go and mention adding by how much you spend a month times 12 and then by number of years quilting...um...I'm pleading the 5th on fabric,
I am NOT 62...although it's a nice age...really...just not trying to rush it ;)
and I am no where near 8,500.00 with tools and notions. :shock:

considering the value of our quilting habit, we can take comfort in know'n if we really run in to $$$ trouble we can hawk our stuff lolol

Speak for yourself! Once it's in my possession I hold onto it forever!

:lol:

Just think quilting is good for our health.Most quilters are a happy lot and they are more relaxed most of the time. But it helps in the bad days as well ad the good and Boy! the friends you make along the way, it is great and they help you without wanting any thing back all the time. My friends rally around me when they learned about my bad panic attacks recently. Thanks to them I feel better in myself knowing that there are others like me and how the give the support I needed. I wish I knew WHY ? I am getting them and others too.

Having projects to do is good for me! Quilting is one of the handful of other areas I play in. I am a new quilter. But
I do hope to use many of the ideas I have found on here. I also hope to be able to add things from time to time!

I'm so sorry that you're having panic attacks!!! I began having them in my late 20's -- back then the drs. thought it was "all in your head". I now take generic Prozac for them and have for years. They don't know why it works -- just that it does. The dr. told me that I was literally holding my breath until I passed out -- involuntarily. Some tricks for when you're having them (that I've learned thru the years): Get MAD!; Sing at the top of your lungs!; Move around a little; Breathe into a paper bag -- all of this gets you breathing normally again and thus stops the attack...Hang in there -- panic attacks can be stopped with medication and a little life finagling.:D

My panic attacks are at night. I can go o bed and when I get up to go to the toilet it will suddenly hit me, I take an anti-depressant mirtazon, and it helps most of the time but twice in the last 5 years have I had real doozies. Ended up at the local hospital at 12.30. The Dr. gave me a little blue tablet which I took when I got home, once I could sleep it was over. But all of them are at night and I cannot go to talk to any one except the hospital staff. I am making a quilt and giving it to them for a raffle( a thank you for helping me). I would like to know WHY? we get them and is it only women at that certain age.Both my mum, sister and certain friends have suffered some sort of Panic attacks. Thank you for your support too. I can't sing at night will wake DH. He works.