These aren’t your grandmother’s
scraps. Well, maybe they are!
Our story
I like to joke that my grandmother invented gaslighting.
One day, I stumbled upon a box of tiny, misfit fabric scraps in her old sewing room, collected over decades of projects. It was labeled “Scraps too small to save.”
To me, it was a treasure trove. Grandma? She still swears this box never existed.
Well, despite the box’s label (and grandma’s selective memory), I’m grateful she kept it around. Because finding this collection of scraps sparked my personal philosophy: nothing is too small to have a purpose. I believe there’s beauty in giving new life to things others might overlook.
Today, I’ve been making quilts and other crafts for over 20 years. But for me, crafting has always been about more than the final product. It’s a thread that runs deep through my family’s history—and has been part of my own life through many different seasons.
When my stepmother taught me to sew at 10 years old.
When, during my children’s toddler years, I found myself reaching for quilt making as a sort of therapy—a way to get that satisfaction of a project being “done” during a parenting season when that feeling is rare.
As a way to carry on a family tradition. My mother-in-law gifted her two oldest sons quilts as wedding presents. She had pieced the tops for the other two sons, but illness prevented her from quilting and binding them. A trusted friend stepped in and finished the quilts. I have been able to keep this tradition alive for 6 of her 9 grandchildren.
One thing all of my projects have in common? I want people to use them.
I want my quilts to be wrapped up in on the couch, not sat on a shelf. I want my rugs to bring character to a room without people being afraid to walk on them. In my eyes, pretty and functional don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
All my work comes to life slowly and intentionally on Grani’s Acres—the 17-acre property my husband and I call home in rural Illinois. It’s my favorite place to be, where I spend my days dreaming up projects, sorting through scraps, and transforming reclaimed fabrics into functional keepsakes.
And then, hopefully, those pieces leave Grani’s Acres and find a place in your home—where they can be used, loved, and enjoyed for years to come.