I am Susan Kenney Battle, author of this needlepoint guide and owner of The Point of It All, Washington DC's premier needlepoint shop since 2007. I have been needlepoint my whole life and love it. I hope to share my love of needlepoint with you. I have thoroughly enjoyed this hobby for many years and I hope you will love it as much as I do! I learned to needlepoint when I was seven years old. My mother had not finished my Christmas stocking and apparently I said to her, "It's okay, Mom. I will learn to needlepoint and finish it myself." Wow! My mother recognized a teachable moment and immediately took me to The Point of It All to learn to stitch. Who could have imagined that 20 years later my husband and I would buy that same shop! My mother likes me to mention that she did indeed finish my stocking, without my "assistance." Now, get ready to needlepoint! It's not hard to master the basic stitch; it just takes a little patience and some practice. This book, intended as an introduction to needlepoint, will walk you through every step of the process from selecting a canvas and fibers to threading the needle to actually stitching. Plus there's a section on troubleshooting. Let's get started. Happy stitching, Susan