My Mom always said "I learned how to sew before I could walk" because I crawled unto the foot pedal of my dad's mother's treadle sewing machine and got it going. Then I climbed up onto the machine and promptly ran the needle through my finger. Needless to say, My Mom was pretty upset. But I did almost every kind of sewing and craft at sometime in my life. Now I am quilting, when I can find the time. Retirement was supposed to be easy. LOL!!!!
Ann

My baby sitter taught me embroidery at a very young age and that was how I got into quilting. In 1989 I had gone to an embroidery shop for some supplies and spotted a Patchwork shop in the same village. It looked so bright and cheerful that I had to go in and the rest is history. Maggi

I started to sew in high school. And have always enjoyed it I worked making hunting and fishing clothes. Then my sister got me in to quilting about 5 years ago and that is all she wrote. I have always enjoyed doing crafts of any kind

My earliest memory of anything to do with sewing is as a very nosey 4 year old who sat and watched my Maternal Grandmother at her treadle machine. She was a seamstress and made wedding clothes for the brides and the grooms. I was fascinated by it all and eventually Grandma gave me scraps and a needle and let me go with it. As for quilting, I guess I married into that. My DH's mother is an expert hand quilter who lives in Iowa and has quilted with her group of ladies for years. On one of our vacation visits from Saudi Arabia she showed me the ropes, so to speak, of hand quilting. My first project was place mats. Before returning to Saudi I bought a bunch of fabric,books,rulers,thread,batting....you get the idea. I went back loaded with ideas and information and the beginnings of a stash.

Thus began my journey into the quilting world. Over the years I have had a Singer, a Viking, a Huscavarna and then my first Bernina-Artista 140. Just last year I bought a Bernina 440QE and I love it a whole bunch. The BSR is great. As you can figure out I became a machine quilter. I have pieced many baby quilts, but the first and best was for my first Grandson. Over the years I have made many quilts for my "Grands" and daughters. I have ventured into art quilts in the past few years and find it is the most fun of all.

I am excited about where this will take me from here. TQS has stoked the fires and gifted me with many new ideas. I feel blessed to be a part of a community of quilters who are the friendliest group of people in the world. Thanks to blogging and the forum I share with each of you in your passion for quilting each day. The information exchange is unbeatable and oh so stimulating to the creative souls we share. I thank you all for your gracious welcome to this world. Karen

I got interested in quilting when my Uncle John's partner Peter, showed us the quilts he was working on. He pieced during the summer months and in the winter would set up the big frame and hand quilt all winter. BTW he hand pieced and cut out all of his quilts the old fashioned way.
Well, my SIL was expecting her first and I figured I'd give it a whirl, who knew it would lead to this?
I myself was not about to piece a quilt by hand, but I did quilt it by hand. Unfortunately, I think she thought that it was too precious to use. The last time I saw the quilt it hardly looked like it had been touched and that baby is now 12 yrs old!
I stopped for a few years due to time and money constraints, but am going strong now with 2 BOM's on the go, plus other projects as well.

Jean in Windsor, ON

I always loved quilts, But in 1996 I had gotten sick with EBV and was home from work for 8 months and I started watching the Simply Quilts program I think the hosts name was Alex Anderson, LOL and then I was really hooked. I was going to make my mom & dad a quilt well I did not do too bad but I did not know how to do the boarder so it sat for 12 years and it is still 1 of my UFO`s, I keep saying I`m going to finish that before I start my next project, well I`m collecting fabric for the Kaleidoscope quilt now so maybe after that . So it was Alex that got me hooked...Jean

When my hubby and I were dating, we stopped at a quilt store and were just fascinated with the quilts. My then fiance crazily enough, walked out with a brand new Bernina, and decided he was going to learn to quilt.

We got married shortly after (I tell everyone that's why I married him to get that Bernina ) and that machine sat untouched for 4 years. Then one day I decided I would learn to quilt! I was terrified of using the rotary cutter though, so I took a beginner class. Just one. Haven't looked back since.

Have you "Tinkled" today?

I started sewing in high school in home ec. I started quilting when I was 24 years old. 1980 My Aunt Mildred got me hooked into quilting. Then grandmaw Lorean would always visit and stay a week or two afew times a year and we would all sew together. Their sister Milly owned a drapery buisness in Cincinnati and she would give us her scrap fabrics and she let us sew in her shop on Sundays,She had huge tables. My grandmother Lorean and aunts Mildred & Milly have passed away. It was always fun sitting around sewing and chatting catching up on all the latest. We didn't have alot of money back in those years,so all the scrap fabrics were great. It was many years before I got really serious about quilting and wanted to learn all that I could,heck with cutting paper templates with sciccors- intro: rotary blades, mats,templates,books,great machine, many great shows of simply quilts and ect. I started building a stash and finally got a sewing room and I haven't stopped since. There were afew years break inbetween raising two beautiful daughters Cinda 29 & Trisha 24. Cinda got married and started sewing at the same age I started and she joined a guild in N.C. learnt alot and has taught me alot. I think she started out just like Bridget never a beginner,Advanced in the beginnings. Trisha started quilting at 21,doesn't get much time with three little ones,Cinda doesn't either with work. I have learnt alot from Cinda,Simply Quilts, Alex,Ricky,Eleanor Burns, many more I can't even begin to name. I owe alot of my growth to TQS.
I Love Quilting and I know with out a doubt that I will be quilting as long as I'm possibly able.
Kathy

I think I've related my beginning story somewhere else in the forum. But here it goes again. I grew up sewing. Like someone else said, I don't remember not doing it. I sewed all my clothes through school. When DH and I got married we didn't have a pot to p*** in or a window to throw it out. When the kids started coming, I cut up our old clothes and made their clothes. As things got better, I started buying fabric to sew but never gave a thought to quilting. In 2001, we moved into our present house. One of the rooms had a wallpaper border with stars. I went to the "fabric store" to find some star fabric. That was the first time I entered a quilt shop The ladies working that day showed me a sampler book that had star blocks in it, helped me pick out fabric, gave me some pointers and the rest is history. It's like this is what all that other sewing was practice for.
Gloria

I was working in the finance department of an insurance company when I was in my 20's. While delivering a document to another department, the secretary there asked me if I'd like to see what she was working on. She showed me 3 blocks she had made in a class. That was it! I had to learn how to do it. I found a class through our local city Rec program and haven't stopped quilting since. This was close to 30 years ago. In those days we made templates, cut out individual pieces, and had very few options in fabric. There were maybe 3 books to choose from: Jinny Beyer's book, Ruby McKim's book, and Quilters Newsletter. Our tools consisted of Gingher scissors, cardboard, graph paper (we drafted!!) and a sewing machine. Thanks for helping me remember the excitement I felt during those early years.
Barbara

I had a baby-sitter that taught me to sew on a trendle machine. When I was 13, I bought a pattern and made am outfit using my mom's sewing machine while she was in the hospital having my baby brother. When I got married I had my first sewing machiine--a cheap Kenmore--I love that machine--I sewed everyday of that year with it. In 1995 I had my first grandchild due and made my first quilt--I am quite embrassed by it, but he loved it. Haven't quit quilting since.

I was fortunate to have a mom that taught me how to use her sewing machine, gave me fabric and thread, and said, "Have fun - I'll be right here if you have problems." Then she let me sew to my heart's content - doll clothes, mostly - without ever criticizing or making me rip anything out. I made many of my own clothes in high school and my wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses in college. When my 2 kids were small, I made many of their clothes, including flannel shirts for my son, who liked the satin that I faced the collar bands with. Several sets of curtains and drapes and many odd projects followed as the kids got older, along with more clothes for me. (I just remembered the navy blue leisure suit I made for my husband - yuck! The wool sportcoat a few years later was better.) My sister actually took up quilting about 10 years ago and started a quilt for my 25th anniversayry. Her circumstances changed, and she gave it to me partially finished, and the process of completing it was what got me hooked. I still do lots of other sewing (grandkid clothes and toys, home dec, etc.) but really love quilting.

My mother and grandmother both sewed and crocheted, but did not quilt. My mother had four daughters--I'm the fourth--before she had two sons. She sewed and smocked most of our dresses, and also made lots of clothes for our dolls.

Honestly, I don't remember being taught or learning how to sew, just like I don't remember learning how to walk. I'm guessing I must have started pretty young. All of my sisters also sewed, but only two of us really took it on as a hobby. My sister, Janet, even took tailoring classes and became quite an expert sewer. She taught me some tailoring techniques, but she stopped sewing as an adult. By junior high school, I made lots of my own clothes. During high school and college, I continue sewing for myself and others. I earned money by making bridesmaid dresses and party dresses for friends. I enjoyed making dresses for my nieces.

My great-grandmother was a quilter. So, when I got married, she made a quilt for me as a wedding gift. That sparked my interest in quilts, but I didn't make a quilt until many years later. I never made quilts for either of my own two baby boys

When my brother was expecting his first child, a quilter coworker suggested that I make a Rail Fence baby quilt as a gift. I had no quilting knowledge or experience, but used my sewing skills to make the quilt and I handquilted it. No rotary cutters, no 1/4" seams, no quilting thread/needles and I doubled up the batting to make it extra thick and warm. No wonder why it was so difficult to quilt, but it actually looked pretty good.

I continued occasionally making baby quilts, learning more from Simply Quilts, books and quilter friends. However, it wasn't until I attended my first quilt show in 2004 that I fell head over heels in love with quilts and everything quilt related. Shortly thereafter, I joined the guild that had put on the quilt show.

It wasn't until after joining the guild that I considered myself a quilter. To me, membership in a quilt guild was essential to hone my quilting knowledge and skill. Also, the friendships I've made there have been invaluable.

I have been sewing since jr. high when I could finally take a Home Ec class. My mom sewed but I was child #4 and she was too busy then to help me. It just came naturally tho.

I sewed clothes and purses and curtains for my bedroom at home.

When I got married in '83, I sewed more and enjoyed making winter coats. In '85 I was expecting dd and heard of a sale on Bernina machines. A few ladies at church said that was the best brand! So I got a 930 and the special was the free serger with it. That really made my sewing explode! And then our baby born the next month was a girl! She had a new outfit for church nearly every week!

It was mid 86 or so that I started quilting.

I still like to make clothes but don't stop often to do that!

I moved up to an 1130 (which I still have), wandered astray to a Babylock Esante' (dd uses it now), and now have a Bernina 200.

And now my dd is a student at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago... in Fashion Design. See, I created a monster!

Joyce