MONROE — Although Sarah Olmstead has loved to sew since she learned, literally on her father’s knee at age 5, quilting was just never her thing.

“It’s just too tedious,” Sarah said of quilting, which involves piecing and sewing together small pieces of fabric. 

But somehow she was convinced by her husband, Mike to look further into long arm quilting — which doesn’t include monotonous work, but instead innovative technology — and it ended up not only being where she found another talent she had, but a viable business for the two of them. 

Simply Olmstead Longarm Quilt opened on 10th Street in Monroe a few months ago and will soon relocate to N2937 18th Avenue in April. 

Sarah would stack dictionaries to sew fishing rod covers for her father, and eventually at age 12, turned her bedroom into a “sewing studio” after people began giving her scraps. She studied pattern drafting in high school and later made her own wedding dress as well as the ties and vests for all of the groomsmen. 

Before she and Mike were married, he showed with her a CNC sewing machine — thinking his background in auto mechanics and engineering meeting up with her love for sewing was a perfect fit.

Sarah admits not entertaining the idea until years later, when they found themselves at a long arm quilt shop, asked questions and became interested. The duo researched machines and then attended an open house in Michigan looking at the Innova, a longarm quilting machine that Sarah said is the fastest, strongest, most accurate machine on the market and has software that’s similar to robotics software — something she found intuitive.

About four years ago, the business started out of the couple’s 1,100 square foot Monroe home. They sold their furniture so Sarah had a place to stack quilts. They moved to a store front a few months ago.

Sarah loves the computer software and creativity allowed in long arm quilting. Mike is a big part of the mechanical side of things.

The 28-year-old said part of the reason she seemingly excels with the machine might be her age — she’s been used to working with complicated software since her interest in photography began and the computer never scared her.

“There is a lot of excitement about being a young quilter and a young business owner,” Sarah said. “I’m typically the youngest by far in long arm gatherings — which has a lot of advantages too.”

Sarah is a Monroe native and was home schooled and Mike is from Argyle. Mike is five years older than her, but is still considered young in quilting circles.

“It’s great to be young in the industry because there is so much support,” Sarah said. “People are excited to pass down their passions to the next generation and they’re excited to see the way I approach each quilt and long arming in general.”

Most people wait months to get used to the machine before doing work for customers, but Sarah was ready in just a few weeks. She became so familiar with the Innova that she soon became a subdealer for the brand and offers training, services and support in southwest Wisconsin and some of northern Illinois. 

“It was a very quick learning curve for me,” Sarah said. “I had the tension figured out fast and knew what to do.”

There are no retail items offered inside her store, but eventually they hope to carry a full line of thread and possibly some batting and “widebacks” in the future for her specific client needs. By the end of the year, they hope to have another machine. 

And although quilting was never what she loved, she has found a passion for finishing quilts for others. Being in a bigger space has even allowed her to have a design wall, and she will periodically piece together her own quilts to try out some new patterns. 

“It’s still not what I love,” she said with a smile. “But it’s been awesome to see some of those things come alive.”

Customers bring their pieced and sewn quilt tops to Sarah and she’s able to complete the stitch work that combines the two to make it a quilt. Hand quilting is alive and well as an art form for some, she said, but is time consuming and is no longer the most common way to finish a quilt.

“The long arm is the best way to preserve a quilt,” she said. 

Sarah has hundreds of patterns for her clients to choose from and works with each of them so that the quilt can be perfected to their preferences. She also has the ability to morph designs into custom quilting and loves that part of her job. 

The business has grown each year, and currently has no employees. 

Owning her own business has allowed Sarah to also continue a passion, which is serving on the Green County EMS. She’s in the midst of finishing a degree in para medicine; Mike was an EMT driver and then became an advanced EMT. 

The couple also does photography, and enjoys camping to state parks and spending time with their dog, Zoey. 

Hours at Simply Olmstead are by appointment, although Sarah is generally there during the day, she leaves often for EMS duties and calls. Make an appointment at 608-558-7579 or visit simplyolmstead.com.