Tell us about yourself.

(Leanne) Hi, my name is Leanne Anderson and I am the owner of The Whole Country Caboodle, located in Nashua, Iowa. We are a design studio, not a brick & mortar store. We work out of a two-story building where the upstairs is our design studio and our business operations and the downstairs is our laser and assembly rooms. We recently broke ground on a second building where Kayt and I will have a creative studio for our photography and video work. I live in the country where we have corn fields in the back and a lake out the front, so nature is all around, and we love the peace that our property provides. Iowa has always been my home.

Growing up with a grandmother who was a professional seamstress and a mother who sewed clothing out of necessity, sewing was not foreign to me for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I slowed down long enough to learn how to sew when I was in Junior High that it was pretty clear I loved the art of sewing as much as my mother and grandmother. This led to a degree in Home Economics with a minor in Business and a future of owning my own business. I started my first business 43 years ago, which eventually evolved into what I am doing today. For the past 31 years, I have been a part of the quilt industry, and for 29 of those years, designing fabric.

One fact that most people don’t know is that neither Kaytlyn nor I had the intention of working together, it just happened (which I am so grateful for) or perhaps was the doing of a higher power. From the early years of Kaytlyn coming to the shop until now, we make the best team.

I am the mother of 3 grown children, 8 grandchildren, and have been married to my husband Ed for 43 years. They all serve as inspiration for my designs!

Mother/Daughter team Leanne Anderson & Kaytlyn Kuebler.

(Kaytlyn) Hi, my name is Kaytlyn Kuebler, and I am Leanne’s youngest daughter and business partner! I had the privilege of tagging along with my mom to work downtown at her studio when I was little. My favorite place to play was in the front window of the studio with my Little Tike Kitchen and Polly Pockets! Mom teases that she would forget I was there until she would hear my squeaky voice from the front window! I loved creating as a child. I was always using my imagination one way or another, either by playing make-believe, drawing, or constructing projects. I learned early on how to fold and stuff patterns and assemble kits, and I loved it! Fast forward to college, I had no idea what I was going to do. I took a graphic design class Senior year, and I realized my love for digital design! All of the pieces fell into place a month before graduation, and I got a job as the student ministry graphic designer at our local church along with working part-time with my mom. In 2019, I went full-time with the business and we have not turned back!

One aspect of quilting that I did not inherit is the love of sewing, but I do love designing fabric, quilts, and other projects…as long as someone else writes the patterns and makes them! Co-designing with my mom for Henry Glass Fabrics has been the best and we are thankful for the opportunity to design fun, whimsical lines to inspire others to sew and create!

I have been married to my husband Joe for 6 years and we have three dogs. We just had our first child, a little girl on 7/23/23. Her name is Elyse Morgan, and she is beautiful. She came 3 weeks early so we were able to share the news with all of you! I cannot wait to share my love for design and this industry with her like my mom did with me!

This is The Whole Country Caboodle. We overlook Cedar Lake in Nashua, Iowa

What inspires you?

(Leanne) I never really aspired to design fabric until I was asked! I had no idea what the process was to do a line, but I loved art and the act of drawing, so I quickly learned what the process was. I started designing for Spectrix which later was sold to General Fabrics. They were great to work for, but after 14 years with them, I made a change to design for Henry Glass Fabrics. For years, I colored my collections with colored pencils, watercolor, fabric dyes, or whatever medium I needed to create the look I wanted. I actually colored my first collection with colored pencils sitting at a t-ball game. When I learned what Adobe Photoshop was, it opened up my world of design. I continued to hand-draw everything (and still do), but I could import my drawings and do all of the colorwork in Photoshop which really sped up the process! For me, design is a process and not something that just happens. I have to be in the right frame of mind when I design. I love what I do and am so blessed to have been designing fabric for nearly 30 years!

Life situations seem to be the driving force behind what we do, like having a baby, my time up in Canada working at my parent’s resort, our love of animals, farming, and designing what will make people smile. We can also be asked by the fabric company to design a line that will fill a need for a release.

The upstairs of the shop is where we do all of our creating, whether it be drawing, sewing or working at the computer.

The first line I created was called “The One Room Schoolhouse”. My husband was in education, and I knew that teachers loved fabric that had elements from their profession. I followed it up with a collection called “The Northwoods Adventure”. My parents owned a resort in Canada, and I loved all of the animals and elements that came along with it. From the beginning until now, I know that when I design a line of something I have a passion for (dogs, cats, animals of all kinds, sports) it really shows. Kaytlyn and I try to send a positive message through our fabric. Whether it be silly monsters, or funny old trucks, there needs to be positivity that is conveyed to children, and adults the same. Our world is filled with too much negativity and it fills our bucket when we hear someone say “Your fabric just makes me happy!” It gives us great joy to design fabric that the end user wants to use to create quilts and projects for their children or grandchildren.

This is our laser room. We keep the 3 machines cutting every day!

We have a very whimsical flair and we love bringing animals and characters to life with our look. We believe our talent is God-given and it gives us great joy to see others enjoying what we do. I guess that is how we give back!

Tell us about your fabric.

Hat on a Cat is our newest line delivered in August as well as 12 colors of our Bubble Dot & Bias Plaid Basics, all available in August.

We love seeing our designs come to life on fabric. “Hat on a Cat” is our newest collection delivering in August 2023. Even though Kaytlyn and I are dog lovers, we know that a lot of people love their feline friends! Hat on a Cat features 12 different cats wearing festive hats for every month of the year! Why have one quilt that stays up all year round when you can have a quilt with panels that are switched out every month with a cute paper calendar! With every fabric collection, we design a set of laser precut/pre-fused appliqués and a project to coordinate. Whether you want to use the cat panel or an appliqué there are lots of fun projects to be made with them! We are very thankful to have 4 basic lines with Henry Glass Fabrics, two of the newest being our “Bias Plaid” and “Bubble Dot” Basics. Each of these now has 12 rich and bold colors that will add a fun flair to any project.

They are perfect coordinates with our other collections and blend beautifully with our “Houndstooth” and “Starry” Basics.

What makes our fabric unique is our whimsical designs and use of colors. Our critters have a very specific look and are sure to make you smile!

This shows our progression from the line drawing to the finished fabric! Oh, how we love our job!!

What advice do you have for the new maker?

Always be true to yourself!! Don’t try to be someone else. I learned early on that I didn’t have to look like everyone else. I can appreciate all forms of design, whether it is something I really like or not, I appreciate the process. It is wonderful that there is so much to choose from. Also, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t make a living using your art. I could never have imagined so many years ago that I would be doing what I am doing, let alone working with my daughter…how lucky are we!