To your eyes, what makes an heirloom "valuable?"

All of my favorite heirlooms help me hold a time and place, literally, in my hands. I come from an ethnic family where value was placed on "tchotchkes"-- Hummel figurines, Lladros, and every religious knick-knack you can think of. Maybe because I like a cleaner, simpler aesthetic -- or maybe because I'm not 75 -- I took a pass on all the figurines when offered to me. I place value on details from my grandparents' houses -- my favorite is a cross stitch that my grandmother made in the ‘30s. It reads, "Dear House: You are really quite small. Big enough for love, that's all." You probably couldn't get ten dollars for that at a garage sale, but it's the most important "thing" I own. I know "value" varies from person to person, but for me, I place value on heirlooms that hold the spirit of someone.

Upon becoming mothers, it seems as if our "sentimental" chip gets a recharging jolt! Can you tell us a bit about how what you create helps tempted-to-hoard mamas?

Our Baby Clothes Quilt Kit was created specifically because my sister-in-law was in the midst of a hoarding mania! My nephew had grown out of his baby clothes, and she refused to give anything away. Living in a two bedroom condo in Chicago made space tight, so I took some of her favorite outfits for my nephew and turned them into a small keepsake quilt. It then occurred to me that there are a lot of mothers who must feel in a panic because, let's face it, those baby clothes are very sentimental, and before you know it all those sweet little babies will want to wear is a skull n' crossbones tee shirt.

I am not overly sentimental by nature, and actually am not a hoarder. I am in awe of women who can scrapbook every occasion to perfection, but I don't know that will ever be me. I prefer to tell a story through a variety of objects, like scraps of fabric, that mean a lot to me.