Meet Ann Skaehill | Quilt Pattern Designer & Shop Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ann Skaehill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ann, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and have run a couple of small businesses over the years. When our son was born, we were weighing the high cost of childcare against the idea of one of us staying home, and that’s when I started a custom scrapbooking business in 2002. It was such a joy to help families preserve their memories, and I still keep in touch with a few of those customers today.

In 2011, I discovered quilting and realized I still had a passion for preserving people’s memories. Crafty Moose Quilts was launched with the primary goal of doing just that, creating a tapestry of memories from the clothing of loved ones.

However, I quickly became frustrated by poorly written quilt patterns and I found myself sketching my own designs to fill that gap. After more than a decade of designing for my customers, a friend encouraged me to take a course to learn how to properly format my designs with the goal of helping other quilters make t-shirt quilts as well. That step was a massive turning point in the trajectory of my business.

Now not only do I have repeat t-shirt quilt customers, but I also have the added reward of hearing from other quilters who say the diagrams in my patterns made the quilting process so clear that they hardly needed the written instructions. That’s truly my heart behind the design aspect of my business: to help quilters of every skill level experience the joy of creating with clarity, confidence and very little frustration.

Today, my business has grown into three strong pillars: commissioned t-shirt quilts (quilting for people who don’t quilt), producing quilt patterns (designing clear patterns for other quilters), and an online fabric shop (which is two fold: my t-shirt quilt customers get to choose colors they love AND I get to serve the online quilting community by offering beautiful quilt kits).

Looking ahead, my goals continue to center around meeting my customers’ needs, but also include building steady, sustainable income as my husband looks ahead to retirement. It’s a joy, a gift, and an honor to be trusted by my customers and by quilters in my industry.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Owning a business is a lot like raising a child: it’s demanding, often uncertain, and also one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do. My business began with a simple model: creating custom quilts from clothing, essentially modern-day scrapbooks. Over time it’s grown into much more, but as a small business owner these things have remained a constant: the need to pivot, learn new skills, and carry the weight of every decision as a solo entrepreneur.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that I don’t have to do it all myself. A fellow small business owner once encouraged me to hire help, and now I have two contractors who support me on a project basis. At first, I was afraid to share pieces of my process and I worried others wouldn’t hold the same standards of ethics, detail, and care that I do. But finding the right people who share those values has been transformational for both me and my business.

Customers often tell me that I am the “secret sauce” of Crafty Moose Quilts. They could buy fabric, a pattern, or a t-shirt quilt elsewhere, but they return because they know I genuinely care about them. That’s the heart of my business: serving people with honesty, ethics, and attention to detail. To me, customer service isn’t an afterthought, it’s the foundation. Communicating with customers in a clear way matters to me, no matter if that’s through text, email or social media messages. Setting clear boundaries with kindness is also important to me. As Brené Brown says, “Clear is kind.” For example, because I work from home, I utilize an appointment app with built-in buffers to respect my family’s space while still honoring my customers’ time. This communicates a time-boundary to my customers in a very clear and kind way.

Yes, anyone can design patterns, make t-shirt quilts, or open a fabric shop. Many do, and many do it well. What sets Crafty Moose Quilts apart is the combination of my character, ethics, and drive. My customers’ stories matter deeply to me, in fact many tears have been shed at my kitchen table while I listen to their stories, and that personal connection shapes everything that I do. People and profit both matter when running a business.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I only had one day with my best friend from Hawaii, we would start the day with a long morning hike at Erwin Park, followed by brunch because good food sets the stage for the best chats! My two go-to spots are B&B Cafe in McKinney, which feels like the best kind of home cooking, and First Watch, which serves the best bacon I’ve ever had.


As a quilter, one of my favorite places to linger is Downtown Dry Goods on the McKinney square. It has such a cozy, welcoming vibe, and I’m always greeted with a smile. Just down the street, we’d stop at Spoons Cafe for a slice of cake—the strawberry is my personal favorite. Since my friends and I are in that stage of life where our kids are grown, we’d also make a trip to Famous in Oregon in Prosper to pick up happy little plants to care for at home.

Evenings in Texas are made for sunsets, so we’d catch one from Frontier Park in Prosper, where the wide-open views are unforgettable. And honestly, the perfect ending would be back at home—curled up on the sofa under quilts, chatting late into the night while enjoying leftover cake from Spoons.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Having people in your life who believe in you isn’t paramount to success but it certainly helps. When I think about all of the people who have poured into me and rooted for me when things got hard, my eyes well up with tears. Other business owners have guided me, customers have filled my cup with words of affirmation, and family/friends have believed in me from the start. Colleagues from my Nine Patch Quilt Collective design business have edited for me, solved software problems for me, and helped to share my work far and wide. My sister and my niece have spent hours upon hours with me in my tiny office to help me with this-and-that and I have several good friends who don’t know a thing about quilting but have cheered the loudest for me.

And yet, there are two people who stand out above all of those faces and I wouldn’t be here without them. My husband and my 22 year old son are constantly rooting for me, reminding me to eat/sleep/exercise, and they are often in the trenches with me to help me meet my deadlines. Not to mention that in almost every quilt photo I have ever posted online, either my husband or my son is behind that quilt with their arms stretched wide!

Owning a business can be extremely hard, I sometimes feel pressed on all sides and can lose sight of my big goals. But my husband is quick to clearly and firmly remind me how many hard stories have been shared at our kitchen table, how many repeat customers I’ve had, and how my quilt pattern portfolio has grown from 1 to 25 in less than three years. He is quick to remind me that I’ve built something from nothing and I have learned the vast majority of it all on my own.

My son is one of the best sounding boards for color placement and color palettes. He has no fear when speaking the truth when he thinks I could do better with a design or color choices and I love that. I am never offended by his ability to speak the truth because I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want his opinion. I recently got good news about a collaboration I’ve been working toward and my son was the first to say “MOM! That’s so cool! You did it!”

I am completely and totally overwhelmed with emotion when I think about all the ways these two have supported my dreams.

Website: https://www.CraftyMooseQuilts.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftymoose_quilts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CraftyMooseQuilts

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@craftymoosequilts

Image Credits
Stephanie Allam Photography (headshots), Megan Fowler | Quilt Scouts (Christmas Quilt photo)