How Did You Get Started Quilting?

I always am intrigued by how quilters got into this wonderful hobby. Did you start at an early age? Were your mothers and/or grandmothers quilters? Did a TV show spark an interest? A friend?

In my own case, my mother and both grandmothers were quilters. Of course back then, it was all by hand so it never interested me. I did sew a lot starting at about age 12 and I always saved my scraps from making clothes so I could make a quilt "someday" (Lol!). My first quilt I started in my mid-20's but never finished it (decades later I zigzagged the edges and it became a dog bed - Rex loved it)! For the next 20 years or so, I made a few quilts - nothing spectacular. 

During the summer of 2005 while helping my mom clear out boxes in her garage, I ran across a bunch of hand-embroidered squares made by ladies from the rural community (Silver Star) where my mom grew up. I snuck them home with the idea that I would make a quilt for my mom for Christmas. It turned out to be quite the ordeal to put them together as none of the blocks were the same size but there were enough plain squares to use to fill in the missing parts! Sadly, my mom passed away before the quilt was finished but we draped the top over her casket. 

After my mom passed, I began piecing like a mad woman - I guess it was part of my grieving process - and I became hooked. But I either tied the quilts or used my domestic machine to quilt and I was never happy with the results. Then I saw a PBS program on longarm quilting (I believe it was a Linda Taylor program) and knew that I wanted to do that. About the same time, I joined a group of wonderful women who taught me so much about quilting. As they say, the rest is history.

So let me know how you got started in this wild and wacky world of cutting up perfectly good fabric and sewing it back together. I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Quilting!

Elaine