carslo

My Nana and Gramma quilted, however: we lived far away from them growing up so they weren't so much the insipration but rather I knew genetically I had the ability :) Truly though, my significant other (I am too old for a boyfriend) lived in Los Angeles and I lived in Vancouver, BC Canada. We did played cards every night on the computer, and he was going away for almost a month to Virginia in May 2005 with no internet access. So I decided, I would make him a super California King size quilt. I bought a rotary cutter and mat and then the fabric at Walmart - after reading not to invest a ton of money in your first quilt, got out my old Kenmore from 1978 that I used to mend clothes with etc. Found a pattern I liked on the internet and started - no classes, no friend to help me out. I pieced the top together and it did resemble the picture! Then I went to stitch in the ditch - did a few rows and got right up and went and bought a new sewing machine - an Elna 3210. I was hooked after that. Still haven't gone to a class but joined a guild after we were married and moved to LA. I sew everyday and love it! We still use the quilt I made on the bed and it truly was a work of love.

IndyQuilter

Since the age of 13 I have always wanted to quilt. I had no one in my family that quilted and I remember my mother paying a lady $50 to make her a quilt. I was so excited. The quilt never came, but my desire to learn remained. I've been quilting for thirty years now.

jdeery

My dear MIL was and still is my inspiration. I always sewed.
But she use to go to the Menonite Quilt group on Wednesdays
and quilted with the women, I was so impressed that the group
did this. She started me with showing me what quilts she had
done. She had a little sewing room off the bathroom in their house, shelves on the wall full of material, a radio going, and
there was a twin bed in the room, her machine was by the window. My first quilt I made in 1980 of the scraps from my
nieces dresses that I made for them, and did a simple 4" block
quilt, and then hand quilted it. I was hooked ever since, I still love sitting with her and look at quilt books, she has Als, and
she still lights up when I talk to her about quilts. I have been with her for 44 years, and she is the model of a "Mom" if anyone would imagine. I love her dearly, she has a great faith,
she always has something good to say about anyone. She never says a bad thing about anyone. She always has encouraged me in anything I did, and praised me as a Mom myself. (She is now 88 year old, living in personal care).

Annz

I took my first quilt lesson from May Ellen Hopkins at her very first opened quilt shop in Santa Monica Calif in the middle 70's.