When I was growing up, I was interested in pretty much everything. Maybe that's because I was a Air Force brat, and moved about every 2 years, on average. I got used to doing and seeing new things all the time. Someone once told me I should pick one subject and concentrate on that, but I never liked that advice. So I kept doing whatever I was interested in, and while I've switched my focus several times in life so far, I've gotten to do many fascinating things!

I did all sorts of crafts as a child, taught by my parents and grandparents, but as I entered college, I began to do fewer crafts. I kept up the cross-stitching, as I love all the colors and the detail and precision of the craft, but my crocheting and macrame and latch hook fell by the wayside. I chose to study physics and music in college (I narrowed it down to 2 subjects, but couldn't pick just one!), and graduated in 5 years with a BA in music (piano) and a BS in physics and astronomy (double major) from the University of Washington. The music was my love, and the physics was to be my way to make a living.

I began graduate work in astronomy in Hawaii, but after a semester, decided the very theoretical subject just wasn't for me. I went back home to regroup, and tried my hand at being a novelist (my other great love, but as yet, unrealized), and made a bit of money playing the piano (for the Seattle Girls' Choir). I then entered grad school again and earned an MLS degree in Library & Information Science. However, halfway through the program, I learned about space robotics, and decided to go back to my scientific roots and pursue that.

Immediately after library school, I moved to Pittsburgh to study robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. I got to do all sorts of cool things as a grad student, researching robotics in both the Canadian Arctic and Antarctica. I presented research papers in the Netherlands, South Korea, and many places in America. I helped lead a high school FIRST robotics team for 4 years. I learned to fly an airplane. I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. And yes, I did eventually graduate with an MS and a PhD in robotics. After graduating, I got a job at NASA Johnson Space Center, and spent about 7 years doing space robotics research, developing robotic software and testing it in remote locations in Arizona and Utah.

Then I got married, and had 3 kids within 3 and a half years.

As a stay-at-home mom to 3 kids so close in age, my life has changed quite a bit. Slower, in some regards, but busier in many others. You'll see pictures of the kids here modeling some of my designs. The oldest girl is creative and imaginative, the middle girl has a beautiful constant smile and is very loving and caring, and the youngest boy has an adorable grin and loves to laugh! Of course, I am a bit biased.

When I was around 14, my dream for my life was to play the piano, write books, and do crafts on the side. My life has taken many turns since then, but now I am back to the original dream. I play the piano at church (have been, pretty much non-stop since high school), try to write when I can (see this page for my hopefully growing list of publications, and see this page for my other blog), and do lots of crafts. In this website, I'll try to keep you up-to-date on my latest projects and crafting thoughts, share some of my patterns, and give you some of the tips I've gathered over the years. As a left-hander, I've noticed that some changes need to be made at times to right-handed patterns, so I'll give you a few tips for that too. And if I decide to pursue some new career in life, you'll be among the first to know!

Kimberly Shillcutt Tyree, KST Designs