OUT OF THE SHADOWS AND INTO THE LIGHT

Well....climb aboard the crazy train, folks. After spending a year happily lurking on every stitching blog, I decided it was time to jump into the fray. This first post will be all about me, since I'm sure you've been perched on the edge of your chair just waiting for this very important information.

My name is Coni and I am the Spinster Stitcher. Now, for those of you easily offended by the term "Spinster", relax. It is my intention to reclaim the title and make Spinster Stitching the most fabulous thing on the planet.

I'm 42 (ahem). Never married, no children (hence, the Spinster). I live in Mishawaka, Indiana with my dog Stewey. Stewey is a nine-pound bundle of love dressed up in the form of a shorty Jack Russell terrier. More about him later.

I've been stitching since 2003 because my sister told me I was going to. She had moved in with me for a bit and decided that staring at the walls each evening was not her idea of fun in the big city. So we stitched. And stitched. And stitched.

In 2005 I converted the bonus room over my garage into a bona fide Spinster Stitching Studio. Pictures will follow, but I must warn you that my alternate name was The Anal Retentive Stitcher. You see, it's all about the organizing, and I do confess to spending countless hours up there tidying to my heart's content.

I do it all. Cross stitch, needlepoint, canvas work, and hardanger. I'm taking a crewel class in two weeks, so my attempt at becoming the veritible Spinster Stitchy Goddess will surely follow.

Here's what I can promise you, my faithful readers: 1) I'll try to keep the swearing to a happy minimum. 2) I won't go on and on and on about my Stewey, who just happens to be the love of my life and I would marry him in a heartbeat if only he could wear pants. 3) My stitchy pics will be blurry, out of focus, generally terrible in terms of lighting, but somehow "hopeful".

So buckle your seatbelts, kids. We're off!