CraftSanity with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

Last week, when I watched the kind gentleman at the post office show me how the P.O. box system works, I have to admit I was kind of hoping there would be a letter inside my box when he turned the key and swung the metal door open for me to peer inside for the very first time. Even though I had just rented the box minutes before and there was no possible way that anyone could have sent me a letter that quickly, I couldn't help but feel hopeful.

Maybe...

I know it's totally ridiculous. But I'm totally ridiculous when it comes to getting letters in the mail. I absolutely love it! LOVE IT!

Somehow, I forced myself to wait six days before checking for mail. I was absolutely dying to check before that, but I didn't want to jump the gun and look the next day and feel all foolish and deflated for checking it too soon and finding no mail.

So yesterday was the big day. I went to mail a package and check the box. I may have holding my breath when I turned the key. And there were two letters waiting for me. Awesome! If you played back the post office security footage, you would probably see my smile grow bigger than my face. I was that happy.

The very first letter was a wonderful surprise. It was from my cousin, David, who lives in Illinois. This was surprising because I had no idea he was reading my blog. So when I received a lovely letter from him, I was thrilled. This was particularly cool because we have not been in regular contact and basically only see each other at weddings and funerals. Opening his letter triggered memories of two great trips my family took to visit his childhood home in southern Illinois. I remember catching fireflies in his backyard and learning to ride a three-wheeler and shoot a BB gun. It's amazing how words on a piece of paper can trigger the mind to play back the tapes of one's childhood. So, David, if you're reading, know that you rock and will be getting a letter back from me. I wrote it today.

The second letter was from a talented stranger named Kristen from Ambler, PA. She sent me "Snail Mail: A Happy Little Book" which, you guessed it, I LOVE. She made this little book out of recycled pages of a Paper Source catalog (which now I feel compelled to get), writing a sentence or two about herself on each page. So clever!

By paging through the book composed on scrap paper, I learned that Kristen has a degree in English education, but now works as a photographer. (She's good. Check out her work.) She's determined to learn to crochet "something respectable" by her 27th birthday and perhaps a little apprehensive about turning 30. (Don't worry, the 30s rock more than the 20s for loads of reasons.) She has been listening to CraftSanity since episode 12 and appears amused by the way I say my A's. On the last page she glued a cute, olive green envelope to the last page and stuck an orange handwritten business card in there. So of course I checked out her blog.

She also sent a decorative paper "doo-dad" (pictured above) with a handmade fabric flower stitched to it. I think that's pretty great too and will likely use it to embellish the pages of a book Abby and I are planning to make together.

Had I known I could get mail this interesting, I would have rented a box years ago.

Today I received two more lovely letters. One from Fanie in Montreal and another from Melissa in Sacramento. So I have some letter writing to do this weekend. How fun!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

P.S. Here's the address for those interested in snail mail correspondence.

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood
CraftSanity Podcast producer
P.O. Box 888192
Grand Rapids, MI 49588-8192

Betz White is back with a recap of her adventures as an up-and-coming designer and crafter who used her original cupcake pin cushion design as a spring board to a book deal and appearance on The Martha Stewart Show.

Betz has been very busy since I I first interviewed her in the summer of 2006 for CraftSanity episode 24. She's published a book, "Warm Fuzzies, 30 Sweet Felted Projects" and writing a second one. And just last week she got to watch Martha on TV demonstrating her "Heart-felted Scarf" project on the show.

Learn more and listen to this show

The only crafting I've had time for this week has been the completely mindless sort of knitting where you pick it up and knit without thinking or counting. You just breath and knit and life is good for a few rows. This is great way to recover from the white-knuckle commute home on scary, snow-covered West Michigan roads.

I was so pleased with how Abby's felted purse turned out, that I had to make one for Amelia, too. The design is Ruth Boelkins' nonstop knits Mini Felted Tote Purse pattern and it's super easy. I've been lugging this project around in my bag all week.

I usually always have a project with me, so I'm never caught waiting in line somewhere without a nerve-calming distraction. I ALWAYS feel better about waiting when I have a project to work on. They should offer free knitting lessons while people wait forever at the Secretary of State's office. That could possibly help reduce the collective anger among the customers waiting in uncomfortable chairs because knitting can really take the edge off.

Speaking of projects, I'm still planning to post a new podcast this week. If all goes well, it will get posted tomorrow.

This weekend my craft column will be about a local book artist. She showed me a really fun way to create a patchwork graffiti effect on a plain old notebook. I'm applying this technique to enhance the cover of a free calendar I found at work. Stop back here on Sunday for an easy tutorial and the big reveal.

In the meantime, check out these great book resources, courtesy of Sharon B's In a Minute Ago.

When I saw the scraggily sheep on the cover holding knitting needles, I knew chances were very good that I was going to dig this children's book from the get go.

It's called "Woolbur" and a review copy showed up today and stole the show at story time at my house this evening. The delightful book tells the story of a "free spirit" sheep who doesn't like to follow the flock. He does his own thing and worries his parents who "pull their wool all night long." Somehow I could really relate to that scraggily little sheep.

Since I was basically sold on this book after one look at the cover art, I decided my personal bias in favor of crafts would likely cloud my judgement and make it impossible for me to evaluate this book fairly. So I enlisted the help of CraftSanity's 3-year-old V.P. of fun, Abby Rose. (The 2-year-old associate V.P. of fun, Amelia Claire, was busy opening junk mail at the time, so she didn't weigh in on this review.)

So, after our vegetarian lasagna dinner, Abby and I settled in for our first, second and third readings of this book.

The story by Leslie Helakoski contains delightful references to carding, spinning, dying and weaving. And the text is brought to humorous life by illustrator Lee Harper who reportedly got a subscription to "Fiber Arts Magazine" to soak up some fiber knowledge to create a convincing Woolbur. The end result is beautiful.

At the end of our first reading I asked Abby what she thought and she said simply: "Read it again! Read it again!" So I happily obliged.

The book held her attention for two more back-to-back readings, and she seemed to enjoy the wacky stuff Woolbur does. To test whether or not she was grasping the story line, I asked her what the book was about.

"A sheep who does a bunch of crazy stuff to his wool," she said.

That's essentially true.

I tried to explain the part about Woolbur being a free spirit and told her that I'm a free spirit, too. She took a good look at me (focusing mainly on my hair), then looked at the book, then back at me and said: "No, mom, you don't look like him at all."

Nevertheless, we read the book four times this evening and we both still like the story.

This one gets two thumbs up from this mother-daughter review team.

If you're looking for other quality, craft-related children's books to read with your kids or give as gifts to the adult crafters in your life here are my favorite titles that meet this crafty criteria:

"Knitting Nell" - This is a great book by Julie Jersild Roth (I interviewed her for CraftSanity episode 54.) that tells the story of Nell, a shy little knitter who listens to her friends while she knits for charity. She never says much, especially not after she's told her voice sounds like a cricket. The story has a sweet ending that gives Nell a chance to shine and be recognized for her unique talent among her peers.


"Shall I Knit You a Hat?" I LOVE this book written by Kate Klise and illustrated by her her sister M. Sarah Klise. It's about a rabbit who designs cozy winter hats that his mother knits or all his friends before a blizzard. The book celebrates the joy of giving. I believe current editions come with a super cute rabbit hat pattern. (I've had my copy for a few years and it does not include the hat pattern. Darn! It might be time to get a new copy with the pattern and gift this one to the local library.)


"The Quiltmaker's Gift" - This story, by Jeff Brumbeau and beautifully illustrated by Gail de Marcken, tells the story of a woman who only sews amazing quilts for the poor and refuses to sell one to the rich king who has everything. She tells the king, she will make him a quilt only if he gives away all of his possessions. The story highlights the joy of sharing what you have and emphasizes what's really important in life.

In case you missed the free project I posted yesterday on my newspaper blog, I wanted make it available here, too, so all you knitters living outside of West Michigan get a fair chance to try out Ruth Boelkins' free nonstop knits pattern for felted roses. These roses can be used as lapel pins or classic embellishments for hats, purses and whatever else you'd like to make fancy. Download the the pdf of Ruth's Rose pattern and give it a whirl.

Ruth is a fellow West Michigan knitter. You can read her story on my newspaper blog and check out her patterns and purses for sale in her etsy shop. Her patterns are also available at Country Needleworks, 584 Chicago Drive, Jenison, Mich.

Enjoy!

Today Abby, Amelia and I spent some quality time watching the hot, soapy water in our washing machine felt a wool purse I just finished knitting for Abby. I've done some felting before, but this was probably the first time the girls were aware of the process and they seemed to get a kick out of it.

"Is it done? Is is done?" they asked every time I stopped the machine to check the progress.

This project was inspired by Ruth Boelkins' Nonstop Knits Mini Felted Tote Purse pattern. To find out more about Ruth and her super crafty family check out Ruth my weekly art & craft column that is published in Sunday's edition of The Grand Rapids Press.

Below are the before and after pictures. I'm pleased with the outcome. However, Abby seemed to be most interested in the purse when it was in the washing machine.

Ah, well. Maybe she'll show some interest when I complete Amelia's purse. Worse case scenario I'll have two cute little purses to add to my collection. So it's basically a win-win.



P.S. I finished editing a new podcast tonight and hope to post it within the next couple days, so stay tuned.

Today my daughters hosted their cousin Sophia and her baby sister, Penny, for an early Valentine's Day celebration. The older girls made valentines with paper doilies, crayons and stickers and decorated these cute metal mailboxes we bought from the dollar bin at Target. My sister, Jacquie, and I helped them glue their names on each box, then they went to town decorating their boxes with a bunch of stickers from my childhood stash. They had fun and we did, too.

The best part of the day was when Aunt Jacquie gave Abby a fabulous new haircut to officially repair the damage of the self-inflicted mullet Abby gave herself last week. Thanks, sis. Amazing job!

I recently interviewed Samara O'Shea, author of "For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to Letter Writing" for a story I wrote for my newspaper about the seemingly lost art of putting pen to paper. (The story will appear in Monday's edition of The Grand Rapids Press, so check back here Monday for a link to the story. I will also be posting my chat with O'Shea as an upcoming podcast, so stay tuned for that. )

Some of you may be wondering what letter writing has to do with crafting. Well, I believe there's a pretty clear overlap in the sense that when we make things with our hands we are, in a way, documenting our lives, each stitch a testament to how that time in the studio or craft room, subway or sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office was spent.

Just like rereading a stack of old letters, when we look at the handcrafted items we've made we can often remember what what going on in our lives at the time we created them. Handcrafted items are a lot like letters that way. They can serve as tangible evidence of our creative past and, if we take the time to review them, a possible road map for our future.

I had several pen pals when I was a kid and LOVED the thrill of finding a letter addressed to me waiting in the creaky mailbox that used to hang off the front of my childhood home right below the house number. I could never seem to find the letter opener fast enough to read the latest installment of the dramatic, teenage adventures my pen pals would chronicle for me on pretty stationary. And then I would write back with my own. Regrettably, I've since lost contact with these former pals and gotten out of the habit of writing long letters on fancy paper.

So, Samara's book inspired me to go ahead and do something I've been wanting to do for some time. I got a P.O. Box at my local U.S. Post Office and hope to find some interesting mail in it soon. Those looking to send samples of their work or Press kits to be considered for upcoming podcasts are invited to write me. But what I'm really hoping for are some letters from the interesting people who listen to the podcast and read this blog. I'd love to get a letter from you, dear reader, telling me a little bit about your life and what you make. And I'd love to be able to publish some of those letters here on my blog. Have a crafty question or story to tell? Send your letter to:

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood
CraftSanity Podcast producer
P.O. Box 888192
Grand Rapids, MI 49588-8192

I'm a craft podcaster, not a rock star, so I do not expect to be overwhelmed with mail. This means that I should be able to write back to all those who take the time to send me personal letters. Every week I reveal a little more of myself in my conversations with the movers and shakers of the crafty world. Now, I'd like to give you a chance to tell me your story.

For those of you itching to get cool mail, too, I have good news. I have BIG plans for a fabric postcard swap and separate pen pal exchange. Check back here for more details on those opportunities in the coming weeks.

xo,

Jennifer