BLUFFS & BOBBIN
ABOUT JAMIE & THE STUDIO
Bluffs & Bobbin was created from the love of quilting, lifelong learning, and the belief that every quilt deserves thoughtful, personal attention.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE STITCHES
If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be opening a quilting and longarming studio, I probably would have laughed. Then COVID happened.
Before April 11, 2020, I didn’t even know how to thread a sewing machine until my coworker, Kirsten, came to my house for my first sewing lesson. She taught me how to thread a machine, and together we made my first face mask. Four days later, my parents brought me my mother’s 1967 Elna SU sewing machine. With masks in desperately short supply at the beginning of the pandemic, one mask quickly became hundreds. I sewed for family, friends, coworkers, residents, Viterbo University, and anyone else who needed one.
From One Mask to One Quilt
Quilting came next, but not because I had always dreamed of becoming a quilter.
On September 10, 2022, I attended my first annual Sugar Creek Bible Camp auction. I was amazed by the beautiful handmade quilts being auctioned and the craftsmanship that went into them. I remember looking at them and thinking how incredible it was that fabric could become such a piece of art.
And then came the thought that changed everything: “I bet I can do that.”
Of course, my first quilt had to be for my mom, and appropriately enough, I made it on her Elna. I chose to make a temperature quilt. I designed it from a crochet pattern on Pinterest, assigning colors to 5-degree increments and using the daily high temperature from a particular year to determine the order of the colors throughout the quilt. And there it was: I finished my first quilt on November 5, 2022, just in time to have it rush longarmed for her birthday. There were some bumps along the way. I hadn’t thought too far in advance about its size; my intent was to make a lap quilt, but it quickly grew much larger. With a suggestion from my mother-in-law, Robin Savage, to place some of the months along the sides, it now fits a queen-size bed.
That was it. I was hooked! More fabric followed, along with more ideas and more patterns, leading to more quilts. I had a One-Block Wonder phase, partly because I found them approachable as a new quilter and partly because I couldn't believe how stunning one fabric panel (well, seven panels) could become when it was cut apart and pieced back together.
My first One-Block Wonder featured a peacock. It became especially meaningful when I gave it to my older brother while he was going through cancer treatments. The peacock was a slightly tongue-in-cheek choice, as it bears a certain resemblance to his personality. That quilt remains one of my favorite pieces, and the experience helped me understand something about quilts that I hadn't fully appreciated when I started. Here in the Upper Midwest, where winter is simply part of life, giving someone warmth has always meant more than keeping them physically warm. Quilts have long been made for births and weddings, given during illness and hardship, passed through families, donated to strangers, and wrapped around the people we love. A quilt can be an act of kindness you can hold onto, and that thought has stayed with me.
Learning with Every Stitch
By mid-2023, I had joined the La Crosse Area Quilters Guild, and in 2024 I became the newsletter editor. By the end of that year, I had made five One-Block Wonders, along with other quilts for family, friends, coworkers, and charitable causes.
But I wanted to learn more, and about a year after finishing my first quilt, I was already running into a problem: local longarm quilters were booked out for months. I found myself shipping quilts out and paying extra rush fees just to get them finished on time. That made me think I needed to learn how to do this myself. I began researching longarm machines, and on November 16, 2023, I signed the paperwork for my first APQS Millie longarm. It was delivered and set up on December 28, 2023, opening up an entirely new part of quilting for me. I started taking classes, learning QuiltPath, working on my technique, getting certified, and discovering just how much there is to learn about this craft—something I hope never changes.
Every quilt teaches me something, and I don't expect to reach a point where I know everything about quilting, but I genuinely enjoy continuing to learn with every stitch.
ABOUT THE STUDIO
The idea of owning a quilting business didn't arrive as some grand lifelong plan. It showed up unexpectedly in the summer of 2025. When I sadly learned that a local quilt shop was closing, I briefly considered purchasing the business. That particular opportunity wasn't the right fit for me, but it planted an idea I couldn't quite shake: What if I created a quilting space of my own?
That idea eventually led to a conversation much closer to home, with my neighbors in Hokah.
Our relationship with them already reflected something I value deeply about living here: neighbors helping neighbors. Over the years, my husband and I have helped them when we could, and they have been there to do the same for us. It’s simply what neighbors do here. They genuinely care about Hokah and have given so much to this community. Through that friendship and a shared desire to see our community continue to grow, an opportunity emerged.
On July 28, 2025, I looked at the space that would become Bluffs & Bobbin, LLC. It needed work—a lot of work—but I could see its potential, and what I couldn’t see, my husband, Resolve Savage, could. It was perfect!
Over the following year, Resolve and my parents, Mary Winkler and Don Saunders, helped bring that vision to life as we transformed the space into the studio we had pictured: a place where I could quilt, continue learning, and hopefully create something that contributes in its own small way to the community we call home.
Why Bluffs & Bobbin?
People ask where the name came from, and there really isn't an elaborate story behind it. Hokah is surrounded by the beautiful bluffs of southeastern Minnesota, and a bobbin is a little piece at the heart of sewing.
Voilà: Bluffs & Bobbin, simple as that. The more this business takes shape, the more appropriate the name feels. This isn't just where my studio happens to be located. Hokah is part of what I want Bluffs & Bobbin to become.
We're a small community just a short drive from La Crosse, Wisconsin, surrounded by bluffs, rivers, creeks, and waterfalls, with a locally owned café, bars, shops, businesses, and most importantly, people who look out for one another. I want Bluffs & Bobbin to add something worthwhile to that.
More Than a Quilting Studio
Bluffs & Bobbin, LLC was established in 2025, but I'm building it alongside another career that has shaped who I am just as much as quilting has.
My degree is in Business Management, but for more than 20 years, my career has centered on serving others. Today, I work full-time as the administrator for six Adult Family Homes in La Crosse, WI. That means Bluffs & Bobbin is starting small and growing intentionally.
For now, the studio primarily focuses on longarm quilting by appointment. As it grows, I hope to add quilting classes, creative events, and more opportunities for us to learn from one another. Someday, I'd love to see it become a full-service quilt shop.
Every quilt that comes through my door represents someone's time, creativity, money, memories, and often the love for another person. Whether it's celebrating a new baby, honoring someone special, marking a milestone, surviving a difficult season, or simply the result of someone saying, "I wanted to make this," they all have a story.
When you trust me with your quilt, I want to help you choose a quilting pattern that complements what you've already created while caring for it with the respect it deserves.
Come On In
As we've remodeled the studio, I've embraced the character of the space with an Art Deco feel, timeless, comfortable, a little unexpected, and hopefully inspiring.
But more important than how Bluffs & Bobbin looks is how I want it to feel.
I don't want you to feel as though you've walked into a business where you're supposed to already know all the answers. I want it to feel more like you've walked into a friend's sewing room, a place where we can find the answers together.
Bring the quilt you're incredibly proud of or one you're not sure about. Ask questions, share ideas, teach me something and/or let me teach you something. If you've never made a quilt and still aren't quite sure how to thread the sewing machine, you're especially welcome. I know exactly where you're starting, because not so long ago, I was there too.
At Bluffs & Bobbin, I hope to never stop learning, never stop encouraging one another, and never forget that behind every quilt is a person and a story worth preserving.
Every stitch matters!