How *Following the Thread* Internet Radio Happened

The inspiration for fttRadio.com occurred...as so many creative ideas of mine do... late one night...

A deadline was fast approaching and I was hard at work producing/painting handpainted needlepoint canvas. I was tired of my small collection of music CDs and wanted to listen to something that would engage my mind and entertain me while I painted. While taking a break to surf the web, I stumbled upon *On Demand* Internet Talk Radio. I discovered that I could listen to my choice of a number of programs that ranged from *Bigfoot Sighting* to *Alien Abduction* Since the hour was late and I was feeling a kinship with the *children of the night*, I chose *Do Vampires Exist?*. As I worked and listened to the earnest discussion about vampires....I had a EUREKA moment!

What if there was an *On Demand* internet radio station that dealt with NEEDLEWORK and QUILTING?!?!?!?!?!?! There are thousands of English speaking online stitchers and quilters all over the world who would love to listen to interviews about the subjects they love, while they enjoy their hobbies! What excitement and interest this could garner for the Needlework and Quilting industries! Thus... the concept for fttRadio.com was born.

Next came the research....then the software...THEN the hardware and learning to use it. YIKES! After a faaast 6 months....fttRadio.com was finally up and running!




About your Host
In addition to being the host of fttRadio.com, Tink Boord-Dill is one of the few designers working in counted thread, needlepoint, and quilting.

Her design career began in the discipline of Scene Design for the Theatre. She received a BALS from the University of Delaware and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. In that previous life, she designed Scenery, Costumes, Lighting, and was a union stagehand.

She met her soon to be husband Jeffrey while working in the Pocono Mountains, doing summer theatre. He was the Costume Designer and she was the Scene Designer. After a whirlwind courtship, Tink found herself married and living in central Kentucky.

Theatre jobs were scarce in that area of the country, so Tink began to look for an occupation that would satisfy her desire to *create* and allow her to work at home. One day, a friend asked, *Have you ever considered designing needlepoint?* Tink replied "What’s needlepoint?"

Later that day, Tink purchased her first needlepoint kit and started teaching herself how to stitch. Soon she was producing her own designs.

She found needlework was so fascinating that she went on to learn cross stitch, machine embroidery, and quilting, too and began to produce her own designs in those areas as well.

Tink has also produced a best selling series of Alphabet books for Needlework:
Alphabets: Elegant and Unusual (Pink)
Alphabets - Eclectic and Interesting (Green)
Alphabets - Grand and Glorious (Yellow)
Alphabets - Fun and Fabulous (Blue)
 as well as:
Graphitti - A Useful Compendium of Grids and Graphs for Needlework and Crafts
Tink's Big Book of Alphabets for Duplicate Stitch and Knitting

Be sure to watch for Tink’s upcoming book, co-authored with Peg Edwards, coming in late 2004 from Krause Publishing!