I made my first quilt for my senior class project. I had no idea what I was doing but I was full of confidence. I have always been a figure-it-out kind of person. I thought I would just cut up the fabric and lay it out on the floor, then sew it all back together! Oh my, let’s just say it turned out as something that kind of resembles a quilt. I’m pretty sure I used Poly-Fil for batting, like the fluff in pillows. Someday I will be brave enough to share a picture! 

I started my little sewing business, Espresso Stitches, in 2012. I had 3 babies at the time, so the items that I made and sold were child-related. For example, I made girls’ skirts, crayon rolls, chalkboard mats, book bags, and little man neckties. My main advertising sources were local Facebook mom groups. I also set up booths to sell my handmade items at small-town festivals. I actually loved that best, building relationships with the people of my community.  I opened my Etsy shop in 2014, to have a place to sell inventory left over from the festivals. Some friends and I started dabbling in essential oils, so I made oil bags. I realized that I didn’t enjoy making the same thing a million times, so I wrote a pattern for my oil bag. 

I shifted focus for a few years, from growing my business to growing my kids. But who am I kidding? That job will never be done! 

I took an online pattern writing course in the fall of 2022 where I learned how to write my patterns in a more professional way using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. I now have 5 published patterns, with many more designs waiting to come to life.