Hello! I’m busy working on Issue 8 of CraftSanity Magazine, but wanted to take a break to invite you to join me at Schuler Books, 2660 28th St. SE, in Grand Rapids on Monday, Oct. 29.

As part of this hip, independent store’s 30 anniversary, I’m teaming up with some very talented staffers to host an evening of book craft fun. Schuler’s has been instrumental in helping me get my independent magazine to market and was actually the first local shop to agree to stock it. For that I will always be grateful. (Thank you, Judy!)

We will get our craft night rolling at 7 p.m. and plan to show attendees what you can make out of recycled books. Used books and other supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring your favorite tools from home. From home decor items to paper craft, we’ll be cutting and paper punching and glueing the night away. Due to the proximity to Halloween, we will have some spooky ideas to share like those pictured above. However, we will also be discussing how book crafts can be incorporated into winter holiday decorations, year-round decor and general craft projects.

During this special community event, Schuler’s will also be stocking a full selection of all the CraftSanity Magazine back issues shown on the left side of this website. So if there’s an old issue you were looking to snag, head over to Schuler’s 28th Street location and they will hook you up.

I’m very proud to say that I don’t sell my magazine at any big box, corporate stores. I could make more money if I did a massive print run and distributed nationally, but that has never been my goal. There’s something really satisfying about being small and homemade and partnering with independent craft shops and bookstores like Schuler’s. The experience of browsing the shelves at a local bookstore and hearing the great speakers that come to talk about their lives and sign books is one I value – an experience I can’t have when buying books online.

So wherever you live, I hope you make a point to support your local bookstore from time to time. We all must do our part to keep them in business because local bookstores enrich our communities and inspire those of us who dream of writing our own books so very much.

Congrats on 30 years, Schuler Books!

P.S. Here’s the link to the Halloween craft segment that I did on WZZM Channel 13.

I should be working right now, but I’m a bit preoccupied. This weekend my daughters will suit up in their purple soccer jerseys and I will brush their hair and put it up in ponytails and then I will wish them luck at their game. They will head off to the soccer field with my husband, and I will go fulfill a volunteer commitment I made more than a year ago.

Long before I received this season’s game schedule I agreed to do a demonstration at a bi-annual quilt show at the very same time my daughters’ soccer game will start. People might show up to hear what I have to say about English paper piecing and weaving with scraps, or I might end up sitting by myself at a demo table. It could go either way. Regardless of the size of my audience, I will be preoccupied by what my girls will be doing on the soccer field, hoping the game is going well for them and that they’re having fun. And I will be wishing I was there on the sidelines where I’m supposed to be.

Win or lose, audience or not, one thing is certain: my heart will be on the soccer field this Saturday. While I hate to miss their game, I know that it’s important that I make good on my commitments. I also know I’m a very fortunate woman to feel my heart get tugged this way.

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First off, thank you to those who posted and emailed kind words of encouragement after I expressed frustration in my last post. I’m very grateful for your support and understanding, and happy to report that I seem to have crafted my way out of my funk. Making stuff is such a wonderful way to reduce stress.

I sewed and baked for several hours today for the fall issue of CraftSanity Magazine and I feel like I’m getting my groove back. I’m having a great time working through all the projects and recipes. I’m teaching this semester, so I can’t hold up in my messy house wearing ripped sweatpants and crazy hair until all the samples are done, but that’s alright. It will all get done soon – somehow, some way. And the work is SOOOO fun, so I’m not really looking to rush it too much. Making everything is my favorite part.

Now that I can’t dedicate unlimited time to my own writing, publishing and designing I’m craving that precious time to create without interruption. I take a bag loaded with projects to school even though I never have time to even look in the bag. But just in case the power goes out or there’s an extended tornado drill, I’ll be ready with my crochet hooks, paper piecing supplies and a sketchbook.

Oh, and speaking of the magazine, we still have ad space available. Please email my husband, Jeff, by Friday if you’d like to place an ad. You can check out the rates here. The rates are reasonable and we keep ads to a minimum, so advertisers to do get noticed. And if someone wants to bounce my full-page CraftSanity Loom ad off the back cover, I’m willing to sell you the space. In the meantime, I probably should make a new loom ad just in case. :  )  I’ve yet to sell enough ads to cover all my printing costs, but I do try to sell enough to pay all my contributors. So additional ad support would be wonderful. Either way, the people I commission to make art and design projects will be paid. While I’m not an aggressive ad seller, I run this operation on a shoe string so I can be sure to have a rainy day fund to keep it all going.

On the CraftSanity Loom front, I have some new looms made that I will list tomorrow. Thanks for your patience, folks. I’m spinning my plates as fast as I can and you are lovely for sticking with me through these crazy, busy times.

What fall crafts are you working on? I’d love to hear all about it.

Also, I’m looking for tasty vegetarian Thanksgiving ideas. Let me know if you have some great side dish recipes to share.

Ok. I have to get back to work. Take care, my friends!

Thousands of paper lanterns were released into the night sky Friday in downtown Grand Rapids as part of ArtPrize 2012. The entry, by Mark Carpenter and Dan Johnson, resulted in a stunning visual display of flickering lights climbing high above the city and thousands of smiles on the ground. It was lovely.

After a very stressful couple of weeks, it was nice to witness something beautiful. It served as a reminder that I really have to stop grabbing ahold of the safety lines in my life and just let go and see what happens when I dedicate my time and energy fully to a project of my own design. During the last three years, I’ve continued to bog myself down with low-paying and unpaid work for other people, and that continues to steal valuable time and energy away from the things I feel most compelled to do. This has to stop.

Seeing those lanterns floating in the sky inspired me to consider what could be if I rearrange my priorities and put my own projects at the top of my professional list as opposed to fitting them in when I’m exhausted and all my work for other people is done. My latest attempt to “give back to the world” is kicking my rear. I’m working hard and failing to motivate everyone in the room. I don’t accept or understand apathy and laziness and now the stress and disappointment of it all has showed up on my face in the form of acne – a problem I don’t normally contend with. At the height of it, I had a headache for a solid week and I was walking around with an uncomfortable tightness in my chest. I thought the headache was from getting hit in the back of the head with a soccer ball (when it rains it pours, eh?), but now I’m thinking that may of been a coincidence. Stress is physical and my body is telling me something. I just hope I’m smart enough to listen.

Perhaps, when I get to the next crossroad and have the opportunity to change direction, I’ll make like a paper lantern and take off on a new and beautiful adventure.

For the last few years I’ve been very creative about stringing together a modest income while working from home for the sake of my kids.

I ended my career in daily print journalism before the wave of layoffs started to clear out newsrooms across the country, and by some miracle I’ve managed to continue on as a weekly art & craft columnist.

I launched a very small weaving loom business in 2009 and then a 8″-square magazine in 2010. Everything I do is small on purpose. At this point in my life I have no desire to do big corporate things.

Paperwork and bureaucracy drive me crazy and I can’t stand spinning my wheels writing reports and proposals when I know a decision can be made quickly and we can just cut to the chase and start doing the work – immediately. When one of my ideas bombs, I quickly move on to the next one.

In an unplanned turn of events, I let the wind blow me into an adjunct teaching job advising a local community college newspaper and teaching the classes that go along with it. I was not looking for a job at the time. I’ve taught college writing courses previously and I knew it would be challenging and it has been to the max.

At least a half dozen other people turned down the job before it was offered to me so there were numerous red flags including ridiculously low pay and the undeniable fact that the journalism field is in a sorry state. But I decided to do it anyway.

Why?

Read more »

The first day of school is always bittersweet. When this day arrives it marks the official end of summer as all children know it and simultaneously brings a gust of exciting expectation of everything that might be possible during the new academic year.

Today I’m sending my girls off to a new school with some handmade goodies and the hope that they will continue to be curious about everything that interests them. My wish for them this school year is that they will continue to love learning. The rest will take care of itself.

Hello! I’ve been completely swamped here at the CraftSanity Headquarters as the winds of change swirl around us once again. I’m staring down a monumental professional challenge (more on that later) but I’m going to do my best and I firmly believe that good things are on the horizon. I’m a tad behind in answering CraftSanity email (My apologies to those who are awaiting replies!) and wishing I could somehow extend summer for a few more weeks.

Even though I have piles of work to do, I’ve been stealing away little bits of time to work on my first needle turn appliqué sample. I started it about a week and a half ago and just sewed the binding on yesterday while my daughters we’re swimming in the neighborhood pool.

My mini quilt was inspired by the Tentmakers of Cairo. I met two of them a couple weeks back at the American Quilter’s Society show in Grand Rapids. I had been itching to try needle turn appliqué for years and watching them work completely pushed me over the edge and I became completely obsessed with trying it. So I went home the day I met them and got to work.

It took me a long time to transfer my pattern and my sample has a couple annoying puckers, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. And it is SOOOO FUN! Seriously. If I could, I would stitch all day long.

You can read about what happened when I showed one of the tentmakers, Hosam Mahmoud, my sample in the Sunday, Sept. 1 print edition of The Grand Rapids Press or read it on MLive. During the show, I posed for a photo with my sad sample next to Mahmoud and his impressive work in progress. While it was humbling to place my work next to his, I have no regrets about looking foolish. I completed that piece in the photo and now I have a pretty good idea of how needle turn appliqué works. I have plenty of room for improvement, but I know way more now than I did before meeting the tentmakers and I’m happy to have seized the chance to chat with them.

The pita bread dough is rising in the kitchen. I’m making a fresh batch for the back-to-school lunches. (My favorite pita bread recipe was in CraftSanity Magazine Issue 2.) The good news is that the kids are super excited about starting the new school year. And I’m very happy to report that after years of juggling insane work schedules, Jeff and I will both be home for dinner starting in about a week. As career journalists, family dinners have not happened most of our married life. Deadlines, crappy schedules and work demands have always got in our way. But that’s all about to change for the better. This new family schedule will start soon and we deserve it. Heck, every family deserves a chance to share a meal together and it’s sad to think about all the dinners we’ve had with an empty chair at the table. If I had a dollar for every time one of my girls said, “Somebody’s missing,” while glancing at an empty seat in the kitchen we’d have grocery money for the year.

But as parents we do what we have to do to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. And I’m sure many of you  have found yourselves in similar family life-interrupting work situations. I left my day job three years ago in an effort to restore a family focus to our lives, but Jeff soon moved to a night shift that made family dinners impossible during the school year. But sometimes we just have to deal, right? Jeff and I have been patient and now we’re very glad that positive change is finally coming our way. This is my cue  to clear all my projects off the dining room table and prepare to start eating there – together – again.

Before I sign off I want to send good thoughts and a very special thank you to Mirjam in Dublin, Ireland. I hope she’s okay with me sharing that she sent a sweet letter and goodies for the me and the girls. The package arrived over the weekend and was a most lovely and well-timed surprise. For those of us who are wired differently than many of the people we know, it’s always a joy to “meet” a kindred spirit. Thank you for your kindness and for reaching out to share your story. The girls and I are already brainstorming how we can respond in kind. Thank you for making my daughters smile. They were really impressed that you know about their farm dream.

Ok, folks, I have a lot work to do and must get to it. Have a great night.

Hello! It’s been far too long, my friends. But I’m posting a quick note to let you know that I’m alive and very well. I have a good reason for my blog silence and I promise to fill you in on all the details in just a bit. But for now, I thought I’d share my latest obsession: needle turn appliqué. So, so fun. You should try it. Really. It’s great. I just learned how to do it last week and the piece above is my first.

I’m off to have a bit of an adventure today. Wish me well and it’s my hope that I will pay you back with a lively story very, very soon. Have a lovely day!

A quick post from Jennifer’s husband, Jeff, tapped out on an iPad.

We made it to Maker Faire Detroit at the Henry Ford Museum and are all set up. Come visit us this weekend inside the museum to meet Jennifer and see the house we built out of looms (we won’t mind if you want to buy a loom or magazine, either.

More details at Maker Faire site.

Hello! I’m in the midst of last-minute prep for Maker Faire Detroit which is this weekend at The Henry Ford Museum, but I wanted to pop in here to let you all know that the PDF edition of CraftSanity Magazine Issue 7 is ready for instant download. You can purchase your copy below or by using the button on the left side of this website.

CraftSanity Magazine Issue 7 PDF edition

You can read all about this issue in my previous post and, if you’d rather have a print copy, you can order one from my shop or pick up a copy in person at these fine retailers.

You can subscribe to the magazine, too. All the info is in this post.

I will have CraftSanity Looms and the current issue of the magazine and limited quantities of back issues in my booth at Maker Faire Detroit if you want to buy a copy there. Just look for the giant woven house and you’ll find me. (I’ll post a sneak peek of the woven house and make & take weaving event info later tonight. In the meantime you can follow CraftSanity on Instagram to check out all the progress shots.)

Thanks so much for supporting CraftSanity. I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy issue 7. Get in touch if you’d like to contribute to the fall and winter issues.

Okay, I have to get back to work. Have a great day come and visit me at Maker Faire if you can.

Cheers!

My daughters were troopers yesterday and came along to deliver copies of CraftSanity Magazine Issue 7 to the post office and cool shops all over West Michigan. The sweltering heat inspired us to stop for slurpees during our 64-mile journey around town. It’s amazing how the taste of one of those frozen drinks can take me back to the summers of my childhood.

I’m happy to report that you can find the latest issue of CraftSanity Magazine at the fine shops listed below. Please note that I will be adding shops to this list and that  quantities are limited in some locations, so call please ahead to reserve your copy.

*** Detroit-area readers, please note that I will be bringing copies of Issue 7 to Maker Faire Detroit July 28 & 29. So you’ll be able to pick up a copy in person if you’re planning to attend the big show at The Henry Ford Museum. To find me, just look for a the woven house.

* Country Needleworks, 584 Chicago Dr. Jenison, MI, (616) 457 9410.

* A Grand Skein, 2431 Eastern Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, 551-1322

* Minty Keen, (a vintage and handmade shop) 125 Ottawa NW Suite 170, in Grand Rapids, (616) 551-1613

* Schuler Books & Music
- 40 Fountain St NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan (616) 459-7750
- 3165 Alpine Avenue Northwest, Walker – (616) 647-0999
- 2660 28th Street Southeast, Kentwood -(616) 942-2561

* Threadbender Yarn Shop, 2767 44th Street SW, Wyoming, MI, (616) 531-6641

* Jami’s Craft Supplies & Ben Franklin, 130 E. State St., Hastings, MI 49058, 269 945-4484

* Sister’s Fabrics, 218 E State St., Hastings, MI, 269-945-9673

On the Lakeshore:

* Reader’s World, 194 S. River Ave., Holland, MI, (616) 396-8548

Outside Michigan:

* Starstruck Cat Studio, 3130 Meridan Parke Drive, Suite H,
Greenwood, Ind., (317) 889-9665

Stock CraftSanity: If you’re interested in stocking CraftSanity Magazine in your shop, contact me and I’ll hook you up. : )

More Updates: Subscriptions and pre-orders have been shipped. If you’re a reader who would rather have the PDF of issue 7, that will be coming as soon. In the meantime, you can also order the print version and back issues here. PDF’s of all back issues are available for instant download on the left side of this website and new discounted subscription pricing is available here.

Thanks to all the shops and readers who continue to support the magazine. It’s my pleasure to get to do this creative of work. Thank you so much!

Hello folks. It’s taken me a long time to make subscribing to CraftSanity Magazine an easy option. I’m a busy woman, but that’s only part of the reason for the holdup. I delayed this option because I was nervous about getting a bunch of subscriptions before finding out if I could really pull off making a magazine in the wee hours of the night with a very small support crew.

Now that I have seven issues under my belt, I’m ready to sign up more subscribers. This will help me better manage my print runs and save you the hassle of having to track down each individual issue.

Subscriptions are $48 per year for U.S. delivery, $51 to Canada and $60 for international shipping. Subscribing will save $2 off the cover price of every issue. That’s a whopping $8 per year – just enough spending cash to buy to a bit of yarn or fabric.

So if this option appeals to you, please buy below.

If you’d rather order a single print copy you can do that here. And the PDF of issue 7 will be released later this week for $6. (Look for a download button on the left side bar this site.)

Thanks so much for your support, dear readers. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to produce a publication for you to enjoy.

P.S. Be sure to check out Claire Garland’s Knitted doll pattern on p. 20 of issue 7. I made the doll above using Claire’s pattern which is super fun to knit. I’ll do a complete reveal of my doll in the days to come.

Also, check out where to buy the magazine in stores

Hello! I’m very happy to report that CraftSanity Magazine Issue 7 is at the printer and will be headed to newsstands and mailboxes next week! Pre-order your copy by July 16 and save a dollar off the cover price.

This issue is packed with summer craft ideas perfect for backyard fun with the kids and travel crafting, too.

Issue 7 features handmade stories and Q&As with some exceptionally talented artists and crafters who I hope will inspire you to have your own crafty adventure. This issue covers everything from knitting dolls and dahlias to crocheting lavender-filled pendants and making hula hoops. This issue also includes an all ages tutorial for a fast and fun fingerloop braiding technique that will streamline all your friendship bracelet-making for the rest of the summer.

We’ll also give you reason to fire up the water canner and get out those canning jars to whip up a batch of salsa or dilly beans. And if you want to make a party out of it, you can try out the fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade recipe, whip up some grilled pizza and cap things off with lavender shortbread cookies or some a sweet and mini chocolate chip cookie pies.

I continue to enjoy the adventure of working with an ever-changing line-up of talented contributors and I’m so grateful for their willingness to be part of this little magazine that I make late and night when most people are sleeping.

Issue 7 contributors include:

Nora Bellows
Andrea Chesman
Marti Deacon
Claire Garland
Rebecca Green
Jeanne Hoin
Jennifer Maynard (aka Lucky Jackson)
Virginia Loukus
Marisa McClellan
Tanya Thomann
Diane Ori
Suzann Thompson
and yours truly (Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood)

For subscription information and updates on the release of the electronic edition, visit the left sidebar of CraftSanity.com.

A special thanks to the following issue 7 sponsors for helping to keep this publication going:

Briar Rose Fibers
Country Needleworks
Marti’s Giggle Kids
Minty Keen
Yarn Hollow

And to my readers, thank you so much for your continued interest and support. I make this magazine for you and hope you enjoy it. Please get in touch if you have a story or project idea for the fall & winter issues.

All the best,

Jennifer

When I tell my kids I’m going to do something, I do my best to deliver. I had a mountain of work to finish today and didn’t really have time to dedicate the day to all things strawberry. But I said I would take them strawberry picking and today was the last day for U-pick at the strawberry farm we go to every year, so we put on our sun block and hats and headed out to the fields.

We picked 13 pounds of strawberries pretty fast, stopped for ice cream on the farm and then booked it back home where I spent the next several hours hulling and smashing and stirring those berries into jam with intermittent assistance from Amelia. (Abby was practicing for her upcoming video game tournament debut next week at the library.)

That’s the thing about strawberry picking – the more you pick, the more work you have to do when you get home. I knew I wouldn’t get much else done today if we went to the farm, but I also know how important it is to follow through on the things we tell our kids. Most of my work deadlines are self-imposed and sometimes I get so busy that I forget why I let go of the security of working for a large company and getting a fat check every week. I let go of the money to gain the priceless freedom to not work on a Saturday and be able to drop everything and go to the strawberry patch with my kids.

It seems unfathomable that I could actually forget this, but I do. I often say: “I don’t have time”  when really I control how I spend my time. It’s crazy to think that we can get so busy that we forget that we have options. I decide how I spend my days and I have the power to stop the treadmill of endless work and take a break. I can do that, but I usually don’t. I usually just keep plowing through. I’m going to work on hitting pause more often.

Somewhere in the middle of the second batch of jam I shook off the anxious feeling I get when I have a lot of work to do and end up doing something that’s not on the list. Today I surrendered to the the rhythm of jam-making. Wash the berries, chop, hull, repeat. Smash, mix, stir, stir, stir, stir, stir. Pour. Seal. Repeat.

I like making jam. It’s time consuming work, but I quite enjoy the satisfaction that comes with recognizing the moment when the jam jells and hearing the “pop” of lids when a successful seal is achieved. And, really, is there anything more lovely in the kitchen than seeing 25 fresh and beautiful jars of bright red jam sitting on the  counter?

Today, I did some work for my family. I made us some jam. My only regret is that I rushed the girls a little bit in strawberry field. We could have lingered longer at the farm. We didn’t have to rush. The other work will get done. And it will get done better if I give myself a chance to relax and recharge. It’s so important to slow down now and then. Life isn’t a race, it’s a journey.

I hope you take the time to make some jam this summer, too. My favorite strawberry jam recipe is the one by Lydia Adams that I featured in the summer 2011 issue of CraftSanity Magazine (issue 3). And as I type, my dehydrator is drying a fresh batch of strawberry fruit rollups. I used Alana’s recipe, but skipped the cayenne pepper. (I’m going to let my kids sample the non-spicy version first. :  ) I’ll let you know how the taste test goes, so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment below about what you’re making.

One of the best parts of my job is the interesting people I meet. Earlier this month I had a delightful conversation with Grand Rapids knitter, Virginia Loukus, who happened to be sporting a hat embellished with a knitted dish scrubbie when she stopped by my booth at the Fulton Street Artisans Market.

As a big fan of unconventional fashion statements, I was amused and intrigued by Virginia’s headwear. I jotted down a few notes and followed up with a phone interview. Turns out Virginia really likes to knit scrubbies to use herself and sell to others. You can read the column I wrote about her and find her scrubbie pattern in the Home section of Sunday’s edition of The Grand Rapids Press. You can read the electronic version here.