Why, Hello There!

Hello! My name is Vanessa, and I'm the brains, brawn, and everything else here at Unseamly Stitches. I'm so glad you stopped by!

I have degrees in graphic design, technology education, and a certification to be a school media specialist (librarian). You know, a little variety is good, right? 
For fifteen years I taught high school technology education, wrote young adult and middle grade novels, and was a high school librarian who did mixed media art and quilted. 
Then I became a mom - and the quilt frame had to go to the attic, the art supplies became a hurricane of sadness and destruction waiting to happen, and I got rid of many of the things that I just didn't have time for anymore.
But the pandemic happened, and a month before the world closed we found out my oldest had an immune deficiency and could no longer go to daycare. So I quit my job to stay home with him. Apparently it was a good choice, because just after COVID took over everyone's lives, and we couldn't go anywhere for almost two years, until he grew out of the worst of the immune issues. 
Cross stitch became a way to help manage my anxiety. I started with stamped cross stitch kits, which I do before bed as a way to wind down and stay away from screens.  
I also have a serious love of Tudor history, which led to looking at some historical patterns, which led me to blackwork embroidery. 
Somewhere along the way, I realized a few things. It is FAR easier to store cross stitch supplies,  and my artwork translated to blackwork so, so well. 
And so Unseamly Stitches was born!