My name is Liz and I’m so glad you stopped by Rozalee Designs!

A little background about how I ended up here: my mother, Lee Fowler, was a quilter. I grew up in a home with bookshelves stuffed with fabric, thread stuck to every surface, and the hum of sewing machines.

I learned to sew from a very early age, producing my first quilt at 6. My mom taught me how to use a sewing machine first, then a hot iron, and eventually the much-needed seam ripper. She showed me her pattern design process, her long arming skills and her color palette techniques. Sometimes I got the pleasure of being the first person to listen to her lectures, staying up late while she practiced her speeches.

As a teen, my father introduced me to photography and sewing got pushed aside, but it never truly left. When I attended art school, somehow quilting incorporated itself into everything I did: I printed black and white photographs and stitched them together with brightly colored fabric. I embroidered color photos that I’d printed directly onto fabric. I even did a series of self portraits involving hand stitched goods.

Photography was a fantastic career in my twenties and it taught me so much about color, design and composition. It also led me to the first company that took a chance on my sewing skills: Connecting Threads. They trusted my history, my experience and my vision, and introduced me to a career in quilting that I never dreamed possible.

Now I’m designing my own quilt patterns and through the process, I get to honor my late mother. After she passed away, I was lost and unsure of my future. She, however, always seemed to know I was a quilt designer: when unpacking some of her boxes a few years ago, I found a folder labeled “Liz’s Designs.” From childhood up to my college years, my mom had saved every random sketch and drawing I’d made with quilt design potential. Opening that folder was like unlocking my dreams and I realized she’d always seen me as a designer, even if I never had.

Rozalee Designs is named for 3 things in my life that have been important to my evolution:

RO for Roxie, the dog that reminded me how to love after years in the dark.

ZA for Liza, my childhood nickname and a connection to my child-like love of art and design.

and LEE for my mom, one seriously talented quilter, designer and textile artist that believed in me from the beginning.

Thanks for stopping by, my quilty friends! Let’s get to sewing!