I was born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Elizabeth, PA, to be exact.  I earned an associate's degree in Secretarial Sciences from Robert Morris College in 1971 and moved to Colorado Springs to be with my future husband, Mark.  In June 1972, Mark received his commission in the Air Force, and we were married shortly thereafter.  Over the next eight years, we lived in several beautiful parts of the country, including Alabama, California, upstate New York, and New Mexico.

In 1980, during Mark's last Air Force assignment, I was able to finish my bachelor's degree in Computer Science at New Mexico State University.  Soon afterwards, we found ourselves back in Pennsylvania adjusting to civilian life once again, this time at the other end of the state, in beautiful Bucks County. Over the course of the next 22 years, I earned my master’s degree in Engineering Sciences from PennState and worked as a software engineer for defense contractors, a very rewarding career.  Mark, in the meantime, transitioned from military flying to civilian flying, working initially as a corporate pilot and then as a commercial airline pilot, something he still does today.  Together, we raised a number of 'children' of the 4-legged variety, primarily Alaskan Malamutes.

Having been born and raised in Pennsylvania and settling here again in the early 1980's, both Mark and I were heavily influenced by Pennsylvania's strong colonial heritage, especially the art of quiltmaking.  Inspired by the quilts of our local Amish and Mennonite communities, as well as those of other traditional American quiltmakers, I began making my own quilts in 1997.  My busy career prevented me from spending too much time on them, but I did somehow manage to fill my house with quilts.

In 2003, during unsettled times in the software engineering industry, I was faced with making some very difficult decisions.   Luckily, with the wonderful support of my husband and my dear friend, Lynn Barrett, I decided to leave the corporate world behind and launch my own business.  Thus, Redbud Ridge Quilts was born. I'm happy to say that the business has been successfully growing ever since.  Of course, that wouldn't be possible without the continued support of my family, friends and enthusiastic customers.  I am especailly grateful to Mark, my husband, for his unending belief in me and his love of my quilts.  He's not only my biggest fan and expert advisor on designs, fabrics and fabric selections, he's also my chief box mover, display assembler, and saleswoman's helper.

Oh, and in case you were wondering where we came up with the name Redbud Ridge Quilts, Mark gets the credit for that too.  The Redbud tree is one of our most favorite trees, with its beautiful purplish-pink flowers in the Spring and its dark green leaves in the Summer.  We live on several acres high on a hill and have planted them all over our property.  In the Spring, we get a gorgeous explosion of color from our Redbuds, not unlike the colors in a quilt sometimes.

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