Even as a little a girl I loved to make things. I grew up just outside Chicago, in a tiny house with a very creative family. Someone was always making something there. My dad was a musician and a commercial artist, and my mom taught my sisters and me everything from cake decorating to sewing, macrame to embroidery. I had my first “business” at age 13, when I sold handmade model-horse blankets through a classified ad in a magazine.

I went to college to study English, then graduate school to study creative writing, but I never stopped trying to find time to make crafts. In 1998, shortly after I married Andy Paulson (my college sweetheart) and we moved to Portland, Oregon, I was in a bad accident that required me to spend many months in bed recovering. I began embroidering almost constantly then and it profoundly affected me, allowing me to heal both physically and emotionally. It was almost a year before I walked again.

Our life changed dramatically after my accident. In 2000, I left my job as a book editor and started Posie: Rosy Little Things, a one-woman production studio where I created handmade one-of-a-kind gifts, handbags, accessories, crochetwear, and original sewing, embroidery, and craft patterns. Andy went to nursing school and became an RN in 2003. From 2003 until 2006, I co-owned Ella Posie, a boutique in Portland that featured dozens of unique, handmade, vintage-inspired product lines in addition to my own.

For most of 2007, I designed, stitched, wrote patterns for, and photographed thirty original sewing projects for my first book, STITCHED IN TIME: Memory-Keeping Projects to Sew and Share from the Creator of Posie Gets Cozy, which was published by Potter Craft in the fall of 2008.

My second book, EMBROIDERY COMPANION: Classic Designs for Modern Living, is a collection of thirty decorative embroidery, cross-stitch, and crewelwork patterns and projects inspired by folk art and traditional motifs. I again designed the projects, wrote the patterns, took the photos, drew the illustrations and templates, and stitched all of the projects myself. It is now available for pre-order, and will be released on August 10, 2010!

These days, when I'm not making books, I work from my home studio designing crafts and self-published patterns and selling my handmade originals exclusively through my web shop. I love to take photos and write about stuff at my blog, Posie Gets Cozy. This year I look forward to becoming a better knitter, exploring Portland's incredible natural areas, and seeing the Avett Brothers when they come back to town.