ellid | Five questions meme, courtesy of Fabularasa

fabularasa gave me five questions, and here they are, with answers. If anyone wants five questions from me, let me know, I'll ask, and then post questions and answers in your LJ if you like.

1. What started your interest in quilting/fabrics/textile work? Were you really young, do you have a first memory about it, and if so what was it? Give me the whole thing.

My mother gave me a kiddie "learn to embroider" kit for Christmas when I was eight. I was doing adult-quality work by the time I was twelve, and I started to quilt when I found a book about how to teach one's self to quilt when I was 21. The interest in medieval textiles began when I joined the SCA back in 1988, and the ~~obsession~~ interest in medieval quilting in 1992 when someone said, with a condescending sneer, "Oh, they didn't have quilts in the Middle Ages!"

Guess I showed 'em. ;)

2. What's the most painful thing you ever had to watch someone else go through? Can be as simple as a misfunctioning turnstile or as complex as a death.

Long-term painful? My mother's struggle with Alzheimer's. It was heartbreaking, and the worst of it was that she'd given my aunt her power of attorney so I was helpless to intervene when it came to getting her into a drug trial or a nursing home where she would have been treated properly. As it was, Betty kept her at home far longer than she should have and never forgave me for "not helping out" by moving back to Pittsburgh, even though she never once told me how bad things were.

Short-term? Hm. Probably seeing someone very close to me have a nervous breakdown. No details, but it was quite horrible.

3. What did you read on the flight to and from Italy? (it's like you're being stalked. . . .)

To Italy: one of J.D. Robb's deliciously fun In Death mysteries. J.D. Robb is actually Nora Roberts, and the In Death books are the best things she does: hot, funny, and totally unlike her usual romance novels. Plus, Lieutenant Eve Dallas kicks serious butt :D

On the way back: Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy, a chilling look at how the combination of oil, right-wing religiosity, and debt is damaging our society. I also read an Irish financial magazine someone had left in the seat pocket in front of me.

4. If you could get in a time machine for one day, and go anywhere, where/when would it be?

What a question! One day? Argh....

If I wanted to see history, I'd love to see Elizabeth I's Tilbury speech. If I wanted to change something in my own life, I'd go back and change my major to history with a minor in art history.

5. What's you most secretest ambition, the one you never tell people?

My most secret ambition is to someday be a minister.