CraftSanity Podcasts with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

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In this episode of CraftSanity, Weeks Ringle, 45, of Oak Park, Ill., shares the story of how she launched a home-based contemporary design studio called FunQuilts with her husband and business partner, Bill Kerr.

Together Weeks and Bill design and make quilts for individuals and galleries, They’ve co-authored three quilting books and travel around the country teaching and lecturing on quilt design. They have also designed more than 100 fabrics for FreeSpirit. Look for their new Mendhi fabric designs for FreeSpirit (pictured at the top of the page) at your local quilt shop by mid-December, or find them here.

And perhaps even more impressive than their beautiful quilts is the commitment Weeks and Bill have to serving their community. They could easily make more money than they do, but instead donate quilts to charity organizations and fundraising efforts. For every 10 quilts they sell, they donate one to charity.

And few quilters can say they've created jobs in their community, but that's exactly what Weeks and Bill did when they designed the "Many Hands Blankies" (pictured below). These quilts are made by developmentally disabled adults at a vocational training and job center in Chicago. The sale of the quilts keep adult workers creatively employed.



Read Weeks regular posts on the whipup.net website. The site is fabulously addictive and wonderfully inspiring. It's all about "handcraft in a hectic world," and a place for artists and crafters to share ideas and pass along information.

Get your quilting fix. Here's the link to the quilt block swap I belong to. It's fun. Check it out.

This week's project is a lovely FunQuilts pattern called "Between the Lines" that you can try out at home. Download the pdf. (Thanks Weeks!)



This Week's Contest: THREE lucky CraftSanity listeners will win a copy of “Color Harmony for Quilts” donated by the authors. It's and great guide for rookie and experienced quilters wanting to learn more about quilt design.

Please type “quilt contest” in the subject line of your e-mail and include your mailing address so we can get the book to you if you win.

You can enter to win a couple different ways.

1) E-mail a photo of a finished quilt, quilt block or work in progress to Jennifer@craftsanity.com. (The idea is to create an inspiring photo gallery or quilts and fabrics. I’ll post your entries on CraftSanity.)

2) Or, if you have never quilted before but want to learn, send me a sentence or two about why you’d like to learn.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday Nov. 14. Abby, CraftSanity’s Vice President of fun, will randomly select three winners.

CRAFTY NEWS:
Calling all AntiCrafters! The AntiCraft staff scored a book deal and is collecting project submissions. Click here to check out this goth style craft web magazine and here for submission details. (Congrats Renee and Zabet!)


Congrats to Anu of Lake Park, Fla. You were randomly selected to win a free copy of "Our Lady of Weight Loss" by last week's guest Janice Taylor. Check out Anu's artwork.

Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley. Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.