This is such a great question and the answers are so special to me. They show how much we sewers/quilters have in common. I made my first quilt in the late 70s. I took a class at a local fabric shop in town. It is a king-size quilt and I am ashamed to say it is still not finished. At the time that I sewed this quilt, they were selling clear acrylic rulers. I bought three widths; 1", 1 1/2" and 2". I still have them. I was hand quilting this quilt and then set it aside. I have been thinking about that quilt lately and I vow to get it out and finish it. I tied it so that I was able to use it while quilting it. One of the main fabrics, which is a clay color has faded badly. That bothered me and that is why I put it away. While making this quilt, my mother died suddenly of a massive aneurysm. The hand quilting pattern I designed was a combination of her initial and mine.
Why do I quilt? Because I love, love, love to sew. In the 50s as a single mom, I made my own clothes for work and dresses for my daughter. When I remarried a man with 3 children (now had 6) I continued to sew dresses for my daughter. When they were all grown up I continued to sew for myself. Quilting had been lost in the back of my mind. And then my DDIL started quilting and enticed me to quilt again. I love her for that because quilting is one of my favorite pass times. I just love the process of taking fabric, cutting it into pieces and sewing it back together and creating something even more beautiful than what I started with. I am a mediocre quilter but I am okay with my limitations and at age 75 I am okay with pretty much anything that I accomplish. I have taught my two youngest granddaughters to sew/quilt and I have taught my great granddaughter to sew. I hope that they will always remember sewing with me and creating something beautiful. I would rather quilt than cook, clean or eat. I love it!