Chief Moose, AKA Ann
Ann Skaehill is the owner of Crafty Moose Quilts and has been quilting since 2011. She’s been married for over 20 years and loves to go on hiking adventures with her husband. Their son is almost grown and finding his own way, which is beautiful to watch. Ann’s passions include designing, constructing, and providing a “tapestry scrapbook” for her customers via t-shirt quilts and memory quilts. She thrives on a good challenge and works hard to ensure the end-product is high quality and will withstand the test of time (and love and snuggles).
Ann is also part of the Nine Patch Quilt Collective, a design team that hosts the annual Sweater Weather Sampler.
My Story
I wasn't always into quilting ... or sewing ... or fabric stores or anything remotely related to crafting. I was the athlete in the family and I detested being taken to fabric stores so my big sisters could pick out patterns and fabrics for the clothes mom wanted to make us. You could usually find me INSIDE the round racks of bolts of fabric, creating my own imaginary land of caves and pirates.
God knew what He was doing when He encouraged my mom and grandmother to hoard some quilting supplies because unbeknownst to me I would one day claim in pure defiance, "I could make a quilt if I wanted to" and I was going to need some supplies.
So I made a quilt. But let's be clear here, it wasn't pretty. In fact, I didn't understand what seam allowances were, how to measure borders BEFORE adding them, and I truly struggled to wind the ding-dong bobbin. Mental breakdowns nearly happened over empty or poorly wound bobbins. For those of you who don't sew let's just say that I put together a quilt without understanding ANY of the rules. None of them.
I am mostly a self-taught quilter and I say "mostly" because I had to rely heavily on my mom to fill in the gaps for me. The good news is I now wind bobbins without a care in the world, I was taught how to properly measure my borders before sewing them on, and mom blessed me with the wonderful gift of a quarter-inch sewing foot. My grandmother passed away before I started to sew but my very first sewing machine was her machine that my mom set aside for me.
I crave creativity. I love bold colors. My huge compassionate heart has gotten me into trouble in the past because I would literally give away our house and everything in it to someone in need but my husband has helped me find some healthy boundaries. Making t-shirt and memory quilts for others gives me an outlet to put all of my God given gifts into something that others can take with them and keep for a lifetime.
Quilt pattern design wasn't always on my radar but at the prompting of some friends I decided to take the leap and I'm so glad I did. It has proven to be yet another outlet for me and it brings me an incredible amount of joy to see people using their own skills to create quilts for their loved ones with my patterns. They get to use their favorite colors, textures, and techniques to bless the people in their lives with their handiwork.
I have multiple health issues but my Functional Nutritionist has helped me come a long way physically, and regular counseling has helped me overcome the mental baggage that comes with long term illnesses. But most of all, I find the most solace in worshipping the Lord and thanking Him for the gifts He has given me. With every roadblock I have sought the Lord's direction, and pivoted toward His redirection. It's not seamless, and sometimes it's downright messy, but He has always provided. Crafty Moose Quilts is 100% the Lord's provision and the coolest part about it is that it blesses me AND my customers at the same time.