What Is Quilt Scouts?

A creative home base for adventurous quilters

Quilt Scouts exists for quilters who are curious, creative, and maybe just a little tired of feeling like quilting is a test they didn’t study for.

At its heart, Quilt Scouts is a safe landing place—for quilters of all skill levels—to explore new techniques, styles, and ideas through a sense of adventure. It’s about showing up, trying things, and learning as you go… without pressure, perfectionism, or the dreaded quilt police.

If you’ve ever thought “That looks cool, but I’m not ready”, Quilt Scouts is here to gently nudge you forward and say… What if you tried anyway?

🎧 Prefer to listen?

This post pairs with Episode #1 of the Quilt Scouts Podcast, where I share the story behind Quilt Scouts, the badge idea, and why quilting as an adventure matters so much to me.

If you like cozy campfire chats, creative encouragement, and behind-the-scenes storytelling, you’ll feel right at home.

👉 Listen to Episode #1: Welcome to Quilt Scouts

An adventurous quilting membership

The easiest way to describe Quilt Scouts is this:
it’s the intersection of a modern quilt guild and an old-school scouting vibe—minus the seriousness, plus a whole lot more fun.

Instead of focusing on being advanced, fast, or flawless, Quilt Scouts focuses on exploration. Learning by doing. Making a few wrong turns. Forgetting snacks. Coming back with stories.

Because that’s how real learning happens.

The idea that started it all

The idea for Quilt Scouts didn’t come from a business plan or a strategy session. It came from a bedtime story I was reading to my kid.

The book (yes, you’re allowed to laugh) is called Who Wet My Pants by Bob Shea. The plot is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds—but what caught my attention wasn’t the story. It was the artwork.

All of the characters were scouts. Camping. Wearing sashes. Covered in badges.

There was a page filled with illustrated badges, and I remember staring at it thinking:
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had badges for quilting?

Not badges for being perfect.
Not badges for being advanced.
Just badges for trying things. For showing up. For exploring.

Once that idea took hold, I couldn’t shake it. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted quilting to feel like an adventure again—curious and playful instead of intimidating.

That spark became Quilt Scouts.

So… what are badges, really?

In Quilt Scouts, badges are markers of experience, not tests.

A badge doesn’t mean you mastered something.
It means you explored it.
You tried. You learned something. You showed up.

Badges can give you:

• a little motivation to try something new
• a bit of structure (if you like that sort of thing)
• a fun way to mark accomplishments, big or small

There’s no required order. No timeline. And definitely no competition. You don’t “fail” at Quilt Scouts—you just gather information.

Curiosity instead of pressure

At its core, Quilt Scouts is a creative framework.

Instead of asking:
Am I good enough to try this?

We ask:
What would happen if I tried this?

That shift—from pressure to curiosity—is everything.

Quilting becomes less about proving yourself and more about exploring what you enjoy, what challenges you, and what feels good to come back to again and again.

Base camp: the place you come back to

The scouting metaphor matters because exploration always needs a home base.

In Quilt Scouts, base camp is the place you return to between adventures. Personally, that might be:

• a technique you know by heart
• a style that feels grounding
• a go-to block or color palette
• hand quilting on the couch while watching something comforting (and mildly terrible)

Base camp isn’t boring—it’s supportive. You don’t have to live in exploration mode all the time. You can go out, try something new, and then come back to what feels good.

In Quilt Scouts, base camp can also be literal. Many Scouts gather at real, in-person Base Camps hosted by quilt shops, fabric shops, or community spaces—places where you sew alongside other humans, ask questions without feeling silly, and build community stitch by stitch.

A community without quilt police

When you join Quilt Scouts, you become part of an online community that’s intentionally not on social media.

It’s a dedicated space just for members to:

• share wins (big and small)
• ask questions
• get unstuck
• encourage each other

There are no algorithms. No pressure to perform. No drama. Just a genuinely kind, encouraging group of quilters exploring together.

My hope is that everyone who joins feels seen, welcomed, and safe to be exactly where they are.

Choose your own adventure

Each month, Quilt Scouts highlights one featured badge to serve as a guide—but it’s never a rule.

If a different badge is calling your name? Follow that thread.

Quilt Scouts is very much a choose your own adventure experience. The structure is there if you want it. The freedom is always there if you need it.

Ready to explore?

If quilting has ever felt intimidating, lonely, or overly serious, Quilt Scouts might be exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s a place to explore, experiment, and grow—at your own pace, in good company.

👉 Explore Quilt Scouts membership and see where your next quilting adventure might take you.