Meet Lacey Johnson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lacey Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lacey , thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

As we grow up we hear phrases like, “when push comes to shove,” or “fish or cut bait.” Our nature draws us to respond in a “fight or flight” method of choice making. There is a constant debate as to whether it is our nurturing within a given society that makes us who we are, or more of our natural born tendencies that shape us into who we will become. Studies may calculate and determine their own conclusions, but for me I have had the unique opportunity of living around the world in a variety of cultures and societies. And it has been through these experiences that I’ve been able to witness how much of my personal growth has come from situational lessons versus how much I can attribute to my personal nature.
By fourth grade I learned I had an intellectual gift when I tested out of fifth grade and jumped into sixth grade. This came with not only academic challenges, but unexpected social challenges as well. All of a sudden I was no longer allowed to be friends with my classmates I “left behind,” and I was not excepted by the older kids, who felt I didn’t belong; I found myself alone. The expectation for young me was that I would have to reinvent myself to fit in with the older kids; mimic their likes and dislikes. This was a pivotal moment I’ll always look back on and highlight as a moment I learned something about myself, “I wasn’t going to change for anyone. And as long as you love who you are, others will learn to love you.” This became the cornerstone of my personality all the way through the rest of school and beyond. I can fondly look back on all my school years and remember including those who didn’t have friends, or skipping parties that I knew I shouldn’t be at because I knew I felt no social pressure to conform to anyone’s expectations of who I should be. This confidence also transferred into my faith.
A few years after marrying my husband (at 19yrs old!), we moved to Poland for a dual medical school program. This was before smartphones, or the internet even really had any helpful information; we literally checked books out from the library to learn anything we could about this new country we’d call home. Being poor students, we booked the cheapest flight we could, which resulted in 36 hours of travel with our then 18month old son; again, no i-pads or cellphones at this time. The night we arrived to Poland, we still didn’t have a place to live. The school had a representative pick us up from the airport and drive us and our classmates around to a few apartment options. It was the coldest February in 20 years; it was -35 F. My son’s bag had been lost during our flights, and he was missing a sock somehow. He and I were told to wait on the bus while all the others examined the potential living accommodations. The infuriated bus driver decided he was tired of waiting for us to get off the bus and he decided to leave. In a panic, I ran to the front of the bus and begged him, in English, to stop and let us off. He threw my suitcases into the snow covered street, let us off, and drove away. No phones, apartment doors locked, I gathered the bags, clutched my son, and just sat in the silent snow covered parking lot, waiting for someone to come find us.
Living in Poland was full of extreme high’s and low lows. We would travel Europe, what a dream. Then we would find out our student loans were frozen and we had no money. We’d find out we were pregnant, then find out we might lose the baby due to health scares. My husband was busy every minute of every day, so it was just me and my son left to figure out the day-to-day. Thanks fully, God blessed us with friends from our small church gathering that taught me how to use a grocery store, drive, and find my way around. These women taught me to be brave, and to go after what you want… a lesson I’ve used and reused over and over through the years. They taught me how to pay it forward, constantly saying, “someday you’ll be in my position, and you’ll be helping those around you.” I will always love them. But the hardest trial we faced was having our visas expire while I was halfway through my pregnancy and being told we’d have to leave the country before my husband could finish school. We had so many people on our side, fighting to get a renewal. We were even contemplating a drive into Ukraine so that we could receive a “travel stamp” at the boarder that would allow us another few months in the country, legally. However, I was seven months pregnant and when I was told there was a “slight chance we could end up in prison,” that plan quickly died as I imagined birthing my second son in a Ukrainian jail!
In the meantime, we were told to lie low, and not get caught living illegally in another country. Those months of living as an illegal alien, just trying to better our lives, taught me the invaluable lesson to never judge others until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
During our time living in New York I was exposed to innumerable cultures, religions, hardships, and ways of living. I had so many friends and acquaintances who knew nothing of my religion, and I was given the opportunity to really look in the mirror and ask myself, “what is it my religion believes? What is it I believe?” I learned how to share with others what made me who I was without offending them with those beliefs. And I truly recognized in myself how foundational my faith was in shaping who I am.
We spent several years in the Midwest where we traded in skyscrapers and never ending traffic, for hours of cornfields and a town I could drive from one end to the other in the blink of an eye. While in Iowa we experienced a little taste of what others have experienced when I couldn’t get pregnant for some reason. This struggle taught me compassion and to rely on God for his timing and plan that was out of my hands. I began to understand and accept the phrase, “thy will be done.”
And it was done. I became pregnant with our sweet little girl, graduated with my masters, and ended up with the amazing surprise of becoming pregnant with another spitfire of a little girl. As our family grew, my desire to be in the temple grew as well. With age does come wisdom. My love of the temple has definitely grown from my nurturing experiences, and not my nature. Young me dreaded the “monthly quota” of being forced to be there. I took for granted I had several temples “in my backyard,” to say. It wasn’t until we no longer had them that I missed their presence. In Poland, we would take a night train to Prague, then another train to Freiburg, Germany to our temple just so we could attend. In New York, the Manhattan temple became a place of solace from the never ending noise that filled our lives. And in Iowa, with four young kids, the two hour drive-two hour session-two hour drive back made it nearly impossible for us to attend on a regular basis. And when I began working with the youth, and my oldest son became of age that he could attend the temple, I knew we needed to live in a location where the temple could be in the center of our daily lives.
Again, years of praying to the Lord for His will to be done landed us back in Utah two years ago (one of those things younger us swore would never happen); happy to be back near family, and near the temple.
Now both my sons are temple age and enjoy doing baptisms with family, youth groups, and even their friends from school; it has truly been a blessing in our lives to be back. And as we have begun spending more time in the temples and learning about them, I looked around my house one day and realized there was absolutely nothing in it that represented the time we were spending there, or just how important temples are to us. That is where the twinkling idea of Quiltternity was first glimpsed. I saw my patch quilt, full of patches from places we’ve been around the world, but nothing to show the most important place we were going: the temple.
So I created a “Journeys Quilt,” full of images from stories in the scriptures; stories of journeys that were hard, but always worth taking. That is why the center box of our quilt has the saying, “A Journey Worth Taking.” We’ve also developed several temple patches for some of Utah’s most frequently visited temples, and we continue to develop more as fast as we can! This way when a person is attending a temple for the first time, they can purchase a patch for that temple and place it on their quilt, as a physical reminder of those times they’ve stood in holy places. These quilts are perfect presents for youth turning 12 and attending the temple for the first time, converts just beginning their journey to the temple, missionaries, weddings, mother’s/Father’s Day, holidays, and anniversaries. In the end, when a person has spent their life collecting patches for each temple they’ve attended, they can pass their quilt down to their posterity and it can serve as an heirloom piece to remember them by. A Quiltternity quilt isn’t just another “world’s most luxrious blanket,” that will eventually end up worn out, thrown out, or given away; our quilts are a one-time-purchase heirloom piece, that will allow you to keep adding onto your whole life, without end! Without clutter! Without all the extra that the world tries to sell us on. For Easter, you find a temple patch in your basket, and then you take time as a family and go. On Mother’s Day, your mom opens her card to find a new temple patch, and then later she enjoys going to the Tempe and lunch with her child. Our patches are so much more than a gift that supplies happiness for a fleeting moment. They bring families together and create opportunities for memories to be made. They are truly a reminder of those times you chose to stand in holy places, and remember you were there with the ones you love. And for our freshly baptized members, we also have our “The Comforter” baptism throws! These soft, white throws are embroidered with our signature Eternal Doves that represent the Holy Ghost, our baptized members, and the eternal covenants made at baptism that bond then together, forever. So every time they grab their throw and snuggle up, they’ll see the doves and remember that their not alone, that they will always have the “Comforter” with them.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I shared my life’s story and what my business is all about in the previous question prompt, so I won’t bore you to read through it again (you can refer to the previous question’s answer). However, in reference to professional focus, I would love to see Quiltternity products become a standard gift. I’d love to see someone getting married start their lives together adding temple trips in and collecting patches along the way. I dream of seeing our quilts become a standard gift to every missionary leaving, so they could add the temple in which they received their endowments, as well as their mission temple added to their quilt. I’d love to see all these cute little children being baptized receive a “The Comforter” throw to remember their special day, and the promises they made. My professional goal is the aspiration to know that I motivated even one person to spend extra time in the temple! I hope that our products can replace the cheaply made gifts that are soon thrown away after receiving them, and serve to bring families together.

We can be found on our website: www.Quiltternity.com, on instagram @quiltterinty, or soon you will be able to find us on Etsy! We recently had a booth at the WildThistleMarket in South Jordan, and will hopefully be getting into Pinners, Holy Cow, and Swiss Days in 2026; So keep an eye out for us. In the meantime, please follow us on social media, share our content, and help us get our name out through Word-of-mouth! And keep your eyes on the lookout because we are constantly releasing new temple patches, offering discounts, and we have a few completely new products that will *HOPEFULLY* be launching by Christmas!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1- It was through our 12 year educational journey of earning my husband’s M.D., as well as my Master’s Degree, all at the same time as growing a family that I learned two things can be true at once. You will NEVER have time to accomplish your dreams if you let life happen to you. And at the same time, you can ALWAYS make time to accomplish your dreams IF you make them a priority, and then devise a plan make it happen!
2- During the years I’ve had to be a “single mother” while my husband was living away for work or school, I again, learned that two things can be true at once. One, I am capable of rising to any occasion I am facing. And two, I don’t have to rise to the occasion alone. FIND A VILLAGE! They are out there. Good people that want to see you succeed, and find joy in knowing they helped you along the way in your success. I could NEVER have got Quiltternity off the ground if it hand been for my angel neighbor, who literally stepped in to help me start my business for no other gain than knowing she helped me succeed.
3- Be in Motion. You cannot reach new heights and accomplish goals if you aren’t moving. For me, I feel strongly that everyone should serve in their communities, whether it be in school, churches, nonprofit groups, or even just within their neighborhoods. It was through saying yes to accept a service calling to help and serve the women within my church that I was then placed in charge of attending meetings that were centered around family history and the temple. It has been through this calling and being in these meetings that a fire has grown into a passion for wanting to see others feel the way I feel about the temple. That passion (along with the constant support of my husband) has served as the source of motivation to create my business and never give up on seeing it become a success!

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

While I have had several key people involved in making the production of Quiltternity products a reality (and I truly owe them), there would have been nothing to produce if it wasn’t for my husband and his endless support!
I have an entrepreneurial mind and have spent my life having ideas come to my mind that I could make great businesses, books, songs, etc. If it wasn’t for the constant belief and reassurance I receive from my husband, I NEVER would have bet on myself enough to go all in and create Quiltternity.
Not only has my husband shown his support to me through his constant pick-me-ups, but he’s literally “put his money where his mouth is,” by working extra shifts in the rural E.R.’s of Iowa to provide the startup money for Quiltternity. This is something I have never asked him to do, but something he is determined to do because he believes in Quiltternity and he believes in me so much that he is willing to leave his family, give of his time off, and work a strenuous job that comes with much stress!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.quiltternity.com
• Instagram: @quiltternity