Six years ago, after selling quilting fabric for over a decade, I had the feeling I needed to sell everything in my shop and take a break. The feeling was the kind that only comes from the Holy Spirit and I was floored. I had worked to grow my business, had employees, and the income was a significant part of providing for our family. Scared, I did it anyway, but I could not bring myself to let my employees go. In my prayers, I asked if this was actually His guidance, to find each of the wonderful women who worked for me a better position and one by one they each came to me over the next six weeks and told me they had found an opportunity they couldn’t resist. On December 31st, my shop had no employees and nearly no fabric. It felt like I was white knuckling my way into the new year of 2020.
Two months later, the world started to get a little weird and three months later everything got turned on it’s head. My kids were home from school, my husband was working from home, restaurants only offered takeout, and the only little bit of normalcy was in my sewing room. After six years of our constantly sold out Inside Voices club (curated low volume fat quarters for quilting), I had a rather large stash of low volume fabrics and nothing to do. So I started chain piecing a quilt I could see in my head in between stitching masks for drs and first responders. And the resulting quilt is still an all time favorite. I named her Limerick because she’s a twist on a green Irish Chain. I immediately had requests for kits and patterns.
Soon after, I made my first Denim and Lace and then Sonnet and Lyric. I stitched all my stress out of myself as we wondered about the economy and the changes and what it all meant for the future. By the end of the year, I somehow had my fabric shop back but it was just my family and our only offerings were kits. We were and still are so grateful.
The changes helped me realize something that had been pestering me for years before the change. While many, many women loved their fabric and quickly used it, for an equal amount of women the fabric with no plan had become a bit of a nagging weight, complicated by guilt, frustration, and overwhelm. By offering kits, I saw so many women start sewing again after years of feeling a little lost in their fabric stashes. I finally felt like my values were aligned. I wasn’t selling clutter, I was offering an heirloom, hope, a new skill, confidence, and a way to keep your hands busy when life feels insurmountable.
Now I create quilt kits for women who love the idea of a two color quilt but want something maybe a little scrappier with a little more sparkle. I offer my unique designs in kits that are open and go, skipping the overwhelming part of quilting where you have to make 10,000 yes/no choices and you can get to the part where you are making beautiful things and seeing progress. Within a year, I realized I was selling ten quilt kits for every individual pattern I sold and the women making the kits were so much happier than those who bought the patterns. After a few issues we ended up ending our patterns all together, focusing entirely on making beautiful kits in every color of the rainbow (and neutrals!) for busy women who just want to make beautiful quilts.
If that sounds like you, WELCOME. We are so glad you are here. Our kits are released in seasonal colors and we try and keep a few favorites returning each month. Our shop is just me, my husband, my kids, my mom and a family friend. This space is for me to share doable quilt projects, cozy reads, and a few favorites that other whimsical women may love to romanticize your day to day. If you dream of stacks of quilts, stacks of books, and whispers of whimsy, you’ve found the right spot. <3 thanks for being here!
PS: you can find my Welcome mat that brings me joy and is WASHABLE here. This is my fifth rug from this company and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
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