Meet the Makers
Hi, I’m Maddy, the designer and owner behind Left Brain Quilts.
I’ve been quilting since 2020, but my love of sewing started much earlier. In 2005, my grandmother taught me how to sew basic garments on a home sewing machine. After a long break, I picked sewing back up in 2018 when my husband gifted me a sewing machine for Christmas. I spent a few years refining my garment‑making skills before discovering quilting, and immediately falling in love.
Quilting became the perfect creative outlet for me because I love making gifts for people. Garments aren’t always practical (or predictable!) as gifts, but quilts and quilted items felt personal, useful, and lasting. I taught myself to quilt on YouTube and have been learning new styles and techniques ever since.
My design style is functional and modern. I love mixing prints in my own quilts, but when I design patterns, I gravitate toward clean motifs, simple construction, and thoughtful functionality. Some patterns are purely for fun, but most are born out of real problems I’ve encountered in my own life, from early motherhood to the mental gymnastics of quilt math.
I design for new quilters, new bagmakers, busy parents, and anyone who needs a meaningful handmade gift. Honestly, I’m mostly designing for a past version of myself: someone who wanted projects that were approachable, efficient, and satisfying to make.
Above all, I value accessibility and efficiency. I believe quilted items should be easy to understand, quick to assemble, and a joy to use. My patterns do the math for you, remove unnecessary complexity, and help you get to the fun part: creating something you’re proud of.
Hi, I’m John, the woodworker behind the handcrafted tools at Left Brain Quilts.
If you’ve ever received a gift made by hand, you know there’s something in it that no factory can replicate. That’s what drives me to the shop.
I started woodworking in 2015 with a set of hand‑me‑down tools and a lot of curiosity. My first projects were gifts — a converted oak toy box turned outdoor cooler, custom woodburnt cutting boards, and a rolling butcher’s block. I’ve been hooked ever since. These days I’m harvesting fallen trees from our family farm, milling my own slabs, and experimenting with woodturning and live‑edge pieces. I’m always learning something new, whether that’s a new technique, a new species, or a smarter way to work.
Over time I found my sweet spot: precision meets nature. I love the contrast of perfectly crisp dovetail joints alongside the wild grain of a live edge, or a machined‑flat surface next to a knotted slab. Neither the art nor the craft alone is enough — together, they’re something special.
The quilting tools came about naturally. I’ve been Maddy’s unofficial quilting assistant for years — checking block layouts, trimming thread tails — and I loved watching her improve. Every step forward seemed to be paired with a new tool and advice from experienced quilters. That got me thinking: what could I make her? The answer was a seam clapper, and it turned out to be just the beginning.
Maddy tests every prototype until we’ve dialed in the ergonomics and function. Then I get to do the part I love most: showcasing the natural beauty of these incredible woods. No two tools are alike, and that’s the whole point.
Woods I love to work with:
Walnut · Maple · Cherry · Box Elder · Ash · Sycamore · Purpleheart · Padauk · Zebrawood · Wenge · Canarywood · Olivewood · Bolivian Rosewood · Sapele