moosegirl

I had busy hands with all kinds of crafts and wanted to make a big quilt. Started with Elenore Burns Log Cabin Quilt in a day class. I wanted to connect with other ladies to learn more so went to a guild meeting and they announced the need for a new president so I raised my hand to ask what the requirements where and I was elected on the spot with a 150 new friends and have been growing as a quilter ever since 25 yrs ago. Practice all kinds of quilting, take classes, trade blocks, join guilds-sew and quilt as much as you can. Morale to the story is- if you want to learn raise your hand! Moosegirl

imjustme

When I was about 16 I lived with my daughters fathers family (long story) in Virginia. His mother and grandmother made quilts. They would sit for hours and hand sew them together and then tie them. I never helped them just sat and watched. Then I decided I wanted to do it to, but with a machine. I knew how to use the sewing machine because my mother always sewed. She would make me and my brother clothes and such. In high school I could pick 2 electives. I got to pick one and my mother chose the other. She is mentally handicap and has issues learning. She liked to pick home ec so I could show her what I had learned.
Anyway I made a quilt for her and one for my brother. They are old and fallen apart. She still has them somewhere. She said she wants to fix them one day. I would like to have my brothers back because he passed away (September 20 will be 2 yrs). I miss him soo very much. It still feels like yesterday. I have all his clothes and plan to make lap quilts out of them. I just still haven't built up the courage to do it. I wish someone could come over and hold my hand to help me get it done.
I have picked up and put down sewing several times over the years, but I really don't think I will stop anymore. Having this board and all the friends I have made helps me when I need advice, or get stuck, and helps keep me motivated.

mar32428

In my early years, I was raised in Kentucky during depression years and all the women sewed. They had too. Everyone was dirt poor but we didn't seem to mind. We grew our own food and relatives living on the farms provided meat. We did have chickens. Have you ever picked chicken feathers? Yuk!!! Most of my clothes were made from feed sacks etc. My Gran and great aunts (her sisters) used to meet once a week to quilt. They kept the whole family supplied for the winter.

The quilting frame was suspended with pulleys from the ceiling in the dining room. Gramp built it. My job from age five was to make yoyos and sometimes piece as my stitches got better. To me, it was boring.

I finally started quilting late into my thirties. By then, I could sew everything else so curiosity got me. Also, I'm kinda into the family traditions thing since I was an only child of divorced parents. Felt my four sons deserved some heirlooms. My first quilts were not pretty. However, by then I was into machines which I loved. I've kept at it and really think Gram would be proud of me. My quilts will never win any blue ribbons (too impatient for perfection) but my family and friends love them.

I love innovation (the astronaut patches quilt) and really enjoy the time I spend creating. Oh yes, and my gorgeous stash.

bstanbro

My grandmother quilted. She was of the Brethren faith which is similar to the Amish. Her quilts were not completely of plain cloth, but still simple somehow. I loved the colors and shapes. I always knew I would learn someday. When I became disabled and could no longer work, I took one class. I was hopelessly hooked. Quilting makes me feel close to my lineage. Although my mother did not quilt (she was an excellent seamstress though), it was her mother who was my grandmother. Quilting seems to bring me back to my roots. My husband and friends look at those little bits of fabric and see only tedium. I find joy in doing it just for the sake of doing it. Also, I love how happy people are when they are gifted with one of my quilts.

doowopddbop

I am loving all these quilting stories. Mine is quite similar to many, in the fact that I also learned from the women in my family.

I began sewing at age nine or ten, when my mother began teaching 4-H sewing classes. Two of my younger sisters also began sewing as they became old enough to join 4-H. Some of my favorite memories are of spending time in the sewing room getting our 4-H projects ready for the county fair, making Christmas projects, sewing our own clothes, then later prom dresses.

One particular Christmas dance, my date had arrived, and my new dress was still not done! I was mortified, and my date had to sit downstairs with my Dad while Mom hurried to attach the sleeve and turn up the hem and sew it! My sisters were giggling—it took me a few weeks before I could “look back and laugh” but now I love that memory.

Growing up in the 70’s, most of the quilts we made were tied. I slept in a cold upstairs bedroom, with a hot water bottle and about five of these quilts stacked on top of me. Then my grandmother began to hand-quilt whole cloth tricot quilts for wedding gifts, and I spent many of my teenage years sitting around grandma’s quilting frames hand-quilting with relatives and neighbors. I also remember visiting my fraternal great-grandmother in Star Valley, WY, where her sewing room on the back porch was always filled with stacks of little squares ready to piece. I later learned that everyone in town would bring her their scraps to piece tops for charity quilts. She was in charge of church charity quilts for over 50 years.

I received an old black Pfaff 130 for a graduation present, and made clothes for myself and my children when they were young. My two sisters developed their sewing skills into professions: one is a tailor and does wedding dresses for a bridal gown designer, the other is an upholsterer.

When my triplet daughters became old enough, I enrolled them in 4-H and became their teacher, just as my mother had done with her three oldest girls. It was a great way to teach them sewing skills, keep them busy, and it was something that we could all do together.

My own quilting journey began nine years ago when I found a bag of my Mother's unfinished log cabin blocks shortly after her funeral. I took it home to finish, then gave it to my Dad for Christmas the following year. It would have been her first pieced quilt. I was hooked, and during the next year I made five quilts simultaneously!

When my daughters were 13, we all joined a “block of the month” club at our local quilt shop. Soon we were winning blue ribbons and sweepstakes prizes at the county and state fairs. A quilting demonstration even took one of the girls to a national 4-H competition. We also enjoy making quilts for charity together. These are usually tied quilts, a warm hug from our family to someone in need. I love to piece, quilt, draft patterns, teach, and pretty much live, breathe, and dream quilting. It was a logical step for me to get my longarm machine.

This is a new generation of quilting. I think every woman has the inherent need to create, and finds great joy in the process of quilting. But the days of setting up a quilt frame and having the neighbors and relatives drop in to hand-quilt is somewhat of a lost art. We don’t have the time, the room or the relatives close by! Today, it is becoming more common for us to quilt with our checkbooks. That's right. Bring your unfinished quilt tops to me, and I will do the finishing for you! :)

For me, finishing the quilt that my mother had started was a healing process; a way of reaching out and connecting with her, as well as the other women in my family who have gone before. I often think about them when I am sewing and quilting. These women would all have LOVED all the new toys and gadgets that have revolutionized the quilting world today - rotary cutting tools, longarm quilting machines like mine. Some days I can just feel them looking over my shoulder!

I love the fact that my daughters--now 20-- (and occasionally my son) quilt with me. The sewing room is the gathering place in our home. The legacy continues and the circle rolls on when one of my kids says to me, "Hmm, I think I'll make a quilt..."

ILove2quilt

I used to watch Quilt in A Day and always thought I will do that some day. Then I started watching Alex Anderson, Simply Quilts. So I went to an Auction and got my first Sewing Machine for $2. It weighted about 50 pounds but worked great. I met my DH and just loved his mother she was a wonderful person so I decided to make my first quilt for her. I think it was called stepping stones. I started it in April and in June she got sick and passed away. From the time she passed until she went in the ground I worked day and night to get it done. No one will ever see my first quilt because it went with her. Every quilt that I make now has a little piece of fabric in it that was from her quilt. Even if it’s a 2 inch square. I now have 6 grandchildren and am working on quilts for all of them.

wildyard

My mother and grandmother always sewed our clothes and made our quilts. I never saw a bought blanket till I was old enough to sleep over with friends. Even though I was born and raised in California, my family were from Oklahoma and had done the "Grapes of Wrath" thing in the early 1940's. I learned to tie quilts as a child and to sew as a young teen. I continued to sew as a mother but to me it was always work, not something one did for fun.
Later after my children left home, I became a crafter, but sewing did not reenter the picture, except for mending, hemming, curtain making, etc.
My husband's family are all very handy and crafty and artistic, so whenever I got to be around them, I would marvel at the wonderful things they created. For many years, we lived far from them, so our times together were limited. Finally, we were able to settle in Upstate New York near his family, and spend much more time with them. Due to the encouragement of his wonderful mother and 4 sisters, I discovered many talents of my own that lay hidden. After my beloved MIL passed away, we decided to have a "sisters" crafting get-together once or twice a year to help us stay bonded the way Ma had always done. We had many crafts to choose from at these week long retreats, and I always opted out of any that involved sewing. That was still WORK to me. I loved beading, painting, etc. But sewing? No thanks! Slowly, (I like to say) they dragged me kicking and screaming, into trying a quilted potholder. Then a tablerunner. Next I made pillowcases. Then there was a mystery project, which turned out to be quilted blocks. I began to love and collect the fabrics. I often started things at the retreats that I never finished. One SIL, Jackie, decided that getting me to finish something was the key, so that became her project. And it worked. I was so proud of finishing the table runner! And I loved the stack and whack project from year before last so much that I made enough blocks that I had completely pieced a queen sized top before the week was out. And I finished it after I got home!!!! I'm still slow about doing things. I have chronic pain issues with a neck and shoulder injury and fibromyalgia. But I can't stop buying fabrics and so I have to sew or I'll have to add on a fabric shed next. LOL My next project is a quilt for my grandson in oranges, blues and greens... his choices, not mine, but I'm sure it will be great, I'll use gray for bindings, bands if I have them and backing. I'm thinking of the Mango Tango pattern but perhaps with banding.

Covered in Threads

My father was the quilter in our family. He also taught many young sailors how to do repairs and sew on patches, also! My mother was more into the embroidery, knitting and clothing sewing. So I was touched by both areas of sewing in my youth. As a teenager I had an amazing Home Ec Teacher that encouraged all of us to find an interest and build on it. This I did in so many different ways - painting, cooking, sculpting, and sewing. Over the years I found others were interested in what I could do with a sewing machine and needle with thread, needless to say I have done alterations, home furnishings, and so many others crafty things. My true love I found was in making stuffed animals and found that local fabric stores didn't carry "good" furs to work with and their patterns were more cartoonish in my oppinion. At this time I was also trying to quit smoking. My mother sent me a teddy bear pattern in the hopes of keeping my hands busy but to be honest I was not overly impressed with the pattern so I changed it. Now this was over 30 years ago and since then I have developed a long line of animal patterns, designed a number of formal dress patterns for our daughters along with our oldest daughter's wedding dress. Quilting was not in the picture but I did admire them. My father was still alive at this time, collecting second clothing, sewing bits and pieces together to make "Double Wedding Ring", "Log Cabins", "Dakota Stars", "Scrappy Patches", "Drunkard Pathes" just to name a few. When I visited him, I would always see one in progress, mounted on a wooden frame that was suspended from the family room ceiling. When company came over he would put on the coffee, set up folding chairs and then drop down the frame to lap height. He always had plenty of thimbles, needles, thread and patience for all that came over to shot the breeze. You could either sew or not but he would be busy sewing along whenever company came around. He managed to finish a queen-size quilt every winter for the Seniors at his church. I never did get one done by him for myself, though I whined about it often. A few years after he past I met a dear new friend at a craft show and she was admiring some of the "art" wall hangings I was doing at the time. She brought me to her booth and showed me some photos and quilts done by a local quilt quild. She encouraged me to come to a open class night being done with her guild as her quest. All I could picture at this time is a bunch of "old people" sitting around a wooden frame or two, sipping coffee, joking, and catching up with each other. Well I did show up, was taught how to hand sew a landscape art quilt using scraps. I had so much fun, meeting others, admiring their work during show n tell and enjoying the diversity of the group of women, young girls and a few brave men. Next thing I know I'm getting involved. Became the coordinator for the community service quilts & projects that this amazing group did every year. Then somewhere along the line I became the president of Guild. I for one can tell you how skeptical I was at first but if you haven't attended a guild meeting you all really should and be prepared to be surprised. The things I've learned, the shared talents, the variety that comes from one simple workshop or class. Though they for the most part are quilters they all love what fabrics and thread can do and how they help us all express and find the artist side within them all. I for one am certainly hooked and have so much more to learn. God willing I will be doing this for years to come and someday I will make a quilt for my hubby and I to enjoy. I keep giving them away to those that need them more then I do at this time.
And to all of you I for one love all the stories and the tremendous amount of shared information that comes from this forum.

wildyard

PS: My quilts will always be tied or machine quilted in the simplest way, due to my physical limitations. And they will always be utility quilts, as that's the kind I love. I only want to make something to be loved and used. No showcases for me, and that's ok. I do it for the love, and that's all that matters.

pollyjvan9

Just finished reading all the stories and am amazed by how similar we all are. My mother was the oldest daughter of 12 children and since my Grandmother preferred to work in the fields with my Granddad and the rest of the children, as they got old enough, she was a little mother and housewife from a very early age. She was sewing as a very little girl and continued to sew for other people well into her 80's. She let me sew doll clothes out of scraps from the time I was about 4 or 5 years old. Still have one of those doll dresses.

Anyway, I got married young, had 3 children, when to work full time in the late 70's, making clothes for myself and my children, as well as all kind of home dec projects.

Widowed at 47, lost interest in sewing, children grown, wonderful grandkids arrived but I really didn't sew for them. Then...Feb. 3, 2002 my youngest grandchild was born with many problems. Deaf, coloboma, no vision in one eye, inability to swallow, bi-lateral clef pallet and unilateral cleft lip. When he did swallow his secretions usually went straight to his lungs which resulted in 30 or 31 pneumonias before his death Feb 3, 2008.

During one of his frequent hospital stays I saw a small sensory blanket (about 12" square) but they wanted $36 for it so I went home that night and made one for him and several extra which my daughter promptly gave away to mothers she had gotten acquainted with in the hospital. I have made dozens of these in the past few years. All babies love them, not just special needs children. When he needed hearing aids we didn't have enough money to buy the type he needed, so we started making purses. Sold many! Never want to make another purse! The hearing aids didn't really help him.

What saved his life and gave us a few more wonderful years with him was a Tracheostomy but he was in the hospital for 2 months that time. He came home from the hospital on a Wednesday and on that weekend my mother had some kind of an episode, not a stroke according to doctors, but that's how she acted. Later diagnosed with alzheimers. I moved in with her that weekend to care for her. In the second year she started sleeping so much of the time I had to have something to do. I couldn't leave her alone because she fell a lot and she did try to wander off a time or two before I put alarms on the doors.

I started to quilt...
have cried while making many projects since my Mom died in
the spring of 2007,
kept myself sane while grieving for my grandson since
Feb. 2008.

Still crying, still quilting.