Abby Luchsinger is a Wisconsin native and third-generation quilter who has been sewing and crafting for as long as she can remember. She started learning to sew and quilt from her grandmother as a little girl. As a toddler, her grandma gave her the coveted job of helping guide the fabric through the sewing machine and snipping the threads after every seam. As she grew older, her sewing knowledge and skills improved as she worked with her grandma to make simple quilts, clothes for her and her dolls, and other small projects. Abby received her first sewing machine as a gift from her mom, who is also a talented quilter, during college. She started making quilts on occasion as gifts for family and friends. But quilting was not where she started her career. Abby attended the University of Wisconsin for college and graduated with degrees in Political Science, French, and International Studies, aspiring to work in politics. She started her professional career as a policy advisor in a state senate office at the Wisconsin State Capitol. She also worked as a campaign coordinator for a US congressional campaign and several state senate campaigns. She and her husband then moved to Oregon for his continuing education. While there, she transitioned to working for a college of pharmacy as an events, communications, and continuing education coordinator. Following the birth of her first child, she and her family returned to Wisconsin and her focus transitioned to caring for her family, which grew to four children in just 5 years, a son and three daughters. Then, in 2021, Abby stumbled into the quilting community on social media, and was inspired to dive deeper into quilting. She started pattern testing for many designers but quickly realized that she enjoyed creating designs of her own much more. Abby went on to launch her own quilt pattern design business, Abby Maed, in 2022, named with a clever play on her middle name, Mae, which she shares with her grandmother. Since then, Abby has built a quilt pattern collection of her original designs imbued with her distinct style featuring soft earthy colors, and modern motifs that are simultaneously fresh, cozy, and timeless. Abby’s designs can be found on the Abby Maed website (abbymaed.com) and Abby shares about her quilting journey and connects with other quilters on social media as well (@AbbyMaed). Abby served as a 2023 Art Gallery Fabrics Sewcialite and is now an Art Gallery Fabrics fabric designer in addition to a quilt pattern designer. Her first fabric collection, as a member of the Sewcial Bee Collective, is set to release in 2025. Abby is also a member of the Nine Patch Quilt Collective, the group of pattern designers behind the popular annual Sweater Weather Sampler. She lives outside of Madison, WI with her family and when she’s not quilting you can find her dabbling in other arts and crafts, hiking, traveling, volunteering with her church and in her community, and adventuring with her kids. abbymaed.com