About the Designer

I have loved needlework for as long as I can remember. I spent my childhood piecing quilts, embroidering stamped pillowcases and sewing doll clothes. I first learned to crochet in 1969 and thoroughly enjoyed it. In the 1970s counted cross stitch, followed quickly by plastic canvas needlepoint, hit the marketplace, tempting me away from my crochet hooks. I enjoyed both of these new pastimes. My only frustration was that there were not many patterns available. So I began designing both cross stitch and plastic canvas needlepoint. In 1984 when I sold the very first design I submitted to a magazine, I was encouraged to continue designing. Although my main focus at that time was cross stitch and plastic canvas, I would occassionally design a knit or crochet project and had success selling those as well. Everything changed in 1999 when my sister asked me to design a throw using a double-ended crochet hook. I fell in love with the technique. My experimentation with the double-ended hook resulted in the release of a number of booklets of Crochet on the Double™ and requests from editors for more designs. Crochet (with an occassional knit design) has been the focus of my career since that time. In 2001, when Annie’s asked me to teach Crochet on the Double at a conference they were sponsoring I discovered a new passion—teaching! I love sharing my knowledge of crochet with fellow fiber fanatics! My days are spent designing for yarn companies and magazines, developing new crochet classes and teaching at Regional and National Conferences or at my LYS (local yarn store) Knitting Bee, in Portland, Ore. I love experimenting with different crochet techniques, from broomstick lace to Tunisian crochet, and seeing what new spin I can put on these old favorites. I wouldn’t have it any other way!