I say WOW as well. If someone ask me if I quilt I am delighted to tell them yes I do. I am proud that I am carry on my family heritage. It is so much fun to learn new things from other people. Some people need to learn that we do not know everything and there is no one right way to sew. We all have out own taste and inspiration.
I say HAPPY QUILTING AND SEWING TO ALL!!!

IT IS WORTH A SPECIAL TRIP TO PENSACOLA JUST TO GO TO A&E. WE HAD LIVED ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF MOBILE BAY FOR A YEAR & A HALF BEFORE I EVER VISITED THE STORE. NOW WE TRY TO GO EVERYTIME WE VISIT PENSACOLA (AVERAGE ONCE A MONTH) - A DRIVE OF ABOUT 45-50 MILES. WELL WORTH IT! WE ARE RETIRED SO WE CAN DO FUN THINGS LIKE THIS!

THANKS FOR THE LINK TO KNOTS OF LOVE. I MAKE CHEMO CAPS AND DONATE THEM SO THIS IS ANOTHER WORTHY ORG. TO DISTRIBUTE THEM. THE PATTERNS ARE LOVELY. CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THEM. I PREFER TO CROCHET. HAVE TRIED KNITTING BUT JUST DID NOT CARE FOR IT.

Wow, a rude quilter? That is strange, we are all so nice on here.

No more JoAnns for me. Bought some flannel this weekend and almost every piece was miscut....Plus, got home and found several BIG flaws in the fabric. It just seems to be a lower quality fabric than what you get at the quilt stores. Worth it to pay a little more when you are already spending so much and put so much into a project....you don't want the fabric to start separating, shredding, etc. I've been told by a gal who sells to JoAnns that fabric is made much more cheaply....you get what you pay for. If you want your quilts to last and last....be willing to spend a bit more. IF you're making baby quilts or something that will probably get washed and used and washed and spilled on and washed, etc, etc....then maybe JoAnn fabrics are fine. Just my thoughts.

Have used Walmart but I really like Hobby Lobby, which is 30+ miles from me and Walmart only 11

I really hate to disagree, but I've come across more rude quilters than I care to admit. In my quest to find a guild to join I've had people be rude and inconsiderate towards me. I've had them be rude TO MY FACE. As you can imagine I didn't join any of these guilds. As a matter of fact, I am not a member of any guild. I am only a member of a couple of online virtual groups like this one. I've had people offer to go to bat for me, but I'm not going to go where I'm not wanted. It's there loss, not mine.

I agree. I tried joining a guild at one time. I felt so out of place. They were too hung up on long arm quilting. Some of us can not afford a long arm machine let alone have room for one. I enjoy quilting by hand. The guilds make me feel inferior because I choose to hand quilt. They let you know that that type of quilting is not pretty enough.
I like the looks of both. But I prefer the hand quilting. I guess because this is what I grew up with and it is so relaxing. So I too just join this online group. Which by the way I truly love!!!

I love to hand quilt, too. A few quilts I've had done on long-arm....but I've made queen size quilts for each of my 3 kids, my sister, lap quilts for both Mother and Mother-in-law, and numerous baby quilts. I do some machine quilting myself, too, but always have a hand quilting project going. Too bad we live so far apart (I'm in Colorado)....we could start a hand quilting group! :) Enjoy every minute!!

Actually, I live really near a rude quilter. She lives in my neighborhood and kind of kick started the quilting bug in me. I showed her a table runner I had just finished making and she said several unkind things. She didn't like the fabrics, she wouldn't have put any of them together and that there was too much color and movement in the table runner. She also helped me pick a truly atrociously choiced fabric for the binding b/c my first choice was too busy. I went with my first choice in the long run b/c it was the correct choice. My DDs both said she makes boring quilts, color-wise, and that I shouldn't listen to her. The recipient loved it, minus the kitty fur, so I was right and she was wrong.