Meet Kiley!

I grew up in northern Virginia, just south of Washington DC (and to answer your first question- no, I do not have a southern accent! Northern Virginia and Southern Virginia are two very different regions). I went off to college in Idaho and got my degree and my husband! What luck! We moved around a bit at first, living with parents, and small apartments and searching for and switching jobs. Eventually we found ourselves nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia. Life moves a little slower here and we love it!

Both my husband and I currently work in fields that neither of us went to school for or got degrees in. My degree is in Medical Assisting. I worked one job in the field and bounced! It was not for me. As our family started to grow, I searched for ways to make money from home. I ran several direct selling companies and had great experiences and made great friends. But a slow burn had begun and it eventually turned into a bonfire!

My Quilting Journey

The first quilt I ever made was when I was in high school for a church project and I hated the process so much. I vowed to never quilt again! As fate would have it, I married into a quilting family! I decided to give it another try when I became pregnant with our first. This time around I fell in love with this new form of art! I loved working with the fabric and creating fabric puzzles that turned into keepsakes that my family enjoys every day.

In 2015 my quilting business began. I turned my hobby into a business and began to long arm. What a jump that was! Do you know how expensive those beasts are? Woof. I took out a loan, got trained, and got to work! It has always been humbling and exciting to be given someones work of art and put my stamp on it. I absolutely love working on my long arm and bringing quilts to life!

Over the years, my interest in quilting shifted to designing quilt patterns! I took Quilter’s Candy’s Pattern Writing Course and hit the ground running! It has been an amazing journey and I have made some forever “quilty” friends, which I am eternally grateful for! Each pattern sale brightens my day, and I see you and am thankful to you! I hope you enjoy my vision and love and creativity that I pour into each pattern! I can’t wait to see what kind works of art you make with my patterns!

Fun Facts About Me

• I also organize quilt retreats, which you can check out here

• I have four amazing children ages 9, 6, 4, >1 (2020)

• My favorite things to watch are: The Office, Parks & Rec, Psych, Brooklyn 99 and all Marvel movies

• I was a competitive swimmer for 10 years and then taught for 5

• Recently, I got into houseplants and now I can’t stop

• My favorite smells are Home Depot and wet pavement from the rain (hate lavender)

• Baking is one of my favorite things to do, but, you know, calories. Gotta limit the baking

• I am the oldest of 5 girls

• I am your typical A-type personality: organized, high-strung, list tracker, plan maker… you know the type

• Growing up I thought I was an extrovert, and maybe I was, but I find that I am more of a homebody now

• Speaking of growing up, in highschool I was a sad emo wear-black-band-tshirts-all-the-time kind of girl

• As a family, we like to hike, play games, and watch movies

I’m so excited to be Cotton Cuts’s featured designer this month! Happy quilting!