Quilts are made to be used and loved—not hidden away in a closet gathering dust.

They’re made to be washed. They’re made to be repaired. They’re made to collect memories, not dust.

And honestly? That belief is at the very heart of Quilt Scouts.

If you’ve ever looked at one of our badges and thought, “Wait… does that even count as quilting?”—this post is for you.

Quilting Is More Than the Stitches

Some Quilt Scouts badges are confusing on purpose.

Not to be vague. Not to be quirky for the sake of it. But because sometimes the things that stretch us creatively don’t look like quilting at first glance.

Badges like Hiking for Quilt Photos, Picnic on a Quilt, and Stargaze on a Quilt tend to stop people in their tracks. They feel a little sideways—especially if your idea of quilting lives firmly in the land of rulers, rotary cutters, and perfectly pressed seams.

But quilting has always been about more than precision.

Quilts are meant to be folded and wrinkled. Hauled around. Spread out. Sat on. Slept under. Loved hard.

Somewhere along the way, a lot of us learned that quilts are fragile. Precious. Off-limits.

These badges exist to gently—and lovingly—push back against that idea.

Not Every Quilt Has the Same Job (And That’s the Point)

Let’s be clear: not every quilt needs to do everything.

Some quilts are heirlooms.
Some quilts are art.
Some quilts are everyday companions.

The magic happens when you get to decide which is which.

In my house, quilts are everywhere. Over the back of the couch. Piled in bedrooms. In the car for those five-minutes-from-home car naps that somehow always happen. My kid uses them to build full-on living room forts—engineering feats involving chairs, cushions, and zero regard for symmetry.

And every time I see one of my quilts turned into a fort wall, I think: Yep. This is it.

That moment when a quilt stops feeling breakable and starts feeling alive? That’s where these badges live.

Hiking for Quilt Photos: Taking Quilts Out Into the World

This was one of the very first Quilt Scouts badges I ever designed—and for good reason.

Hiking for Quilt Photos sits at the intersection of nature and quilt photography. It’s permission to take your quilt out into fresh air, wind, sunshine, and wide-open spaces.

And no—this badge is not about being “outdoorsy.”
It’s not about mileage.
It’s not about being a hiking person.

This badge is about intention.

You choose a quilt that makes sense to bring. Size, weight, weather, and emotional attachment all matter here. Sometimes it’s a small quilt. Sometimes it’s a sturdy one. Sometimes it’s very intentionally not your heirloom masterpiece—and that is extremely valid.

You choose a doable route. A place where nature is doing its thing: big sky, tall grass, rocky textures, wildflowers, snow, whatever beauty looks like where you live.

You pack water. Layers. The stuff that keeps you comfy and safe.

Then you step outside, pull out your quilt, and take photos of it against a backdrop that makes it feel alive.

The first time I did this, I almost didn’t. It felt a little silly. But once that quilt started catching light and moving in the breeze, I saw it differently.

It wasn’t fragile.
It wasn’t precious.

It was part of the landscape.

That’s the magic.

Quilt Photography: Learning to Really See Your Work

Quilt Photography was the very first featured badge when Quilt Scouts launched, and the goal was simple: if we’re going on quilting adventures, we should know how to document them.

Not perfect photos. Not influencer photos.

Honest, beautiful documentation.

This badge teaches you how to notice light, composition, color, and texture—both indoors and outdoors. You start seeing details you may have missed before: how seams catch the light, how quilting texture shows up at different angles, how colors shift depending on time of day.

There’s also an important mindset baked into this badge:

This isn’t about making your quilt look like something it isn’t.

Editing is about clarity, not distortion. You’re honoring the design choices you already made—not changing the soul of the quilt.

Sometimes a quilt doesn’t even feel finished until it’s documented.

Picnic on a Quilt: Letting Quilts Do Their Job

This might be the most iconic quilt-usage badge we have.

Picnic on a Quilt feels almost too obvious—until you realize how rarely we actually do it.

One of my favorite memories is packing a simple lunch and heading to the park with my kid for a no-agenda picnic. No fancy setup. Just sunshine, food, and a quilt that came along for the ride.

That quilt wasn’t special because it was precious.
It was special because it was there.

This badge invites you to choose a quilt that’s easy to grab and ready for real life. Maybe it’s one you already love. Maybe it’s one you make specifically to be durable.

Once you spread a quilt out, something shifts. People linger. Kids sprawl. Conversations slow down.

This badge doesn’t ask you to improve anything. It doesn’t ask you to learn a new skill.

It simply asks you to show up—and let your quilt do what it was made to do.

Stargaze on a Quilt: Slowing Down and Looking Up

This badge comes from full-on space-nerd energy—and yes, the patch glows in the dark because obviously it does.

Stargaze on a Quilt combines quilting and astronomy in a way that’s cozy, curious, and pressure-free. You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need a telescope. You don’t need to know every constellation.

You bring a quilt for warmth and grounding. You look up. You learn a little. You notice a lot.

The documentation can be photos, sketches, notes—whatever helps you remember what you saw.

This badge isn’t about doing more.

It’s about being still long enough to notice.

Quilts Are Meant to Hold Memories

When I look back at the quilts that mean the most to me, they’re not always the most precise ones.

They’re tied to moments. Seasons. Places.

They smell like campfire smoke for a while.
They have grass stains that survived the wash.
They’ve been washed, stain-treated, and washed again.

Quilts are made to be used and loved—not hidden away.

You don’t have to earn every adventurous badge. You don’t have to hike miles or camp under the stars.

But I hope you pick one.

One quilt.
One small adventure.

And let your quilt be part of your life—not just your sewing room.

Happy trails, Scout.