I wish I had the popular back story where I can claim a lineage of artisans or such. But no. Dad was a professor. Mom was a nurse. They encouraged me to study a science. If I recall correctly, my mom said something like… “Valerie, you can study anything you like as long as it’s engineering, computer science or math…” For the record, I earned my B.S. in math and my M.S. in statistics and was grateful for the early career opportunities these degrees afforded me.

When I was small, my mom flat out refused to teach me how to sew, knit or crochet because of my “clumsy left hand.” Bitter? Not at all. That bit of delayed childhood gratification fueled my lifelong love of crafting. My favorite handicrafts are crochet and hand stitching. But I also dabble in needle felting, macrame, jewelry making, leather working, ceramics, linocut, origami and bookbinding.

Frankly, I’ve never met a craft I haven’t want to try.

To close the loop on my story: I’m actually glad of my math/stat background. It taught me discipline and how to think linearly. Plus it comes in handy when my kids need a little math tutoring. As for my mom, well, what can I say? To this day, she’s still shaking her head in disbelief at what a left-handed person like me can actually accomplish. Ha.