CraftSanity with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

CHICAGO - Women rocked the blogosphere at the BlogHer 2007 conference at Navy Pier and I was glad to be a part of it. There were mommy bloggers, food bloggers, exhibitionist bloggers, weight-loss bloggers, political bloggers and many other blogging enthusiasts numbering in excess of 750. While I find many blogs fascinating, I went to meet the art and craft bloggers, the people who make stuff and write about it. People, well, like me.

The BlogHer organizers gave me the green light to record a panel discussion called: "The Art of Crafts" on Saturday, so I turned it into a special BogHer edition of the CraftSanity podcast.

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Many others have crafted since, but Carol Duvall was among the very first to craft before a live television audience.

One of her hallmarks was her uncanny ability to teach television viewers how to whip up interesting projects using items they could find around the house. From finding creative purposes for the old plastic L'eggs pantyhose "egg" containers and milk cartons to other household goods, Carol never seemed to run out of ideas.

While crafting became Carol's claim to fame during a television career that lasted more than 50 years, that was not her intention.

Tune in this week to hear the story of how a working mom who never aspired to be the "Queen of Crafting" became just that.

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I've been wanting a new sewing machine for a while and have been trying to decide between a Janome and a Bernina. The limited research I've done has lead me to believe that those are the top two brands to pick from. (All you sewing aficionados feel free to weigh in on this. I've regretted previous sewing machine selections and need all the guidance I can get.) Anyway, I thought a new machine would be an excellent way to mark my 31st birthday which is rapidly approaching, but my husband, Jeff, the tech expert who works to make this podcast happen, had another idea.

He bought me an iPhone.

I know, you can't make anything anything crafty with an iPhone, but you can take pictures of craft projects, read craft weblogs, listen to crafty podcasts, pull up directions to the closest yarn store, e-mail crafty friends and call your mom with it. I was very resistant to making an iPhone part of my life at first. But then I caved. I'm not proud of myself. I would have had a much easier time justifying spending the money on a new sewing machine. If you're interested in reading about how I fell for an iPhone, check out the piece I wrote for the Geek Guide technology blog my husband writes for The Grand Rapids Press where we work together to earn money to buy food, technology and craft supplies.

And just because I feel obligated to include something really crafty in this entry, I searched the web for a good iPhone cozy pattern because I haven't had time to cook one up myself. I didn't find an iPhone cozy pattern, but I did find this. Someone's mom was inspired by all the hype and knit an iPhone that is intended to be a toy for children. If I ever make a toy iPhone, I'll probably do it out of fabric. (Largely because I'm still on a sewing kick.) So, my search for a cool iPhone cozy pattern continues...

I just paged through an advance copy of "Interweave Felt" magazine, a special issue from "Interweave Knits," and found some lovely projects inside. The magazine features great projects for all skill levels ranging from easy felted beads (LOVE those.) and cookie cutter needle-felted shapes (LOVE those, too.) to a more complex needle felted lily beret and felted fair isle bag -- two projects I won't likely have the time to ever try. This special issue hits U.S. newsstands July 17 and will retail for $7.99. Keep reading for a little preview to tide you over until then.





I especially enjoyed the article on page 28 that Jack Lewis wrote about designer Marta McCall. Talk about talented, this woman essentially paints with wool. And you can, too. Turn the page and find the pattern for Marta's bold and delightful floral "Weekend Getaway Satchel." (LOVE it, LOVE it.) If I had the time to make this I would most definitely load that baby up with portable craft projects and haul it all over town. Thank you kindly, Jack, for introducing me to Marta and her amazing creations. The only question is this: how much would it cost to buy 30-plus skeins of Reynolds Lite-Lopi to make the satchel? Oh, I love it so...
















The "Fat Cat" felted toy design by Kristin Nicholas on page 26 caught my eye during my first quick pass through the magazine. As the mother of two, I know this would be go over big with my little girls. The fabric for this cat is knit in the round, felted, then cut up and sewn back together. But the pattern template would work great for those who want to skip the knitting and use up some old sweaters. Either way, the end product has super cute potential.



I must have skipped p. 20 on my first pass through, but finally noticed Teri Barr's "Lock Nest Hat" when I sat down with the magazine after my girls went to bed. Check it out. Shaped like an Ikea vase or chemistry beaker, this hat is designed to allow hair to spill out an opening high atop one's head. This looks so fun to knit. I would definitely wear this hat on winter training runs.

And because I just love to pass the word about recycled craft projects, check out these recycled felt projects from Interweave staffers.

There are several other interesting projects and articles, but I think I've said as much as I can without republishing the magazine on my blog and getting into hot water. If you're interested in felting, it's worth a look.

Photo by Julie Ackerman Sarcona

There's nothing like a fresh, new baby to inspire some major crafting. So you can imagine the marathon craft binge that TWO new babies have inspired. My little sisters both had babies within the last two weeks, a boy and a girl, and I've been happily crafting little welcome packages to deck them out is homemade style. We're so blessed to have two more healthy and thriving members of our family. The bibs above were a gift for my newest niece, Penny. The pattern is from Amy Karol's "Bend the Rules Sewing" book. The bibs are fun and super easy to make.

I was inspired by yet another baby who's on the way. My friends are expecting their first child next month, so I made a quilt for their nursery. I didn't use a pattern so it was a bit of a mystery to see how it was going to turn out. If only I had more time to make stuff...

This week we're going to visit the kitchen of soap-making, super mom, Dee Bellini, 44, of Wyoming, Mich. She is a married, mother of five boys who works full-time as a parts manager for a fork lift company. When she's off the clock, Dee is working hard to grow her soap business Bars by Bellini. Like many of us who rush home from our day jobs to work on projects, Dee is pursuing her crafty dream on the side and one day hopes to have a shop where she can sell her handmade soaps, lotions, scrubs, sprays and lip balms.

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