quilt

About Quilt

I built Quilt because my family needed it.

I'm Craig, a working dad. I have a son and a daughter, and they are with me half the time. They are everything to me.

Craig Valentine, founderLinkedIn
Craig at dinner with his daughter and son
Craig with his son and daughter by the lake at sunset, 2023
2023, the year our week became two homes.

Why I built it

Half the time means the week has two halves, two houses, two sets of cleats. The hardest part was never the big decisions. It was the Tuesday questions: when is the switch, who has the cleats, did the other home see that the dentist got moved.

The app we were told to use felt like a courtroom. Every time I opened it I felt like I was in a deposition. My kids never looked at it.

My son wouldn't ask when he was going to the other house. He would just stay quiet until I got him talking about it. So I put it on his iPad, where he can see the switch coming and understand it for himself.

That was the start. A calendar my kids could read by themselves, on their own screens and in the kitchen, with the record kept quietly underneath for the days a family needs one. I spent a year building the thing I wanted, and we use it every day.

What it is in our house

Not a feature list. This is what is actually on ours.

  • Cheer

    My daughter’s whole cheer schedule is on her calendar.

  • Hot lunch

    A note on the day. Nobody has to remember it.

  • Homework

    It comes in from the school’s calendar and lands on her days.

  • Chores

    Theirs to tick off, with stars they earn for doing them.

  • The counter

    An Echo Show in the kitchen shows the week to anyone walking by.

  • His iPad

    My son sees when the switch is coming, without having to ask.

And on the hard days

Two homes is not always easy, and ours has had its hard stretches. That is when I need Quilt most, because it keeps things calm, in one place, and on the record.

  • Messages stay in the app.

    One thread, timestamped, nothing lost in a text chain. If a draft reads heated, Quilt offers a calmer version before it goes.

  • Expenses, handled like business.

    Snap the receipt, set the split, send it. Each line is approved or answered, and the balance is plain to both of us.

  • The schedule, where we can both see it.

    Whose days are whose, on a calendar instead of in an argument. A change is asked for, answered, and lands on both calendars.

  • Craig and the kids behind a birthday cake, thumbs upBirthdays
  • Craig and the kids in the car on the way to a matchGame day
  • Craig and his son making faces in the car after schoolPickup
“Some weeks end at the school bell. No goodbye at the curb, no last wave. A good week just stops at 3 and the house goes quiet. It still counted.”

What I believe

  1. 01

    Kids shouldn’t have to ask when the switch is.

    Some kids won’t ask at all. They should be able to look.

  2. 02

    Two homes is still one family’s week.

    Quilt is built for two parents who both show up, not for keeping score.

  3. 03

    One home deserves it too.

    That is why Quilt is free for families under one roof.

Why I'm still doing this

Because I love it, and because my own family runs on it every day. If something got in your way, or there is something you wish Quilt did, tell me. I read every email and I'm open to changing things.