I started quilting decades ago when I was still a teenager. I'm 65 now so 40 some years. Back then I was rather intimidated by the little old quilting ladies, one of whom I have become. I wish now that I had gone ahead and forged more quilting alliances with the older generations. I've joked for a long time that "being a quilter, my peer group has always been 1-2 generations older than me".
Instead I was a happy solo quilter for a long time, but then I discovered the joys of being with people who understood why I was cutting up perfectly good fabric. And who had techniques for dealing with those bits of fabric that they were willing to share... Part of why I post here is because I've learned a lot of what I've learned by mistakes, it would have been a lot easier to have some advice -- and pictures, so much can be told by pictures!
When the internet arrived, we quilters were ready for it. I was doing message boards (Sewing World and About.com mostly back then -- both gone now). I was sending fabric all over the world. Y2K squares -- I was there. The first person I met IRL (In Real Life) was a quilter from Australia who was part of my Sewing World group and coming through the States. Later I met gamers and eventually my Husband, but it was a quilter first. As I have traveled, I've met many of my on-line friends and consider them real world friends now.
In my time I've found that we quilters are a varied lot. Most of us are pretty darn wonderful, some may be harder to love or more generous with their criticism than their praise, but most of us can be put in a room together and come out enriched and nourished after a couple of hours. We all have different interests and points of view and mostly can share them together.
We tend to be generous not only with our fabric but our time. I was thinking about it a bit last night of all things, and wanted a shout out to all of us who provided Covid Masks. Our country asked and we came through. We give ongoing care and love to our own and to people we've never met.
So thank you quilters in general, and here in particular, for sharing your lives and projects with me. I'm glad to have you out there, and in here!