I was motivated to create my own cross stitch designs when I found myself constantly modifying my own stitched pieces to reflect my "other life" as a reader, teacher, and scholar of Victorian literature. I am as much a lover of texts as textiles. Many of my cross stitch designs are inspired by characters, dialogue, and scenes from the works of Jane Austen, the Brontes, Charles Dickens.... I also draw inspiration from the 19th c. Arts and Crafts movement which celebrated timeless handmade crafts over disposable machine-made objects.