About Lindsey
Well, if you’ve found yourself in this space, you must have some semblance of knowing me, but in case you’re new here, I’d love to introduce myself!
My name is Lindsey. I am a redheaded mama of two, wife of Wesley, a creative nomad, and a simple lover of life. Outside of quilting, I’ve found a deep fondness of a number of things, including history, music, literature, writing, photography, and scrolling Quiltstagram. 😉 While I typically listen to music while I sew, I’ve recently been drawn to a number of documentaries and podcasts about the Elizabethan Era. I like to think that in an alternative universe, I’m out there working in a museum preserving really old and cool books and/or art. 😂
Learning to Sew
My sewing journey took its first roots as a child. I fondly remember sitting next to my grandma, folding prairie points while she pinned them and sewed them into the edges of her quilts. I momentarily gained access to a sewing machine in middle school, which led to some interesting makes. Due to a lack in resources and the breakdown of my machine, I set the idea of sewing aside until 2020.
The pandemic hit just three months after I had graduated with my bachelor’s degree in English. I was in the process of applying for jobs and nurturing my 19-month-old son when life seemed to come to a screeching halt, as I’m sure we all remember. I was fortunate to gain access to a sewing machine in the summer of 2020. By some stroke of questionable genius, I’d decided that my very first project ought to be a twin-sized quilt. Equipped with the most basic of tools, I set out to make my boy a blanket for his big boy bed.
Plot twist: The experience was awful. Here’s what I learned:
- Maybe watch some tutorials before jumping into a new hobby?
- Baste. For the love of the divine, BASTE.
- Sewing machines have stitch lengths greater than 0.5.
Let me tell you, wrangling an unbasted twin-size quilt through a standard mouth domestic machine with a 0.5 stitch length had my summer bod prepped and ready! My arms hurt. My back hurt. My legs? Believe it or not, those hurt, too! Nevertheless, I persisted. I vowed off quilting for the rest of this mortal life, but I persisted.
Despite my… unconventional methods of quilting… my first quilt has held up beautifully. It has been loved and has kept my son warm for several years now. I don’t notice the wonky stitches, the misaligned points, or the botched binding nearly as much as I notice my baby boy’s comfort and content with something that I designed and made just for him.
So why did I pick up quilting again? 2020 was a wild year, what can I say? We found out that our second(and final) baby would be making an appearance in the early summer of 2021. While my first quilt wasn’t an entirely joyful experience, I felt like my daughter deserved to have something handmade, too, so I set aside my dislike for the craft, found some cute fabric, and ventured out into the making of quilt #2. This time, however, I’d found some YouTube videos to reference when I needed to learn a new skill in quilting.
I was pleasantly surprised what a difference a little preparation could make. I pin and spray basted my quilt and enjoyed hand-quilting in the moments where I needed to elevate my incredible swollen feet.
Sustaining My Passion for Quilting
Maybe it was the smooth birth experience, the continual skin-to-skin with my newborn, designated time with my firstborn, or the support of my husband and my family, but my postpartum experience was a complete 180 from my first birth. In my postpartum, it was important to me that I regularly scheduled ‘mommy recharge time’ for my mental wellbeing. For our family, this meant that I spent 2-3 hours on Saturday by myself, doing something that brought me joy. The rules were simple: Don’t do things for other people in this time, and if I’m leaving the house, I can only spend money on myself and not on groceries or household items.
I sewed my little heart out on baby dresses, Halloween costumes, table runners, and other small projects. Glorious. When possible, I’d haul my little machine out to the kitchen table and sew while my son did crafts during the day. I had an outlet for filling my cup, finding purpose outside of keeping our household running, and feeling accomplished. I am able to look back on those days with a lot of appreciation and gratitude for what sewing gave me.
Ultimately, it gave me a community!
The Quilting Corner
With the emergence of a new passion in life, I felt drawn to documenting the process. In January of 2022, I made my first real ‘quilty’ post to my Instagram page, which was then titled ‘Lindsey’s Crafting Corner.’ By the spring, the name had officially shifted to ‘The Quilting Corner,’ which I felt more appropriately reflected my sewing space and what was happening within it. I feel like at this point, the rest is history!
I’ve been able to form incredible friendships, establish opportunities beyond anything I could have expected, and further develop many of my professional skills through Instagram. This ‘corner’ has become a source of joy in itself. I feel continually shrouded in gratitude.
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