I have always been interested in fiber, much to the dismay of my mother who is a watercolor and oil artist. She could never understand the attraction I had for the tactile - gold and silver threads, combinations of colors running through my needle, blending and shading - although it does sound like watercolor and oil!!!! I love the stitching part using the fantastic array of stitches and adding beads, charms and whatnots to individual pieces. My latest obsession is adding lampwork beads to my original designs. It adds that extra zing to a design and makes it one-of-a-kind.