Once upon a time in a small fishing village…Well, I guess that's going back a little too far. But the part about the small fishing village is true. That's where I live-in what was a small fishing village in the west passage of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. It is now a lovely historic village called Wickford.

How did I get started with designing cross stitch? Like most designers, I liked to sew-hand sew, that is-crewel, knitting, crocheting, cross stitch, needlepoint, etc. Well, my sister, Linda, was managing a needlework store here in Wickford and she told me that customers were always looking for local designs and nautical designs. So, my first design was of the Village of Wickford showing all the coves and inlets. Then I moved on to designing the other ports and harbors in Rhode Island, the Ocean State. What came next? Designing the whole state of Rhode Island. I was hooked. I only had 49 more states to do… Not a small task. What an adventure and what an education I got.

It's taken over 10 years to complete this project and in the meantime I also started designing lighthouses. Naturally, we live on the ocean! My newest goal, however, is not to design all the lighthouses as there are thousands and thousands of them across the country, but to design special lighthouses in detailed to-scale works using precise colors to add to the realism of that lighthouse. I like to work from photography and we've enjoyed traveling and visiting numerous lighthouses. It's a good excuse to take a vacation!

Do I design other subjects? Definitely, yes. Once you get started designing, everything you see becomes a possible design subject. Holiday designs are a must, colorful birth announcements for newborns, wedding samplers, weathervanes, whatever strikes my fancy.

I 'm very happy to have found my niche in the creative world. It's exciting to hear from stitchers who tell me how they've added their hometown to one of my state designs.

What else do I do? Besides thoroughly loving my husband, two grown children and 5 fabulous grandchildren (of course), my education was in music-voice performance, to be exact. I have a private voice studio and teach singing part time in a local university. Now that I think of it, I should be doing more designs involving music. A new goal! Stay tuned and welcome to the designs of S. P. INK.

Best wishes,

Roberta

P.S. Why the company named S. P. INK? Spink was my maiden name.
(And no, we do not sell INK.)