I apologize: this is very much an "I, I, I, Me, Me, Me" response because no one influenced me to start making quilts.
For a wide variety of reasons, my husband and I have no social life. We do not visit or have visitors, other than our son and daughters. This is not a bad or sad thing; it's just how it is. However, when the necessities of life; i.e., housework, yardwork, shopping, are not too demanding, we have time on our hands. Since I no longer need to make clothing to wear to the office, I make quilts. I'm afraid the repetition in knitting, hand embroidery, cross-stitching, crocheting will make my head explode ... tried them; hate them. Before I started making quilts, I thought that it would be repetitious and boring also, but it is definitely NOT. I love it, especially making the quilt tops; the actual quilting not so much. Also, due to my low boredom threshold, I have at least 3 quilts in progress at all times, one being pieced, one or two being quilted by machine and one being hand quilted, and occasionally one being appliqued.
Some of the other responses to the "why do you quilt" question describe me: I love putting puzzles together; I love colors and seeing how they can change dramatically when placed against other colors; I love fabric; I need a creative outlet. Before I retired, I made my clothing for work and, during those same years, I made a wide variety of stuffed dolls. They are quite good (she said, modestly) and I thought I might, at some future time, make dolls to sell. It never happened; now I have a huge selection of doll patterns, but rarely make dolls any more. At that time, making the dolls and my clothes satisfied my need to be creative; now quilt making does that.