I have enjoyed all kinds of crafts since I was a little girl, and I still love to start a new project and finish an old one.

My grandmother Hazel taught me to crochet, my mother CoraBelle taught me to quilt, and my Aunt Eileen taught me to knit.  I think I must have been one of those kids that they had to keep busy to keep out of mischief!

I was born in Iowa, and lived there for 29 years until moving to Texas. From Texas my husband Jim and I moved to Michigan for a short time, where I worked at Bear Cave Resort in Buchanan until we relocated to Missouri.

 I love it in the Ozarks, and the fishing here is great.  If I'm not at work at the hospital, I'm either writing, fishing in the lake, or creating new designs and patterns on the computer.

I work very hard at creating the patterns, and it is also a lot of fun for me.  Usually I have some idea in my head of something I want to create, or my husband Jim says , why don't you make a ............(whatever).  I might get halfway into making an item, and if it isn't going the way I want it to,  I'll frog the whole thing out and start over.  I may make notes as I go along, and I may wait till I finish - whatever works.

Occasionally I come across  yarn that just wants to be made into something special!  Then it either goes into something for babies,  little dogs, one of my kids, or grandkids.   And when I create something new, I take pictures as I go along and make notes to write the pattern.

My closets are so full of yarn, there is barely room for clothes.  When I want to create something new, I go digging in the yarn baskets to get inspiration.

In 2009 I wrote my first novel, a general fiction called "Abbey of Dragon Lake."  In 2012, I completed the sequel, "Blood Ties".  They are both available on Amazon.com for Kindle. I am currently working on my third novel, "Close to the Heart".

Every November, I join in National Novel Writing Month with thousands of other writers and take the challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days and another book is born.  Then I take the next few months and edit.  If you've always wanted to write a book, go to www.NaNoWriMo.org and join us for a month of fun and madness.  You won't regret it!

Three days a week I work a 12 hour shift  in the local hospital.  I work in OB, helping with the Moms and babies, and sometimes in surgery.  Every day I'm not working, I'm either knitting, crocheting, writing, or quilting.

You are invited to visit my Etsy stores any time you need a pattern.

www.ozarknomad.etsy.com

www.ladytatterly.etsy.com

www.mandalabay.etsy.com