Judy Vilmain was well along the path her life had taken when she began to realize she was on the wrong path. After much contemplation, she left her position as a university professor teaching experimental psychology in the Midwest, and headed for the east coast to live near the ocean.

"I come from a long line of women who make things," she says. "My mother, grandmother and great grandmother all excelled in handiwork - embroidery, knitting, crocheting, quiltmaking, weaving, tatting and lacemaking. My mother's gift to me was the love of working with my hands. And today, I'm still compelled by it. My father was a physicist, so from him, I get my love of science. He gave me my appreciation for geometry and nature, which are so much a part of my designs. His approach to life was simple, rational, direct and kind."

So can a girl from Iowa find happiness using her head, her hands and her heart? With a smile, she sums up the 180-degree turn her life took over a decade ago. "Now, my former profession is my hobby, and my former hobby is my profession."