As a little girl I sat at my grandmother’s knee piecing quilt blocks. I was already learning to ply a needle and to see how colors worked together.

I grew up in a Midwestern home where clothes and home décor were handmade, sometimes from the same bolt of bargain fabric. As a youngster, I dreaded sitting on our enclosed porch where the cushion covers and curtains matched my summer play clothes.

But I convinced this same frugal Mother to let me have my bride doll’s wedding reception in our little yard complete with a miniature wedding cake baked by Grandma. I felt it was my just reward for having designed and sewn her thirty piece wardrobe from pilfered scraps from my Mother’s fabric drawer.

So as an adult, making things has come naturally to me.

Eventually, we moved to the Hudson Valley and I discovered a world of antiques and in nearby New York City an endless variety of fabric stores. A vintage shopper was born and a fabric junkie was hooked. Soon I had opened a shop of handmade décor and antique collectibles in a portion of our Victorian home and enjoyed two decades of pleasing the folks who walked through its doors.

Having sold the Victorian and closed my shop, we are in smaller digs. But I still love the thrill of the hunt for special vintage items, blending them with my handmade creations and florals in antique containers

In short, I’m beguiled again by my love of color and texture and using my hands to put together what I see in my head.

I am so pleased to have this vibrant Etsy community as a venue to share my passions. You may not walk through my physical shop door now, but I still look forward to meeting you and pleasing you in this virtual place called Etsy.