I started when my eldest daughter was very ill with an eating disorder (she is now much better) and after 18 months needed some 'me' time so enrolled on a beginners course and lost myself in a quilt!! I still find it very theraputic and my quilts hold many emotions in the stitches :-)

Glad to hear that your daughter is doing better and hopefully will continue. I know what you mean about quilting being theraputic. After my dad past away on Christmas Eve I just felt so lost because I had been spending so much time with him the last few months he had and that was one reason I bought my longarm. Then I met a lady that does alot with the American Hero Quilts and I ask if she could use some help. As I was quilting the first American Hero quilt I felt so close to my dad and I knew that I could do something to honor him and make him feel proud of me. So I committed to quilting 82 of the American Hero quilts before what would have been my dads 82nd birthday. I did 82 quilts in 49 days. Each and every quilt that I did brought me a little further thru my grieving process I guess you might say because I thought of dad almost the whole time I was doing each one. I thought of all the men and women who have devoted so much of their time and sometimes there lives to protect people they don't even know. I am very proud of my dad for serving in the Korean War and my daughter for serving 9 years in the Navy and all the other countless people who have done the same. Even know as I type this the tears are flowing but I know that the quilting has helped me alot thru losing my dad. I really have to thank my son for encouraging me to invest in my longarm at a time that I felt so lost. He really understands me. I am very blessed.

I don't really know, all I know is that even as a very young girl I always new that one day I wanted to make quilts when I had the time to learn the skills.

Gal

I've known how to sew for forever it seems and when our Ladies Group at church banded together to make a quilt once, I was bitten by the quilt bug and voila - here I am today!

When my daughters were young, I made all their dresses, many of which were smocked. When they reached their teen years, they preferred clothes from Abercrombie LOL . . .so I focused my sewing energy on quilts :)

I started by making my children their clothes when they were small and then just progressed to quilts when they no longer wanted to wear what I was making! lol I also sew too keep sane! when my mind is working too hard and making me worry I find just sitting and sewing quiets the 'worry' thoughts and is soothing.

I started quilting to have something FUN to do!

I used to watch Simply Quilts every morning while I ate breakfast, before I went to work. I was fascinated by it all but never considered doing it, although I do sew some. When I retired my younger son said "Now you can make me a quilt". I said "But I don't quilt" and he said "Well, you can learn". It intrigued me so I signed up for a class and the rest is history. I really do enjoy it on many levels - therapy, relaxation, creativity, accomplishment, etc. And now I have 5 sewing machines but am enjoying the treadle for piecing and a vintage singer for quilting. So much room in the throat!

My sister got me started when I retired from teaching in 1996. She would mail me all kind of goodies to try out. I started with a couple Eleanor Burns videos. She only shopped from her desk/phone, so she had me making trips to every quilt shop that had sales & then I would have the fabrics shipped to her as she was 300 miles from me.

I made a quilt for my son and DIL for their wedding in 2006. First quilt I had ever made. During the process I learned that I probably picked the hardest pattern I could have for a first quilt. I thought it would be easy, as it was embroidered 14" blocks. How wrong I was.... but I did get it finished in time.

After that, I decided to take some lessons. Learned the basics, and the rest I learned from books as I went along. There is no stopping me now.