Isn’t fall beautiful? I absolutely LOVE it. Jeff and I took the girls to a corn maze last weekend and it turned out to be a perfect day to be chasing kids through the field.

Amelia led the way.

And Abby was never far behind.

I’m posting these photos to give you something to look at while I wrap up work on a new podcast. I’m in the midst of a serious multi-tasking frenzy right now, so I’m not getting anything done fast. But the show is recorded and edited and in need of just a few final trims. It won’t be much longer.

Oh, and please keep the zine ideas coming. The comments and e-mails I’ve received have been wonderful. Thank you!

1)  For all you locals, Lisa Price, owner of artgoodies and the the star of the forthcoming podcast, is having a GARAGE GALLERY- a vintage, art, and design event tonight  from 5-10 p.m. and tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m. at 475 Julia St. NE, in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Tonight is a sale and B.Y.O.B. garden party, so check it out. Lisa plans to feature artgoodies and vintagegoodies in this Pop Up Weekend Store. Expect to find tea towels, aprons, stuffies, pillows, and block print art and lots of vintage housewares and a bit of vintage furniture, clothing, fabric and more.

Go to the sale, then head back here tomorrow to listen to her CraftSanity podcast interview.

2) I’m going to have a booth at the Fulton Street Artisan’s Market from 11 to 3 p.m. Sunday. If you’re local and want to reserve your loom order in advance, send me an e-mail and I’ll hook you up.

3) It’s not too late to sign up for the weaving and T-shirt refashioning classes I’m teaching at next week at Lakeshore Sewing in Wyoming. Read the details here and call 616-531-5561 to register.

4) I’ll be posting directions for the t-shirt necklaces I made on today’s TV segment later tonight.

More soon…

I just listed some 26-peg CraftSanity looms in my shop. You can weave finished pieces measuring about 12″ square on this loom making it perfect for  bags, patchwork rugs and bed coverings, square table mats, seat covers and more. This loom has been very popular at art markets and I’m excited to finally make it available on the web.

On the podcast front… I’m recording a new intro this evening and plan to post my next show tomorrow. This episode will feature a very inspiring woman from West Michigan, so stay tuned.

Okay, I better get back to work… but before I do here’s a detail shot of one of my weaving projects in progress. I just love weaving with super soft bed linens.

I won’t be selling at the market every single week, but I will definitely be back soon. I’ll post updates on the blog as soon as I settle on some dates. (If you’re local, you can order looms from me anytime via e-mail and arrange for pick-up to save on shipping.)

The only bummer of the day (besides forgetting my hand-stitched CraftSanity sign at home) was that I wasn’t able to take my time visiting with fellow vendors. This is always a problem when I’m selling, too. On the bright side I did spot several future column possibilities, so stay tuned for those.

A special thanks to Dulce, of sock monkey fame, and Catherine, of JustJaynes, for showing me some craft love and buying large 26-peg CraftSanity looms. I will be adding this size to my online shop in a day or two, so keep an eye out for those. They’re great for making fun summer bags and patchwork rugs out of recycled t-shirts or bed linens. So fun!

I brought the whole family to the market today which was a little hectic, then I went running after dinner. I’m feeling pretty wiped out, so work on the next podcast and newspaper column will resume in the morning.

Cheers to summer, crafty conversation and outdoor art markets! (Nice work, FSAM organizers!)

I will be speaking on a panel about podcasting with Diane Gilleland, a.k.a. Sister Diane, the producer of the CraftyPod podcast and Becky Stern, associate editor for Craft and Makezine.com. Pretty cool, eh? I can’t wait to meet these talented women in person.

I’m also going to host a CraftSanity LIVE event during which I will attempt to do one of my long-winded interviews in front of a live audience with audience participation. Can I pull it off? Meet me in Seattle to see for yourself. I have to admit there is something about doing a live event that scares the daylights out of me. That’s why I have to put on my apron and do it. And something tells me that if YOU, dear CraftSanity listeners, turn out for this event, we can make this one of the best episodes ever. So bring a project and settle in for the first-ever CraftSanity LIVE. It it goes well, we might be there for hours… :  )

Kudos to the event organizers for putting together an impressive list of speakers. (Check out the full list here.) And thanks so much for including me. I’m still not sure how I got on the list, but thank you.

I haven’t been to Seattle since I was 5. So I’m open to suggestions about what I MUST see during my stay. And please do let me know if you’re planning to make the trip. I hope to craft sanity with you in Seattle. Register by June 1 and get the $225 three-day early bird rate.

Okay, enough shameless self-promotion, I really need to get back to work.

My oh my. I’m insanely busy and kind of loving it. I’m exhausted and I don’t really know what day it is, but, wow, am I having fun!

I’m very excited to report that awesome apron designs have been submitted to the first-ever CraftSanity Apron Show to benefit Safe Haven Ministries. Thank you to those of you who have submitted designs! And for those of you might be on the fence about participating, please consider it. The deadline is April 19 and you can download an application here. All the aprons will be available for purchase through silent auction and on display at the week-long show that opens April 30 at the David D. Hunting YMCA here in Grand Rapids. There will be prizes for the winning entries!

If you’re local, I’d love to invite you to put on your best apron and come have a slice of pie on opening night. I hope to see you there!

The other project that I’m working on is super exciting for me as a paper piecing addict. Above is a box of ties donated by a prominent West Michigan men. As part of my Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K Road Warrior mission, I’m organizing the creation of a paper-pieced hexagon charity quilt that involves transforming this box of ties into beautiful blooms. I’m recruiting local stitchers for this project that just might be entered in to a seriously big art competition. But, I don’t have time to think about that right now because I have to stay focused on getting the quilt made. First things first.

To get the ball rolling, I turned this tie donated by a local judge in to these two hexagon flowers…

Did I mention that I LOVE paper piecing? Seriously. And the truly awesome woman named Kate who answers the phone every time I call paperpieces.com, gave me a great deal on the paper hexagon pieces to help keep our supply costs low on this project. (Thank you so much! ) She also gave me some sample packs that I will be giving away at upcoming stitch-ins and the apron show, so there’s one more incentive for you to get involved in these fun community projects.

Working with neck tie fabric is a bit of a bugger, but I figured out a way to use fusible stabilizers to take the swearing out of the process and now I’m totally stoked about stitching hexagon flowers with people from all walks of life to make a fun quilt to auction off for charity. Contact me if you’d like to help with this project. I’m also looking for someone with connections to help me get one of President Obama’s ties to stitch into the quilt. Ties from rock stars and other famous people are also welcome.

For those of you who are wondering about the podcast, I’m pleased to report that I edited episode 114 while stitching the flowers above and will release that very, very soon. And I think you’re going to really like it. :  ) Thanks for being patient with me, folks.

Somehow, I’m still managing to keep up with my family commitments, my actual paid freelance work, loom sales and training for the race, (I ran 14 very memorable miles on a very hilly course Saturday morning and then some steady 400 repeats yesterday evening on the track.) Although, I am behind in my e-mail and writing thank-you notes to two very sweet CraftSanity listeners who sent me goodies including aprons and soap. (Thank you, ladies! Proper notes will follow as soon as I come up for air.)

I’m looking forward to taking a long nap after I finish the 25K on May 8. In the meantime, I’m going to have as much crafty fun as I can and I hope you will join me. :  )

Cheers!

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks filled with creativity and color, teaching  and talking art and craft. So while I’ve been away from the keyboard creating, this blog as been a bit neglected. So it’s high time for a CraftSanity update.

I’ve been training for the 25K I’m running in May and working hard to get local crafters interested in the apron contest I’m organizing to benefit Safe Haven Ministries, my charity sponsor for the race. (Read the details and download an entry form here.) I’ve been busy soliciting fabric donations for the sew-in, too. I’ve never organized a project like this before, so it’s quite an adventure. The response has been very encouraging, so I think we’re in for quite a show. And, dear blog readers, keep in mind that you don’t need to be local to participate. I would love to get aprons from far-off places. I promise that each apron and it’s creator will be celebrated with loads of photos and extensive blog coverage.

If you’d rather not make an apron, but want to get involved, I’m collecting neckties, men’s button-down shirts (size XL is preferred) and fun cotton prints in 1-yard and half-yard cuts. I’m also gathering trims, fringes, double fold bias tape and other fun items to use to embellish aprons. Oh yeah, I’m rounding up prizes for the apron contest winners, too. So, please contact me if you have stuff you think I might be able to use. All contributors to the project will get a mention on the blog. (Note: Donations of new supplies are tax deductible because I’m organizing this project for a charitable organization. So contact me if you need a the official donation paperwork.)

Episode 113 of the podcast is on the way. Seriously. In the midst of all the craziness, I have not forgotten that I’m a podcaster.

If you’re curious about the photo at the top of this post, check back here next week for the link to a fun tutorial that I wrote for Petite Purls. This assignment gave me the perfect excuse to take a break from making looms and actually use them for a change. Oh, how I LOVE weaving with color!

Okay, I’m going to get back to work so I can have a new podcast up later this week. More soon!

Hi there. I’m on deadline for my next craft column right now, but wanted to write a quick post to let you know that I’m okay and planning to release a new podcast soon.

There’s been tons to blog about including my fabric yo-yo craze, but I’ve been very busy with family and work commitments. And I’ve been building a lot of peg looms lately, too. (Thank you!) I spent a lot time this weekend weaving, and boy was that nice. I’m planning a charity apron contest (more details to follow later this week) and I’ve also been training and racing with my 25K Road Warrior team.

Yesterday I competed in my first indoor triathlon and now I’m hooked on the multi-sport challenge. So I’ve been taking some time for myself, too. We all need to have some fun adventures every now and then. I’ll be back posting here this week. I’ve really missed you guys. Cheers, Jennifer

Four years ago the very first episode of CraftSanity was released into the world. My husband uploaded the show and added it to iTunes while I headed into to the office for my first day back at work after my second maternity leave. I was feeling emotionally torn about whether or not going back to work was the right thing and wondering how the world would respond to my first foray into a the wonderful world of podcasting.

Nothing was certain. But it all worked out. I eventually left my day job to become a freelance writer, but continue to podcast and love it. The photo I took of a skein of yarn I personified in my kitchen morphed into an actual logo (with help from my talented bro-in-law, Andrew) and eventually a registered trademark. I knew things were getting serious last summer when I invested in a branding iron to burn the CraftSanity name into the side of my new line of handmade wooden weaving looms .

So much has happened during the last four years and I’m so grateful to those who have cheered me on along the way. I wouldn’t be doing any of this stuff without the love and support of husband, Jeff, the guy who handles the tech part of this operation. And I would have quit this gig long ago if not for the encouragement and kindness I’ve received from you, dear blog readers and podcast listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in and sticking with me on this creative journey. It’s been an absolute blast and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Thank you so much! 

Writing a book is next on my goal list. Now I just have to buckle down and write my proposal. And when I can get my book project off the ground, I’ll have a very good reason reason to travel around and craft with you lovely people in person. Wouldn’t that be fun? So keep your fingers crossed folks, and feel free to mention my book aspirations to all your publisher friends. :  )

If you want to hear more about how CraftSanity got started, tune into Alison Lee’s CraftCast podcast. She was very kind to invite me on as a guest during a recent episode. Thank you so much Alison! You can subscribe to CraftCast via iTunes. So go check it out.

Program note: CraftSanity episode 112 will be released on Wednesday. To tide you over check out today’s craft column about running a handmade business.

If you’re bothered by the garbage bag of gift wrap that becomes the centerpiece of many holiday parties, you might want to consider wrapping your packages with recycled paper  and topping them with recycled bows. (Newspaper and brown paper bags are great for this.) While some may think it’s extremely tacky to wrap gifts in recycled paper, I’m totally cool with this concept. Plus, I’d rather spend more money on the gift and wrap on the cheap.

I demonstrated how to make recycled bows on during my Friday TV segment. (My apologies for taking so long to post the project details.) There are several recycled bow-making tutorials on the internet, so I’m not going to go into great detail. (See links to other more detailed tutorials at bottom of this post.) Read on for some quick instructions to get you started.

To make the bow at the top of this post, I tore a colorful page from a glossy department store ad. Then I cut the ad into strips measuring about 3/4″ across. (You need 9 strips total.) I left the first three strips full length. Then cut about 1.5″ off the top of the next three strips and about  about 2.5″ off the next two strips. I cut the ninth strip down to about a 4″ piece.

Then I looped the first eight strips into the bow shapes above and glued them in the middle with a glue stick. (Staples and brass fasteners also work to secure these.) Then I rolled the shortest strip into a circle and glued it.

To assemble the bow, start with the biggest pieces first and layer the pieces in a circular pattern, gluing each piece in the center before adding the next piece. Keep adding pieces between the points until all are glued in place. Finish the bow by gluing the final circle to the center.

To learn other bow-making techniques, check out these great tutorials on Craftster and How About Orange. And I LOVE these bows made out of felt over at Twig & Thistle. LOVE THEM!

Okay, I have to get back to work. The next podcast will be posted Dec. 21.