Welcome to our Extreme Reader / Extreme Stitcher series where we profile people willing to go to great lengths to read and/or stitch.

A project stitched by Maureen for the Bookmarks 101: Simple, Smart, and Swanky Finishes class. Look at that tidy finish!

Our Extreme Stitcher today is Rowena from Ft. Worth, TX.

About seven-and-a-half years ago, Rowena had several strokes. When she was finally awake and alert, she recalls wanting just two things: to know how the dogs were and to receive the latest stitching magazines and doggy patterns from her local shop, “so I could read and dream,” she says.

It took Rowena “almost six weeks”–I say only six weeks?!–to learn how to stitch left handed after being a righty all her life. Her husband had to learn to mount fabric on Q-snaps and a frame, but now Rowena is unstoppable. “I stitch slower and have to adapt things to make my life easier, but truly love being able to stitch,” she says.

Have you ever tried stitching with your non-dominant hand? Give it a shot to see what Rowena was up against. Yep, she’s an Extreme Stitcher, to be sure, but she’ll tell you, “I believe that if you want to do something bad enough, you will find a way.”