Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

[Miss Sheri]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

My name is Sheri McCleery and I'm a total Newbie. I ran a preschool for 10 years and am used to the title, "Miss Sheri". Now I'm a school cook at my children's High School in Utah. I have 4 children and a wonderful husband who all like to fish, hike, bike, play basketball, read, and tease. When my first son was born, [he only lived 45 days] his great-grandma made him a beautiful white quilt with a ducky pull toy appliqued on it. I have wanted to learn to quilt ever since. I am one of 8 kids, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and transplanted to Utah. My incredible mother sewed for all of us, made my oldest brother a suit for when he turned 12, and made my Wedding Dress off of a handful of photo's I sent her with design aspects off of several different dresses. She fitted it to my younger sister during the entire process, first fitting on me was two days before the wedding! It was perfect! She is one of my heros. I find I am LOVING piecing the quilt tops, but I am a big chicken when it comes to the quilting part. I can't afford to have my hobby, only to send them all out to be quilted, I MUST learn to complete them myself. The one time I tried FMQ, I got the feed dogs lowered but didn't quite understand the thread tensioning bit. After completeing about a 12" square, I took a peek at the back, where I found a strange "fur" of about 1/2" long thread loops all over ~ whoops! LOL. I'm having a blast. Other loves include, reading, gardening, and making handmade cards. Thank you all for your kindness in making me feel so welcome here.

[Evilynn]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi all, hi newbies!

I had a very good time eating chocolate and reading all of your introductions. What? Chocolate is not good? How can something that tastes so good not be good...? Hrm.

AnyWAY. My name real name is Steffie, I am 34 years old and was born and raised in Germany, Rosenheim (near Munich). At the age of 31 I met my husband online, in one of those bad bad shooter games. Both of us are gamers, we enjoy MMORPGs (hi Anna!! ), Shooters, but nowadays we are hooked to League of Legends. I do not quite know what the Genrename is. Doesn't matter! We love the game, but not the community there (which is mostly teenagers and you know... teenagers on the internet.. well different story.)
I use my screen name or nickname since 10 years for online gaming and writing gaming related articles. I was a newsposter for a shooter-gaming-team for a while which was quite awesome because it was a paid thing. I got to go for free to LANs (they paid for the flights and the hotel!) and I always had a blast there! If you know who He-Man is then you also know who Evi-Lyn is ... I use a better looking variation. Dee recognized my nickname and sometimes she makes He-Man related jokes which I personally find pretty hilarious!
My husband Juha who is Finnish made me leave good ol' Germany for Finland. I've been living here for nearly 2 years now. My Finnish skills are not very good yet because the language is a pain to learn. So many vocals... the Swedes here know what I am talking about! Together Juha and I have a daughter, now 6 months old. Her name is Janna. She is the best that has happened to both of us ever (apart from us meeting each other of course ). She is such a sunshine! Everybody just loves her because she is always happy and always smiling! Yes, I am a bit proud of her

I started quilting some months ago after stumbling across Jennys Babyquilt tutorial (the 4 parted one). I am still at the very beginning. I have made some Baby quilts for Janna, my cousins baby and the kids of my friend. Currently I am hooked on making small projects, such as totes and coasters/mug rugs.

What I want to add before I say thanks for reading is that this forum is the most wonderful place in the internet that I have ever found. All the people here are truly awesome. You won't want to leave again, I promise! This is addictive!

Thanks for reading

Hugs, Steffie

[Renate]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi again,
I always come back and come back to this thread and read who you are, where you from, what do you tell us from yourself and all around you, thanks for sharing a little part of your life with us.
I meet so many nice people here, but nobody from Switzerland. Maybe one day ...

[Mirandouli]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi everyone, I've just joined the online forum and I look forward to lots of fun and new friends on here.
My name is Miranda and I am an Australian who is living "off shore" as an expat - it was supposed to be 3 years, now 4 countries and 16 years later....my husband George and I have an 11 year old adopted daughter who lives with us in Singapore and a 32 year old son who lives in Australia.
I started quilting when I was 18 but gave up as (like many) I started on a Queens size quilt as a FIRST project. laugh! It eventually was finished a few years ago. My sister is the real quilter in the family, I'd watched her produce quilt after quilt and when I was in Jakarta, I started teaching quilting before I'd ever made my own full quilt. Laugh. I now teach privately and am in love with making bags and I make "Care Quilts" for friends with major illnesses, cancer, stroke etc, or Major calamity victims like the Japan Tsunami and Christchurch earthquakes. It's unbelievable but after all these years I have yet to make ONE QUILT and keep for myself. Maybe my next project.
My 11 year old quilts and makes gorgeous handbags that she sells (saving for her university fees). I was self taught, but she has had me as a hard task master and her work is to die for.
My passion is to find short cut and easy ways of doing things. I was called "a perfectionist" the other day and I nearly fell off my chair laughing. If only!!! Perfection is for quilt shows and I'm never going to be an entrant.
For my birthday I asked my husband to take our daughter and the dogs out for the day so I could have ONE WHOLE DAY OF UNINTERRUPTED QUILTING. What a blissful luxury that was....... A rarity - a day to myself and my Bernina.
By the way my husband calls my quilting "your knitting and stuff" to tease me. He says he can never understand why quilters buy perfectly good material, cut it all up and stitch it all back together again, when it was perfectly good in the first place! MEN!!
I recently followed Jenny's tutorial on Jacob's Ladder and made two reversible dual colourway His and Hers quilts to give to friends in New Zealand. When I arrived there, I found they lived on a stretch called Jacobs Ladder. I nearly died!! I was beyond coincidence

[welshsewer]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi all
Just joined from Swansea in Wales UK. This isn't a good start, didn't know which of the two sticky posts to introduce myself on, sorry if its the wrong one.
I have always sewn and until recently ran my own (small) bag making business.
I first became interested in patchwork and quilting when I lived in Blacksburg, Virginia and number of years ago, but have only recently started doing any myself.

[kml1764]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi All,

My name is Kris, and quilting has only come into my line of vision the past couple of weeks...but oh, it has hit me hard. Today, I took my first big step in buying my first sewing machine. I blame it all on Jenny Doan. I came upon her tutorials when I was looking to sew some aprons, and as I discovered her other youtube tutorials...I became more and more entranced.

I'm 48 and single. Live now in Bradenton, Florida, just north of Sarasota and South of Tampa. My "roommates" are my four kitties (Max, Jax, Alex and Dixie). I'm originally from Long Island, NY, but moved to Florida in 2000 to be closer to my mom.

I'm a tax preparer that actually works year-round, but part-time May - Dec. I enjoy doing it, but it can be stressful at times. quilting definitely looks like something that I can do to relax. I have a sister that lives in NY with my nephew, and an older sister in Germany who is expecting her first granddaughter who I am thinking of different baby quilt ideas. My head is just spinning with so many things that can be created with quilting.

I already feel like I'm addicted, and I've started! Also, I've never been on a forum that has been so welcoming! So thank you all! And Keep sharing!

Kris

[Eileen83flowers]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi all
Im Eileen and I havent been in the group long at all.
I married 8 years ago (after previously being married for 24 years) we have 2 sons and 2 daughters between us, we are very lucky that all the family get on with each other.
I have 3 beautiful Grandaughters who I dont get too see often enough as they live accross the country 120 miles away so time spent with them is very special.
I work 2 days a week in a florist, I enjoy the work and love creating designs for our customers.
When Im at home I like to do baking - cakes and muffins are my favourites to make.
I was bought a sewing machine for Christmas, Ive never owned one before but wanted to be able to make something usefull that I would enjoy making. After much researching I came accross M* and started watching the tutorials.
I made my first basic quilt by using 5" squares and putting a border around the outer edge, I was really pleased with it and at the moment I am doing a dissapearing 9 patch, its not perfect but Ive read somewhere on here that it doesnt have to be so thats ok with me.
My main problem is finding a quilt shop locally, i will keep looking on the internet, I really envy those who can purchase from M* as they have lovely fabrics.
Ive loved reading this thread and getting to know you all, thankyou for sharing all your knowledge.
Happy quilting !

[Threadneedlestreet]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

hi Annika i am new to this Quilting Group I have family in Sweden Stockholm ...I live near LONDON. My brother and his two daughters live and work in Stockholm.

[petpainter]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi I'm Sally- just joined today, so here's a little about me. I am 56 and have been a garment sewer since I was 14. I always said when I retired, I would use all my scraps (unknown to me they had to be cotton) and would become a quilter. I am medically (MS) retired now, so a year ago I made my first quilt. It was a full size Mckenna Ryan applique. I always seem to start with the hardest and work backwards! I have a lot of UFO's from my guild classes and am trying to finish those this year. My parent don't drive anymore, so a lot of my time is driving to appts, and grocery shopping for them. My username is petpainter as I love animals and oil painting. I have a new boy- a Great Dane, Zeus- he's a Mama's boy and just the sweetest ever. My last two Danes I had for 15 years!! I also have a 36 year old Son, and a wonderful Boyfriend that supports my hobbies. I love all the tutorials from Missouri Quilt Co, and thought it was time to get more involved!

[50Granny14]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

I am a newbie ... been here only a month or so. My name is Lorri and I currently reside in IA. I am a widowed 53 year old with 5 children and 14 grandchildren. I am NOT a newbie to quilting as my great granny taught me to quilt when I was 8 or 9, also using a treadle machine. I have sewn most of my life, and fell back into quilting about a year and a half ago when I made the choice to give each of my children, their spouses, and all 14 of my grandchildren a quilt for their birthday (what a big project that turned out to be). In the meantime, I was asked by several people to make a quilt for them. One thing lead to the other and the most prominent request was for quilts for cancer patients (mostly breast cancer).

I am also a two-time cancer survivor so I accommodated the requests as quickly as I could. I enjoy giving to others and I felt that monetary payment was inappropriate, so I made the decision to NEVER charge anyone for a cancer ribbon awareness lap quilt. The very first one I made I needed a pattern so I turned to Jenny for inspiration. I took her tutorial video pattern and modified it to fit my needs. Now I only change it for the colors and sometimes for the size.

My great granny often said "God gave you one mouth and two ears, so listen twice as often as you speak." I do listen to people and when I hear that someone has cancer, I offer to pray for them and then get some information (respecting their privacy and only asking for a first name and type of cancer). From there I go to the store and purchase the flannel fabric and the first free 8 hours I have, I devote to making them a lap quilt. As anonymously as I can, I present the quilt to the person I originally spoke to and ask that they give it to the cancer patient along with a "Hope" note. It makes my heart sing just knowing there is a moment of peace for these people when it can sometimes be the most traumatic time of their life and their families lives. (I currently have 8 waiting).

So between all of the cancer ribbon quilts, I quilt to relax, making whatever pattern comes to me in the middle of the night. I also work at the local hospital full time and I am currently teaching my 3 year old grandson to quilt.

Next ...

[MrsT2u]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

HOWDY! from San Antonio, TX! Welcome to the forum and let us get to know you better by joining one of our fabric swaps and small project exchanges. We love to use Jenny's tutorials to learn and develop our skills, too. Again, welcome to the world of M* quilting!

[Over40momma]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hello to everyone. My real name is Sandy (Sandra, but I only got that from my mom when I was in deep trouble) and I live in Ontario, Canada. My life is enriched with a dear and tolerant husband along with our 2 beautiful daughters, ages 15 and 11. Yes, I was a late bloomer.
I have only been sewing a couple of years and just recently have been enamoured by the tutorials I have seen of Jenny and quilting. My mom sewed constantly, knitted, crocheted and basically was a whiz with anything involving fabric, thread, or wool!! I used to sit to watch her work and listened (though I had no real interest....shame on me) but it was always beautiful to watch how something come to life under her hand. I inherited a sewing machine (an electronic Singer) from a sister who passed away and started finishing some of the projects she had started. Newbie would be a very generous term for me......I still have to read the instructions to fill my bobbin.
So let me say how thankful I am to find this wonderful place to learn more from all of you.

[Mary Ann]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Mary Ann here from St. Louis MO. I've been a sewer for as many years as I can remember, with long periods of dormancy. Started back last fall when a friend of mine wanted to make a baby quilt. She doesn't really sew, so she enlisted me. That got me started researching and I've been hooked ever since. I'm almost 60, married with no kids, 3 dogs. Almost always had something going on - knitting, weaving, sewing, cross stitch during my "country" phase. At the moment its all about the quilt, with a little knitting thrown in. I'm kind of an "all-in" type, so my knowledge of quilting far exceeds my skill. My interest currently is contemporary quilts - leaning toward modern. I haunt the forums daily soaking up all the info that's out there.

[Time2Quilt]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hi everyone! I am a newbie as of this morning! I have recently discovered Jenny's YouTube tutorials and just love them...this brought me to the website, of course. I am 53 years old and have three sons (aged 21-28)--only one left to finish college--thank heaven. I have no grandchildren yet--just grand-puppies! I am a nurse who has migrated to medical device and pharma arena and am HUGELY burnt out! The boys and I lost their father to skin cancer 5yrs ago, so had to work hard to support the family. Just remarried to a wonderful man who is helping me transition from a workaholic---lol---& who supports my major FABRIC ADDICTION. Although I first started quilting when the boys were small, I have recently re-ignited my love of quilting (my husband got me a new Baby Lock quilting machine!! Yippppeeeee! ). I love the traditional quilts, but am growing to love modern quilting as well. The biggest change I noticed is the opportunities the world wide web has given us---I love sharing & chatting with quilters from around the world! How cool is that? MSQC--LOVE your site! Thanks! Cindy L. (Time2Quilt)

[sandfran]

Re: Let's tell all our newbies a thing or two...

Hallo Moni, es sind auch einige Deutsche hier, die Dir bestimmt bei Übersetzungen helfen können! Ich helfe gern, wenn ich kann (und Zeit habe, denn ich habe 2 kleine Kinder - knapp 2 und knapp 4J.) Ich bin erst seit ein paar Tagen hier und liebe dieses Forum bereits innig.
Herzliche Grüße von Sandra

Hello Moni, there are a few German speaking people here that will surely help you with translations. I will help you of course, if I have the time (I have two small kids, almost 2 and almost 4 years old). I am only here since a couple of day but already love this forum a lot.
Best wishes from Sandra