Oh yeah, did my first quilt when I was 9, 6 inch blocks with a tape measure and siccors! I am a tad over 50 now. Got the roatry cutter and mat back in the 80's. Watched Elenor Burns on PBS and ordered in from the states. LOL that order took forever to clear customs!

I wasn't very prolific back in those days - still am not. But I know I did a Moon over the Mountain quilt and probably a Trip Around the World and a couple of 9 patches.

I didn't really start doing quilting until I had to take a medical leave from work in Sept. '96.....
But my earlier days I remember making a quilt for my nephew, at my sisters request, using left over quilted scraps from robes I made my nephews...don't remember what was used for backing but no batting was needed......this was in the early '60's.
Then I made a baby quilt for my baby in 1973 before she was born....2/73......she still has the quilt.
Then in about '74/'75 I made a quilt for me and hubby using polyester squares......that winter I hand cut about 1000 or more squares for a quilt and made patch work pants for my 2 small daughters.
DH & myself used our poly quilt for 20 yrs. until I sick and tired of the slip and slide of the quilt because it was poly squares on both sides. That's when I no longer worked and made us a new quilt the end of 96.....it's still used as an extra for grandkids to use or whoever.....been repaired several times but still keeps them warm.

My quilty friend and I first learned from a traditional quilt maker... cutting each piece from a template, hand stitching... We made 4 blocks: 9-patch, churn dash, great hope and rail fence... I made a table runner out of mine... of course, it's too long for my round table, so it is draped over the back of the sofa now... This is the piece I practiced my hand quilting on this past summer. Since I love hand-work, I loved making it...

BUT... shortly after we spent several sessions that summer learning to quilt the traditional way, we "accidentally" wandered into our now-favorite LQS, where we quickly signed up for the beginning quilting class, discovered the rotary cutter and "the rest is history..." We still laugh about turning toward each other after that first cut with the rotary and, almost exactly together, exclaiming how wonderful the rotary cutter was...

We both still love hand-work and I'm working on hand-quilting my first big quilt right now... We're taking a hand-turned applique class on the 24th and can hardly wait...

I love reading everyone's posts on this!!!

I did. I took a continuing education class on quilting and made small quilt projects presents for my entire family.
That was 1983.

I've been sitting here thinking about when I first used the rotary cutter and I remember having a HUGE new appreciation for the quilters of "yesterday" who quilted only with scissors and perhaps a piece of cardboard for her template...

Some amazing talent then, as now!!!!

I belong to the pre-rotary club, too. I scissor cut and hand pieced a large twin sized Star of Bethlehem.

staarted at 7 in 1966,
didn't buy till the late 80's

I remember having a board covered with sandpaper - put the fabric on the sandpaper, the templates on the fabric, and draw around (on the sewing line, mind you, NOT the cutting line) in pencil. Cut with scissors, leaving "approximately" 1/4 inch around the pencil lines. My first quilt was made of blocks "from the Bible" (although I helped my 11 year old daughter with her "Tumbler" quilt and another biographical one she designed before I began quilting). My first quilt book (not from the library) was by Georgia Bonesteel and I think I made every quilt in that book. One of them, all in pieced muslin, is hanging on my back door window as a curtain! I made lots of those string-pieced vests (one of these days I'm going to cut them up and make book (or nook) covers out of them!

Oh yes. Have been quilting since the late 70's. Made full bed sized sashed 9-patch, Tumbling Blocks, Rail Fence and many appliqued baby quilts, twin, full sized and some quilted garments and totes. Used homemade cardboard templates, wooden yardstick and pencil. Did the quilting by hand or just tacked the quilts. Got my first rotary cutter maybe 8 yrs ago and that was when I first tried machine quilting also. Felt like cheating at first. LOL. But it's oh so much more accurate!

My first quilt was made of hand cut 2 " squares, but machine stitched together on my mother's featherweight which she had given me. It was pretty wonky and the wonderful ladies who hand quilted it never said a word. Bless them for that-any criticism and I might have been turned off of sewing forever, but I did sew clothing for the family for years. That was 50 years ago and I still have the quilt and I see my awful cutting and sewing and their wonderful stitching. I really wanted to quilt, but couldn't handle the scissors well-my hands just became double jointed after a few minutes.

Cyn, cute quilt in your avatar.

Absolutely! My first quilt was made in the early '70's from a pattern (probably Simplicity) that required squares and triangles cut from cardboard templates. Then I started a Dresden plate in the late '70's that was a QAYG style. Never finished it. Then a sampler from a real class taken at a real quilt shop. The rest is history. I love the new methods and techniques but I can rest in peace - if all my toys suddenly disappear I could continue with just the rudimentary supplies.

I cut and completed three bed quilts. If I had to do it today, it would never happen. LOL

I did . My first 4 were hand pieced and hand quilted, scissors and templates. A full size sampler, a twin size grandmothers fan , a sampler lap quilt, and a full size I made for my dad and stepmom. And for the life Of me I cannot rememember what it was right now. There was also an ocean waves that I cut out with templates and scissors but machine stitched.

I remember cardboard templates and drawing around them with a pencil. Ugh. Give me a rotary cutter.

December, 09: found partially finished quilt blocks of my mom's. Should I throw them out? Mmmm, maybe I'll try to make something out of them. Two months later I had made a king size quilt, sewn on my ancient Singer and hand quilted. Isn't pretty but my son loves it! Decided this was fun and maybe I should take a quilting class. You mean there are things to measure and cut with? Wow! Rotary cutters, rulers, cutting mats, baby irons, fabric! I thought I'd found Aladdin's treasure when I first walked into JoAnn's. A dozen quilts and a thousand dollars later, I'm obsessed. This from a non-button-sewer-on who thought quilts came from the department store.

I started in 1975 with an appliqued dog quilt for a friend who was pregnant. Then an 8 pointed star in red, white, and blue. Followed by a Dresden Plate, 2 appliqued sea shell quilts, queen sized, and a sampler. I had teen agers and I needed something to keep me sane! The 2 sea shells were wedding presents for DD and DS. They were married a week apart. I made DD's wedding gown and veil during that time also. And moved from Pensacola to Memphis. I was a true blue Navy Wife! O for a little of that energy now! All those were done with scissors and a yard stick.

Worst "experience" .. at least to date. I cut each and every one of the little
diamonds for a king size Broken Star quilt with a metal template ...(before
discovering the easy method in Blanche Young's book) and subsequently
finished it with hand-quilting of Feathered Wreaths in all plain areas, and
a Cable design in the outer border. I think it was outstanding when
finished, and only charged my customer/friend $200.
Guess I qualify for the Funny Farm after that one.

I also started quilting pre rotery cutter. I remember working on a Log Cabin, & had so much trouble getting the seams to match up. Then I also did an applique quilt, no fusing , just machine zig zag. I enjoyed doing them, but find this so much more fun.

My first one sans rotary cutter was a Log Cabin. It's been around the block a time or two but still used.

I quilted before rotary cutters came along. I would make my quilt piece pattern out of stiff paper and would pin it to a few pieces of fabric and then cut. I was a stay at home mom so the time was not a factor. When I had cut many pieces, I would begin piecing and would cut more as needed. Was I ecstatic when I heard about rotary cutters! Quilting sure has been a different world since then.

Before the rotary cutter I did mostly cheater quilts and just hand quilted around the blocks. Now it is so much more fun!

I cut out my first quilt...a Tennessee Waltz...with scissors. All the squares were marked with pencil and it took almost forever. It was completed though, and hand quilted within 6 months back in 1987. It was my only project though. and before the days I had a stash.

I did and still have the calouses on my fingers to prove it. haha

I just love to quilt. Some one asked me about 2 days ago, "So you quilt?". I responded, "Constantly, I go to bed quilting and I get up quilting". My Dh just shook his head in agreement. I keep a hand cut/hand piecing/hand quilting project going all the time. From start to finish I love to do it by hand and I love to rotary cut and strip sew.

I began quilting in 1969 with scissors, pencil, and cereal boxes for templates. I hand sewed and hand quilted more than 100 quilts before I was able to afford a sewing machine. That was a happy day!

I made loads of traditional patterns that I based on quilts I saw in the Newark Museum in Newark NJ. (They have a quilt exhibit there now with some of those same quilts that inspired me.)
I made traditional pieced quilts: Log cabin quilts, Sawtooth stars, 9patch quilts, 4patch quilts, Lone Stars, Sister's Choice, Weathervane, Shoofly, Churndash, Jacob's Ladder, Three and Six, Snowball, Nelson's Victory. I had one quilting book early on-- Ruby McKim's 101 Patchwork Patterns.

Your work shows every loving stitch you make. It radiates love and prayers. Those who recieved one then or in the future will return the love and time. We are rich because we quilt, the old way or the new way. We have piece and contentment, a quite place for our hearts and minds to grow or heal, to think our own thoughts. Most of the world does not have this or even know how to obtain it. We are rich, all of us.

I started quite a few quilts... but only finished five. All were simple squares, or log cabin blocks.

No. Make it six. Now that I think of it, the "finished" ones outnumber the "started" ones!

That's better than I thought! I guess it is mostly the smaller projects that I started and abandoned along the way.

My standby's were dresden plates and drunkards paths.

I started to make a bed quilt out of 1.5" hexies. It became a center piece. Nuff said.

I did. I started quilting in 1983. I used templates to create my first 2 quilts- a dresden plate and an ohio star. I don't have photos but I sitll have the ohio star. It is very worn and faded since it had been well used.

Suesew, LOL I haven't made any quilts, but like you I predate the things you mentioned and then some.

I have a friend and neighbor that draws every piece and cuts it out with scissors and hand pieces the top and hand quilts the quilt. it takes me a week just to hand sew the binding I would die before one top was finished this way by hand. Three cheers for rotary cutters and electric sewing machines.

I started that way and when the rotary cutters first came out I was scared to death of them. Could only envision cutting off a finger or something. Can't get by without it now.

I didn't do any quilting before the rotary cutter but I did do a lot of cutting with templates and scissors for my MIL. She made me a couple of quilts that I cut most of the pieces for. I treasure them because they're stitched and quilted by hand.

My first quilt, almost 50 years ago, was a butterfly quilt for my daughter. I got the pattern from my Mother=in=law. It was appliqued, by machine & of course cut with scizzors. Didn't have quality fabrics, and is long gone. :roll:

I made my first quilt after DD was born in 1972. Yeah -- scissors and cardboard from cereal boxes. I made a few quilts for my children and to give as gifts -- flannel with really poofy poly batting and I tied them. After DS was born I watched some VERY early Eleanor Burns on TV (she was in her attic, I believe). I learned a lot, but I was more interested in making clothes than quilts.

I came back to quilting in 1999 -- and thank goodness for rotary cutters!!!

I too, started in the late 80's, and pre rotary. I can remember using bottles, etc. for patterns and quilting. My first piece was a drunkards path wall hanging, (as I was famous for starting HUGE projects and never finishing them), and no one told me that doing a curved piece was so hard to do. Been hooked ever since.
Judy

I began quilting in 1972 and lived on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Couldn't even buy fabric there but on each flight to the mainland I would get my husband to buy a little yardage. Used scissors, cardboard templates, and Quilters Newsletter magazine was a black and white publication that taught me a lot.