When I was very little I wanted to learn all the crafts my mom knew. So, when I was four years old she taught me to knit, crochet and sew. I loved doing all three so much that they became my life's work. As a teenager I earned spending money doing alterations for my mom's friends, and promptly spent it on fabric. Later I made quilts, handbags, pillows, wallhangings and clothing and sold these at arts and crafts fairs and a craft co-operative for many years.

At the insistence of a friend I put a few of my knitted garments in a show and sold all of them! Suddenly, it was my knitting that was paying the way. Since then, I've been designing, teaching knitting and crochet and even had a retail store for nine years - with my husband's help.

After closing our store I concentrated on teaching and that's when I was given the sobriquet "Yarnyoda" because I was always able to figure out any knitting problem. I really do know my craft well. And I'm always looking for new techniques to teach myself. Learning everything I can about knitting and crochet certainly keeps my creative juices flowing.

I opened my Etsy store in 2010 at the insistence of another friend and I'm so glad I did. It's been a great experience and I've met so many very nice people here, both customers and other "Etsyians". All of the items in my shop are made and designed by me except for a very few garments that were designed by others. I do write all of my own patterns and I really work hard to make them very easy to follow.

My friends seem to have a way of pushing me to other endeavors. My best friend was doing beaded jewelry and while shopping with her I decided I needed to use some beads to make stitch markers. Boy, has that ever taken off! And that created another outlet for me - wire wrapped jewelry. So, now I have two Etsy stores and my creativity knows no bounds.