Meet Katelin Craven of Red Rock Quilt Co.

This month in the Longarm League, we published a coaching call featuring Katelin Craven of Red Rock Quilt Co. I sat down with her to talk about recently leaving her travel-heavy job as a bat biologist to have a better work/life balance and focus on her quilting career full-time. We talked about changing from slowly building a business to quickly ramping up, ways to apply her science skills and strengths to her new business, and living and quilting in a remote area full of amazing wildlife - check out the spectacular view from her studio window below!

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Katelin to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Katelin...

Katelin Craven, Red Rock Quilt Co.

Located: Roxborough Park, Colorado
In business: 9 months
Machine and software: Babylock Regalia with Pro-stitcher
In the Longarm League: 1 year

Where to find Katelin
Website: https://www.redrockquiltco.com/
Instagram: @redrockquiltco
Best way for someone to contact you for quilting? Filling out the Book a Quilt Form on my website to get the ball rolling or email me with any questions.

Q&A

Tell us a little about your business and the services you provide at Red Rock Quilt Co.
I named my business after the spectacular red rock fins that are in my neighborhood. The natural beauty and wildlife surrounding me really inspire my creativity. I am so lucky to be able to look out on the Denver foothills from my quilting studio. Red Rock Quilt Co. offers computerized edge to edge longarm quilting as well as computerized or free-motion custom and semi-custom quilting. I offer three types of batting for sale (Quilters Dream 100% cotton, 80/20, and wool). I also offer binding services both machine and hand sewn. I really like to keep the creativity alive by switching between edge to edge and custom work.

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out with their business?
Don't be afraid to try things and revise them later because you don't know what is going to work until you give it a chance. I started offering custom work at a square inch rate and quickly found out that I was not getting fairly compensated for my time and then switched to an hourly rate. You live and learn!

How did you get started longarm quilting?
I have been quilting for over 20 years and was doing a lot of free-motion quilting on my domestic machine. About 4 years ago I was getting really tired of manhandling all of the bulk of the quilt and started looking into longarm machines. My Babylock Crescendo has been my trusty domestic for years so I decided to stick with the brand for a longarm, Babylock Regalia. I had no plans to ever turn it into a business and continued to use it for a few years for personal free-motion quilting. My job as an environmental consultant, specifically a bat biologist, was increasingly making it difficult to maintain the life balance that I wanted so I joined the Longarm League Rookie Season September 2022 to slowly build a longarm business on the side and added the Pro-Stitcher to my machine. I have recently left my job and am working on Red Rock Quilt Co. full time!

Could you tell us about a business "win" you've had?
I received a challenging custom quilting request right after I opened from a friend from my Guild. Katie from Zahm Co was releasing a new pattern called Grid View and asked me to quilt the city of Phoenix on the grid, complete with labeled streets and drawing the iconic buildings and landmarks of the city. It was a daunting task, but a fun challenge. I put a ton of work into it and was excited with how it all turned out!

What quilting designs have you been loving lately?
I have been really enjoing Dunes (Red Willow Quilts), Malachite (Urban Elementz), and Modern Foliage (Orchid Owl Quilts) recently.

What is your favorite notion for longarm quilting?
The SnagMagic needle has been indispensable for burying all the threads during custom quilting.

What's your favorite part of making a quilt?
Hard to say, I love all of them, but I of course love the longarming portion, particularly planning out a custom quilt. Strangely to most people I find binding meditative and so exciting to have that last step completed so I can enjoy my quilt.

Favorite snack while sewing?
White cheddar popcorn! I like to put it into a bowl and then stick my toungue to each peice so I don't get my hands dirty =).

What other hobbies do you enjoy aside from quliting?
I have two amazing doodles and I love walking and hiking with them and my husband. I have been mountain biking a lot more recently and really enjoing being able to go longer distances to explore the mountains. I am looking forward to more snow for downhill and cross-country skiing to start again soon. On the crafty side, I have been learning how to needle felt and have been enjoing learning a new skill.

If you'd like to watch the business spotlight call with Katelin, or are interested in being a guest, we'd love to have you join us! Whether you're interested in starting your own longarm quilting business, or wanting to improve your current business, check out our Rookie Season course! You can see all the details, read about how the course has helped previous students, and get started here.

Thanks so much for talking with us this month Katelin!