Hi friends! I realized when I was prepping for market that I haven't properly told the full story of Sewn. It has been 10 years of my little business and wow has it changed! Where I started is so different from where I'm going! I thought it might be fun to do a little introduction for those that aren't aware of my story. Plus I'd love to share a little more about what's coming next! Let's dive in!
2016-2018
Late in 2016 I quit my job as an interior designer and started working at a small business that was centered around hosting markets for other small businesses in town. While at the Christmas market I was so inspired by all the makers. I wanted to get back to my roots of making things myself! I started Sewn and began making baby shoes, Christmas stockings, custom quilts and Easter Baskets. It was a lot of hours. I discovered the world of Modern Quilting specifically and fell in love with the idea of designing my own quilts. I wrote my first pattern, The Desert Flight Pillow as a test run.
2018-2020
I wrote my first quilt pattern, Effort & Ease and decided to make it a free pattern that people could download when you join my email list. I took Immersion with Bonnie Christine for the first time because I had always been infatuated with fabrics being from the world of Interior Design. I had no idea that surface pattern design existed as an industry and was immediately in love with it. (I know I've fallen in love a lot so far!)
By the end of the course I had designed my first mini collection and opened up a Spoonflower shop. At the same time I designed two more quilt patterns, Italian Tiles and Origami. In the spring of 2018 we also found out we were expecting twin boys! Everything shifted - I knew I couldn't keep making handmade goods. It takes too much time and ultimately people just aren't will to pay what they should for handmade quilt. The boys were born in January of 2019 and I took a full year to just get my feet back underneath myself.
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2020-2022
Obviously being stuck at home with one year old twins was insane. But it did give me some freedom and time to decide what was next. The Sewn Home Series was born! We had just moved into a new house and I wanted to design quilts for certain rooms of my house. I wanted them to actually match the decor and style of our house. This series really brought me back to life. I loved created it! I released the patterns as a bundle which was a unique idea I hadn't seen done before.
In the next few months following that series I released the Leaded Light Quilt Pattern, Rooflines Quilt Pattern (for Modish Magazine exclusively at first) and then designed the next series - The Scandinavian Series. When I was looking back through all of my photos of this time period I realized just how much happened in two years. All of this was being done during nap time or while the twins were at a short MDO two days a week.
In January 2022 we found out were expecting our third little boy! He arrived in August and I started releasing the Scandinavian quilt pattern series for the rest of that year. I designed and wrote all the patterns before he was born so that I could really enjoy our last baby and not do too much work.
2023-2024
I outsourced a lot of blog posts in 2023 to let myself enjoy our last little babe. It was such a tough transition for us all. I took a long break from social media as well because the comparison game really does steal all of my joy some days.
I took Immersion again (every year since 2018) and finally pulled together my first ever portfolio. I started contacting companies and pitching my work. I secured my first contract for a fabric collection with Moda Fabrics with a collection I designed For My Boys. I got to make some of the best projects using my OWN fabrics that I designed. Incredible. Amazing. Dream come true. I will never forget seeing my name on the selvage of the fabric for the first time. I included a series of three fat quarter and beginner friendly patterns that matched the same names as the fabric line - For My Boys Quilts.
Dustin and I celebrated 10 years of being married in Spain which was a truly inspiring trip! I came back with so many new ideas. I added art prints, coffee cups and wrapping paper to my online shop. These were all a dream come true since it was what I had pictured from the beginning of my surface pattern design journey. I had no idea any of this was out there!
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2025-Beyond!
So, now what?! Well I've been working on a new fabric collection that I'll share more about soon. I also just release an NEW free Quilt Pattern - Mitered Quilt Pattern. This one is beginner friendly, shows off fabrics well and is written in three sizes unlike my previous free pattern.
The biggest news - I'm headed to Quilt Market. I cannot wait y'all. I'm just over the moon excited and also so incredibly nervous. My goal is just to meet people and also be a sponge. I have so much to learn. I'm simply setting up my booth to promote brand awareness for now, but in the future I hope to be there showing more fabrics. I cannot wait to share more!
At quilt market I'm premiering a brand new quilt pattern that you're all going to LOVE. I just know it. I have made this quilt three times now and I think it's my new #1. Seriously, it's so pretty. I'll release that for retail in November so you'll get the name and details on that soon! Eeeek! So much fun stuff.
If you've read this entire story - thank you and nice to meet you! I'm so glad you gave me the space to share a little about my story with you. Most days I feel like I'm not doing enough, but when I wrote all of this out - WOW! I cannot believe how much has happened in almost 10 years of Sewn. It's been a fun ride. Frustrating at times, but overall a real treat to grow with you all. So, thank you.
JOIN MY EMAIL LIST - GET A FREE QUILT PATTERN!
