I grew up spending time on my grandparent's farm. You grew your own food, you ate fresh fruits and vegetables while they were in season, and you canned as much as you could to enjoy throughout the rest of the year. My mother and grandmother taught me that way of life. They also taught me how to sew.

I've spent more years than I care to count in a variety of marketing strategy and executive roles. It's work I love. But the sewing room and the garden are where I go to quiet everything down. And it turns out that's when my best thinking happens.

The Quilted Jar is rooted in what I was raised to believe: Handmade things carry meaning, food worth eating is worth growing yourself, and the old crafts are worth keeping alive. My grandmother Alice's 1956 Necchi sewing machine is in my studio. Her fabric is in my quilts. I love sharing this way of life and the quilted and canned goods with others.

My husband and I live on 15 acres in Swansea, Illinois … Keserauskis Farms. Right next to the farm I spent time at throughout my life.