Oh my gosh, I would go crazy without quilting! I'm always excited for the next project, the one I'm working on, etc etc. The only other thing I think about constantly is my 2 babies and I can't be with them 24/7! Thank goodness for Facetime. I get to "see" them all the time.
I also love hand work like cross-stitch and embroidery, knitting etc. They are handy when I have to be somewhere I have to wait. I always have a hand project ready.
I'm so glad I have these hobbies because they afford me a lot of relaxation and we all need that!

My neighbor is also a long-time friend who is a quilter. We are both getting a hand quilt ready so we can stitch and talk. That will be fun. We can gab for hours and will have something to show for it !

I have a "can't wait til tomorrow" attitude toward quilting! When I stop for the day, I plan the next step. I'm sandwiching my latest accomplishment and thinking about next idea...
I've made table runners, bags, totes, boxes, bowl cozies, tortilla warmers, pantry pads, etc. I told DH that I was gonna pad my workroom walls, so I'd be working in a padded room...LOL...

I have been making quilts for about 56 yrs. I had other hobbies but didn't enjoy them as much as quilting. I am so glad I taught myself to machine quilt. It goes so fast I can make many more. Using a rotary cutter. mat and rulers help speed it up too.

Not only fortunate, I deliberately took up quilting as a retirement strategy. I had watched some of my elders retire and literally put their feet up, which kicked off increasing disability both physically and mentally. I realized you need to find meaningful activities that ticked a lot of boxes...for me that was: a continuing challenge for my little grey cells, lots of colour (=joy for me), lots of skill sets to master, a variety of expressions (traditional, pattern-only, patternless, modern, etc.), something I could aspire to finish and then try a new project, a community, the opportunity for ongoing learning, and **something I could do even if I lost my mobility**.

On tough days I do "therapy sewing"...making pretty strip sets or sewing up half square triangle sheets.

I also resolved to gain some level of mastery as quickly as possible after taking our mandatory "how to use a rotary cutter and square yardage" class, a pre-req for Quilting 101. I was about 50 at the time but the two ladies across the table from me were in their mid 70's and were having real trouble grasping the concept of squaring the yardage. I realized that if I waited till retirement I might not be able to as easily figure things out. So I got right into classes and workshops.

All that said, quilting is no longer something easy to do on a budget. One of the best pieces of advice I got as a new quilter was to build a good stash before retirement, as many ladies said after retirement their disposable income (or access to the family disposable income) was much reduced. I have built a rather large stash and find I really like to work from it...I like to work spontaneously and do not need to troll multiple shops to get the right fabrics. This has paid off as actual quilt stores have shut down over the years and there are now none within 30 minutes of my home. I order a lot online.

I also do handwork on tedious waits and airplane trips! I like making something real and useful, and am never (well almost never) bored!

I came to quilting almost by accident. I used to watch Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson before I went to work. Thought - that's interesting. Period. Then in 2004 I retired. My youngest son, who recently passed, said to me "now you can make me a quilt". What? I said, I sew, but don't quilt. He said "well you are retired so you can learn". Put that aside and one day shortly thereafter our local paper had an ad that the Parks program was offering a "beginners quilting class". I decided to go. And the rest is history. I did make him the quilt, and then two more. One he wanted while he was sick, and I did finish it before he died and he loved it. So I owe my quilting hobby to him and really only quilt for my own enjoyment. I have made quilts for the grands, and a few other babies and people, but I like all my quilts and one day they will get donated. I like everything about it from picking out fabric (which I am not good at) to the final putting on the binding. Some parts I am better at than others, but, enjoy it all. And my friends tease me because I only start one project to do at the group, and one for home, finish them all, and don't have a stash.

I feel the exact same way. I wonder how many quilters were working on something amazing that they had to stash away and hope that someday, they could return to finish it. Right now, the basic needs are the most important, but I hope that somewhere, wherever they are, they bump into another quilter who can help them get the supplies they need so they can begin quilting again. Every stitch will help heal them.

I don't know what I would have done when the pandemic locked us down if I didn't have my quilting. So much anxiety, depression, and fear, was washed away when I was at my sewing machine.

Oh, yes! Quilting has gotten me through "the best of times, the worst of times."

I learned to quilt after we moved to West Virginia. I had always made clothing for me and my family. I learned to quilt watching Eleanor Burns on PBS on Sundays. But what I am most grateful for are the friends that I have made through quilting. I have lots of quilting friends, but there are 6 ladies who are my "family". We get together at least twice a month at my house. We have gone through so much together. We've gone on trips, quilt retreats, and lots of shopping excursions. We've also gone through births, deaths and health problems together. I love these ladies so much. They are the reason I am so fortunate to be a quilter.

I have to laugh... problems with my machine on a frame skipping stitches, cutting a backing too short (yes, I was able to piece it with matching fabric), deciding that the green sashing strips didn't look right and ripping them out to put in another color. Yes, I'm fortunate to bang my head against the wall a couple time a day as I quilt. But all the headaches I get, won't compare to a smile on a child's face when they are given a quilt of their own to keep. I'll keep on banging away!

Yes. I was thinking about that last night. I'm fortunate enough to have a dedicated sewing room which is quiet and brings me peace, and resources to procure fabric and supplies. I think of the women in Ukraine and migrants and people in the US that don't have what they need, so in addition to trying to give back where I can, I try to make sure I don't fall prey to the "I always need something bigger and better for me" mentality.