Have you ever seen one of these hand-crank knitting  machines by Mattel, Inc. that make cute little knitted yo-yos? I stumbled upon this vintage craft beauty – complete with two manuals – last weekend at an outdoor market in Fraser, Mich. (my hometown) and bought it for a dollar. I haven’t had a chance to [...]

I’ve been running from one event to the next for the last several weeks and consequently feeling a little burned out. Bouncing back and forth between school events and a fun line-up of freelance work is great, but sometimes I need a moment to just be still and collect my thoughts. You know what I [...]

Watch CBS News Videos Online I’ve always liked Mo Rocca. Now I like him even more. Mo, I would knit with you any day.

The latest issue of Petite Purls went live today and includes a couple of my paper-pieced ornament projects. There’s still time to make the flower ornament pictured above, and a related festive wreath ornament, too. So head over to Petite Purls for the directions. This issue is packed with great patterns including fun crochet “Foamies” [...]

Get the <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/mp3″ mce_href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/mp3″>Google Audio Widget</a> widget and many other <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/” mce_href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/”>great free widgets</a> at <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com” mce_href=”http://www.widgetbox.com”>Widgetbox</a>! Sally Melville has been on the knitting scene for years, demystify the craft for all the rookies and self-taught knitters she cheerfully coaxes along at her workshops. Tune in to this episode of CraftSanity to [...]

Get the Google Audio Widget widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Trond Anfinnsen is the inspiring sort of guy who gets an idea, commits to it and sees it through to its creative end. And then when he’s done, he starts the process all over again. On this episode of CraftSanity you’ll [...]

I recently interviewed Trond Anfinnsen, aka “knitKid” and author of “Hat Heads: 1 Man + 2 Knitting Needles = 50 Fun Hat Designs,” for the podcast and can’t wait to share the story behind this fun book that documents how one man used knitting to connect with people in his life. While I work on [...]

It was a real kick to meet Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably, at Kaffe’s lecture and slide show this evening here in West Michigan. The lecture, given as part of the 25th year shop anniversary for the Wyoming, Mich. – based Threadbender Inc., was both entertaining and inspiring. I even got a free scarf because [...]

Hi folks. I’m headed out for a run, but first I want to give you all a heads up about a book giveaway I’m hosting on my newspaper blog. Last week I wrote a column about a talented quilter, Edyta Sitar, owner of Laundry Basket Quilts, and I’m giving away two copies of new her [...]

I’ve been distracted ever since I got my hands on a copy of “Weekend Sewing” by Heather Ross. It’s a beautiful book (STC Craft, $27.50) featuring illustrations by Heather and great photography by John Gruen. According to the subtitle, the book is loaded with “more than 40 projects and ideas for inspirational sewing.” And I’m [...]

A fun sample box from Jessie over at Phat Fiber arrived in the mail the other day, and, WOW, what a treat. I love, love, love yarn, so it was a very fun to go through this box of goodies that included several mini skeins of yarn, roving, stitch markers, note cards, a bar of [...]

I’ve been very busy writing loads of stories for my newpaper. Here’s a look at today’s crafty offerings that might be of interest. My art & craft column is a knitting love story & I wrote the Home & Garden section cover story about upholstery with a side bar about my weekend upholstery adventure. Enjoy!

I’ve always loved Shrinky Dinks and the mysterious way they shrink and thicken up when you bake them in the oven. So when I decided to do a pincushion project for this week’s “Take Five & Company” craft segment, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to incorporate Shrinky Dinks. So I bought a 10-sheet pack in [...]

Today my Grand Rapids Press art & craft column is about Mike Bronkema, a fire-fighting farmer who cranks out cozy socks on one of those fabulous antique circular knitting machines. Check it out, then watch the video below. OLIVE TOWNSHIP — The first time our paths crossed, Mike Bronkema was sporting an Olive Township Fire [...]

These are the sweet handmade ornaments I received in this year’s Craft Club swap and I love them. Elizabeth crocheted the adorable apron, Debbie (who is super talented and totally needs to start a blog to show off her work) knitted the cute little cupcake and Catherine made the stocking complete with an “I love [...]