As long as there are no deadlines, I find quilting very relaxing. And the finished results can be very satisfying. So far, I've only made quilts for relatives and they've been very well received.

You could always "sign" your small stuff with your initials and the year with a pen used for fabric. It could be really small -- between 1/4-1/2". That way, people will know they weren't made in some "factory" but by loving hands, one at a time....

That is a good idea! I might have to do that. Thanks for the idea. I do have some of those pens here somewhere.

:D I agree on the signing of your stuff.
On my stuffed animals, my name exceeds the spaces allowed for your factory stamped labels, so I have learned how to make my own and on my art quilts, I actually paint in my name/initials and the date. Now it's got a past.

why do i quilt well it started out that my daughter brought me some tops that her friend gave here so she ask me if i could put them in a quilt so i watch some t.v and read books and done them on sewing machine for her then i said hay i could do this so i started it on my own but i also learn to hand quilting and piecing which i love to do it is so relaxing to do and watch t.v or take along project where u go yes i love to quilts that why i quilt .

Because I love to create things and quilting brings me joy and relaxation

I remember my ex MIL was a quilter. I heard last Fall she passed away from Cancer. I remember watching her make these beautiful quilts and admiring all the beautiful fabrics. In the Winter of 1994 she bought me all the fabrics I needed to make my own sampler quilt. This was to be my birthday gift. She gave me the very basics of quilting and I took it from there. I found the art of quilting very creative and was only limited by your imagination.

I love quilting for many reasons. I love the creative power it gives me, I love how I can cut up a beautiful piece of fabric into tiny pieces and assemble them into something amazing. I love the feel of a needle and thread in my hand. I love the crispness or the soft feel of fabrics on the bolts in a fabric store.

But my favourite thing of all is that I love how I can just lose myself for a few minutes or a few hours into a quilt and not think of anything else. If there is any worries or stress or concerns happening in my life, they just dissolve away for the time I am playing in my sewing room. I just get lost, and I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Even when I don't have any worries or concerns, I just love to get lost in my art.

Since that first sampler quilt back in 1994, I have taught myself further into the art of quilting and all the many wonderful techniques that are out there. I wanted to be able to share my love of quilting with other people and found myself starting my teaching career in the Fall of 1997. 12 years later here I am still teaching and selling my work.

I am forever researching and looking for new techniques or ideas to teach or to sell. There is no limit to creativity and I plan to challenge myself every day!!!!!!!!

Quiltingly Yours and Addicted!
Andrea

Thanks so much Eddie, for starting this! I've truly loved reading every posting!

I started sewing in 4H, then Home Ec - the gingham apron. lol!!! Then not a whole lot until my daughter was about 2, I made her a dress... Then lots of Barbie clothes, stuffed cats, bunnies, other crafty things. My ex mil taught me counted cross stitch, crochet, and knitting. Did a few craft shows....

I believe it was late 80's/early 90's when my sister took a quilting class, and brought her new quilting books over to show me. I'm not sure if it was before rotary cutters or what, but the thing was to rip your material. Still makes me cringe! But I learned speed strip piecing! I made a couple of big lap size quilts, then went off to make dd school dance dresses. Ever sew with sequin material? Ha. lol!!!!

Just dabbled a bit, made a few small tops, until I was laid of last January. Then I came across Jennifer Chiaverini's novels and got re-hooked!! lol!!
I love old quilts. Love imagining all the love that went into them. Love the patterns of them. There's so many I want, I decided I needed to make them myself!

I'm also in the process of making each of our kids/their spouses and grandkids a quilt. We've six kids + six spouses and eight grandkids currently, so I'm doing them for their birthdays.

I also really discovered while making my dil's quilt, that it's almost like making a prayer quilt for them. All the hours I sewed on it, my thoughts were always of her. And she knows that. Knows she is much loved.

Why I quilt - because I've always loved doing something creative, because I love the old quilts and want to make them for myself, and so every child of our's, whether birthed, step, or by marriage, and every grandchild, have an extra tangible reminder of how very much they're loved by me.

A quilt that you brought to life is a much more valuable inheritance than money.

I began quilting nearly 20 years ago because it seemed the only type of sewing that no one else in the family already did. My mom sewed clothing and stuffed toys, embroidered, tatted, cross-stitched, crocheted, and is an incredible knitter. My sisters followed suit with sewing clothes and doing cross-stitch. I wanted something of my own.

(In recent years, several family members have become quilters and I do enjoy sharing ideas and appreciating one anothers creations.)

I love taking all these different "ingredients" and putting them together to create something beautiful. I love knowing that no where else on earth is there an identical product, nor will there ever be. I love the process of hand-quilting, giving so much time to focus my thoughts on the quilt's recipient. I love that quilts, unlike clothing, will fit anyone no matter their size!