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!