Hope to see you at the apron show tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the downtown YMCA.

It rained for most of Spring Break Stay-cation 2010 here in West Michigan. Thankfully my girls and I are pretty crafty and well stocked for a bit of creative play inside. Inspired by the book “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown, the girls made their own versions of Flat Stanley and went on to create Flat [...]

I finished knitting the top of Abby’s new hat over the weekend. Thanks to those who voted in the comments and via Twitter for knit or crochet. I went with the popular vote and knitted around the band of granny squares to complete the hat. I like how it turned out and so do my [...]

After much wrapping, I finally finished the large ornament shown above in progress. I LOVE making these. (Come back tomorrow night for the tutorial.) The woven effect that you can create by simply winding thread is simple, yet surprisingly satisfying. I really enjoy projects like this that free my mind to ponder things like figuring [...]

This is a bush in front of my house. For most of the year, I don’t care much for this plant. But now, with the berries so red, well, it stopped me in my tracks. I love to photograph what captures my eye. My camera makes me slow down and take notice. I need that. [...]

At long last we have a winner of the drawing for “Design-It-Yourself Clothes Patternmaking Simplified” by Cal Patch, my guest on episode 107 of the podcast. Congrats, Louise, you won! (Please email me your mailing address and I’ll get your prize shipped out.)

Quilters are good people to know. They stitch in response to everything from weddings and births to war, loss and crisis. In good times and bad, quilters step up and do their part. It’s my pleasure today to welcome Katherine Bell, a talented writer and fellow quilter, to a blog chat about her new book [...]

A word from my tech support husband, Jeff: Many of you have pointed out that the podcast downloads via iTunes and other podcast software have slowed to a crawl. We will try to improve the situation ASAP so you don’t have flashbacks to dialup days. Thanks for your patience.

I snapped a photo of this vintage quilt during my recent outhouse photo shoot at a local greenhouse. Wow, what a fantastic quilt! The tag stated that the quilt top was purchased at a flea market and then quilted by Brenda Kwekel, of BK Inspirations. These Grandmother’s Garden quilts are so lovely. The quilt exhibit [...]

But where’s the art? That was my first response when I walked past these signs on the lawn of Grand Valley State University’s Eberhard Center. Then I read the Julie Upmeyer‘s artist statement explaining that the campaign signs are the art. Oh. Now I get it. Clever. Welcome to ArtPrize 2009 where art hits you [...]

Recycled Jewelry: On this segment, I’ll show you how to transform magazines, catalogs, newspaper, junk mail and scrapbook paper into fun and inexpensive paper beads.

Okay, folks, the video of last Saturday’s Recycled Runway event at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Mich. has been posted. I regret that I wasn’t able to interview every designer during the scramble that led up to the show, but the video will take you behind the scenes and let you [...]

It’s been a little over a week since I left my day job and I’m still working to settle into a routine. I wrote more during my first week as a freelance writer than I did during a typical work week in the office. So far it’s both challenging and wonderful to be crafting a [...]

Sometimes people quit their jobs and start acting all crazy and wild. What do I do? I yarn bomb a tree in broad daylight wearing bright orange cargo pants and CraftSanity T-shirt and immediately start feeling like a brazen, bad*ss. For someone with a spirit that’s at least 110, this is probably a crazy and [...]

After more than 11 years as a staff writer for The Grand Rapids Press, I quit my day job. So this is it. I’m a free agent. A freelance writer. A podcaster. An independent, self-employed woman. From here on out I can’t blame The Man for holding me back or squashing my dreams. Now I’m [...]