31 Day Blog Challenge-Intro

While attending Threads of Success during International Quilt Market in Houston, I had the opportunity to meet and sit through a few sessions with Cheryl Sleboda. I was very impressed with her work ethic in making this whole event a huge success, and began following more of her afterwards for inspiration. When I saw notice of the #31dayblogchallenge2019, I knew I had to join up and take part. Blogging is something I enjoy doing, but also struggle from since it’s always tough to find time, and remember, to write for the day. So my goal for the month of December is to knock out this challenge and improve on my writing skills.

For Day #1 of the challenge, it’s an introduction. So here we go! A little about Redd Homestead first. Redd Homestead has been a dream of mine for quite a long time. I joke that I want to be a homesteader, but still enjoy the comforts of electricity, high-speed internet, and all the conveniences of today! When we made the move to Maryland in 2018, we decided to work this dream into making it a reality. We purchased a home on almost 12 acres that still allowed us to have plenty of space (and conveniences) to stretch out and raise our kids and farm animals. Besides having the 2 kids that keep us extremely busy, we also enjoy spending time around the property fishing in our pond, growing a garden, raising dairy goats and spending time with our horses.

The other side of Redd Homestead is my business side of things. For a few years now I have dabbled in custom items for friends and family members. But in 2018 I decided to start working towards making this dream a reality after the move. Since then I have been blessed with the opportunity to make custom items and actually be compensated for it! While I have kept the business small over the past year, my hope is to see it really take off and grow as I narrow my focus to pattern designing with the custom work, and have the opportunity to educate others. After attending the Threads of Success program, I realized it’s time for me to grow into my dream, make it happen, and take the leap! Thankfully I also have the incredible support of my husband and children who are beyond excited for me and always helping to push me when I let doubt start setting in.

So what are my goals for Redd Homestead? My plan is to start building my pattern design business while having the ability to provide custom work to those who want to put those handmade items in their homes as well. For the education aspect of the business, I want to inspire those beginner quilters to have faith in themselves, learn the skill and techniques and let their desires and passions take over as they make something beautiful. My patterns will keep a focus on beginner and advanced beginner friendly as to allow more sewist the option of making the designs they love. As a fan of ruler work, I also look forward to teaching more quilters the skills needed to help them in the ability to finish their products. I live by a standard that if someone is going to pay me for my work, it will all be done by me and in-house. I do not send out my work to a longarm quilter or anyone else to complete. If I ever did, it would be under full understanding with my customer that the work would not be fully completed by myself.

So, with all that being said, the overall thing to know about Redd Homestead is we are a real and loving home, made of a family who loves and cares for each other, our livestock, and the comforts of home. Any purchases made from Redd Homestead go to support a real family who invest in their own small town community. If you have a request for a custom sewing project related to quilting or home decor, please reach out and I would be glad to see if we can make your dream a reality.