It is mid-June 2015 and now almost a year since I began tying. I am one of the newest members of the Guild and have found the group to be one of the highlights of every month. I have known many of the tyers in the fly tying community for a number of years, as I attended several events and shows, watching with intrigue as those talented people created beautiful, intricate flies. At ASFI 2014, I had the good fortune to begin to know many international tyers. One of the tyers at the event was Paul Rossman, who I sat and watched. His style and creativity motivated me to announce, “I want to tie salmon flies!” two weeks later. And so my education of trial and error, persistance and many repetitions of doing things over until at an acceptable level began. I jumped right into tying salmon flies, searching out patterns I wanted to tie. My 6th fly, Paul Ptalis’ “Spring Fancy” had 30 fibers on each wing side, but I was determined to finish the fly and make it look as near to the original design as possible, not realizing how difficult that many fibers can be! I decided to join the NWASFG in the fall of 2014 with only 10 flies under my belt. During the year, I tied every fly chosen for the monthly meetings and another 50+ on my own. I challenged myself to learn as many techniques as I could so that I too, could tie those beautiful complicated flies. I’ve always been a creative person – I am a graphic designer and enjoy working with the colors, textures, detail and selection of materials. The treasure hunt of finding beautiful feathers, skins and tinsels is a joy in itself. I sketch out each fly to size before tying – it helps me think through the process and pay attention to proportions, even deciding exactly how I hope to shape the wing or curve the crests. I look back on my collection of sketches and notes, realizing how much I’ve done and also how much there is still to learn! The past year has brought forth many highlights – there were notable guest tyers such as Ryan Houston and Paul Rossman who taught us valuable techniques as we watched them tie with ease. I even had the chance to spend some individual time with Paul. Opportunities to gather even more materials at the meetings presented themselves and my office at home was soon overflowing with materials (and smelling like mothballs!). I improved my skills as I talked to other members and began to learn how they did things. One of the best parts of the group is the friendships I have made. I found them to be such a welcoming group. As I begin to settle into tying, it is the Atlantic Salmon Fly that intrigues me and holds my fascination. I tie many classics and appreciate their beauty, balance and proportion, but also enjoy spreading my wings into the creative salmon fly arena where I can experiment with some of the more exotic feathers. My club members presented me with the 2015 “Most Improved Fly Dresser Award”, a beautiful framed plate of Blacker Ghost Fly #2’s, which I will get to display in my home for the year until ASFI 2016. It was an honor to be chosen to receive it and be able to look at their tying every day! In addition to my new pursuit of fly tying, I can be found golfing at many of the Puget Sound courses. I love to cook and have written a cookbook, “Grove & Garden”, which is for sale internationally on Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I have 3 beautiful collies, Pippin, Phantom & Julian, who keep life lively and fun at home (not to mention a good dispersal of dog hair everywhere!). I envision myself savoring my fly tying time for many years to come and can’t wait for the club to start up again in the fall and for all the events yet to unfold.