I am a self-taught quilter. At about seven years-old, my mother taught me how to sew. Since she was a seamstress, watching her sew became very familiar to me. She didn't trust me with her sewing machine for a long time, so I had a lot of time perfecting my hand-stitching.
It was a few years later that I was allowed to used her sewing machine. I had made a lot of Barbie doll clothes but not ever a quilt.
In high school, one of the requirements was to take a Home Economics class. I had decided to chose "Clothing I" because I thought it would be easy. I had done so well, I had won an Academic Achievement Award for that class, which was followed by awards in "Clothing II," and "Clothing III." I was also an active participant in all of the Art classes and have also won more awards.
I had entered college to study Interior Design because it was a field that totally about fabric. From a suggestion from a professor, I switched my major to Architecture, and that is where I fell in love with drafting.
I guess that explains why I love quiltmaking so much. It puts together the creative "artsy-fartsy geek" in me with my love of sewing and fabric. And I can also draft my own designs! It wasn't until I was pregnant with my first child that I made my first quilt.
Because my mom had made me learn to hand-sew before machine-sew, most of my quilts were hand-pieced and hand-quilted. I am so comfortable with it. I do use my sewing machine, a lot, but I still use many of the basic "old-school" tools in sewing/quilting. I have to confess: I have yet to use a rotary cutter on any of my quilts.
I am a rotary cutter virgin!!
Today, I am attempting more up-to-date procedures, particularly, machine-quilting is next on my list.
I try to sew and quilt daily and I hope what I am doing will inspire other quilters.
