You've now made a successful business from creating heirlooms; did your mama pass any special heirlooms to you? Please share!

I was given a hand-carved rose made from ivory that my grandfather gave to my grandmother. It's old, and a bit brittle, but I love it. Also, on my wedding day, my mom gave me a quilt that my grandmother made.  I mean, a fist full of cash would've been super and you can never go wrong with a blender, but those things fade away. Whenever a friend gets married, I always give them the blender AND make something for them. I do the same when a baby is born.

Have you had any out-of-the-ordinary requests to create something uniquely special for a client/customer? If so, could you tell us a bit about it?

I do have a few favorites that we've made. Last winter we made a christening quilt from a German wedding dress. The new mother's mom had passed away when she was a child, and the aunt who raised her saved the mother's wedding dress. The quilt took hours to make, but it was gorgeous.

We also made a 50th wedding anniversary quilt. We took pictures from the couple's fifty years together, printed the pictures on silk habotai, and quilted everything together and embroidered their names and the wedding date in the center.

These types of quilts are extremely detailed and cost a bundle. It fills me with dread when I have to add up the hours we will spend and tell the customer how much the quilt will cost. However, I started to think about what we do like this: I spend $50.00 every time I go to Target. I'm not even sure what I buy. Why not spend four hundred dollars on something that you will actually remember, that you will actually display. I didn't grow up with much in terms of stuff, but my mother always made sure we had a few nice, well-made pieces. I guess I've continued that philosophy into adulthood.  I'd rather have a few nice things rather than a bunch of stuff.

Most of our quilts are much more reasonably priced. I love, love, love, what so many people do with our Double Baby Clothes Quilt -- they get a fabric square from each family member -- cousins, aunts, grandpas, etc. and have us make a quilt for the new baby. This is actually a Chinese custom for a new baby, and I get a little choked up every time we get to make one. It's the perfect gift.