Hillary Goodwin balances her life as an Emergency Medicine Physician and makes time to create textile art. Look closely at her work for the details and hand stitching.
How long have you been sewing and quilting? How did you get started? Did you have a gateway craft as a kid?
I come from a long history of women quilters and crafters. I started knitting as a teenager and contributed to wedding quilts our family made for my cousins on their wedding days. At that time, my blocks were typically embroidered, cross-stitched, or appliquéd. I still have my wedding quilt with blocks from family members constructed by my mother.
Tell us a bit about what and how you create with needle and thread. How would you describe your work?
I consider my quilts emotional representations of what is going on in my life at the time of making. The hours spent stitching help me process and decompress the world I see as an Emergency Medicine Physician and citizen of the world.
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Is your work more content-driven or process-driven? Does an idea inspire a work of art, or do the materials launch an idea?
I have to be perfect in so much of my life (understandably people expect their physicians to be precise and methodical). Because of this I am repelled by the idea of seeking perfection in my creative life.
I don’t care if my points match or every stitch of my quilting is precise. I am more interested in telling an interesting story with my work and showing the hand of the maker in each piece.
Some people are attracted to quilting because it may be the only place in their life where they can make things make sense. I am attracted to quilting for the creative freedom it affords me.
Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?
My designs usually start as an abstract idea in my head. It is pretty rare that I plan things out in paper before I start cutting and sewing and computers rarely factor in to my process.
The more “human” I see in quilts, the more I am attracted to them. It is one of the reasons I have come to love hand quilting on a traditional quilting frame. Every stitch tells a story.
Do you think that creativity comes naturally to people, or do you think creativity is a skill that people can learn?
Life is hard, fragile and all too brief. Every person deserves and is capable of creativity.
Learn more about Hillary and her work on her website and Instagram.
Interview posted May 2025
Browse through more inspiring art quilts on Create Whimsy.