CraftSanity Podcasts with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

Download the show (you may need to right-click the link)
Listen to show in browser

Subscribe to CraftSanity on iTunes

RSS feed for podcast




Are you a multi-tasking knitter who loves to read? Great. So is Kathy Goldner.

Kathy is the founder of Knitting Out Loud, a new company that produces audio knitting books so you can listen to stories about your favorite craft while you click those point sticks.

Tune into this week's episode of CraftSanity to find out how Kathy started this crafty business nearly a year ago and how she finds the talented voices to read these knitting gems.

Also, Kathy was kind enough to let me play clips from five of her audio books during the show, so settle in with a project and let the audio book sampling begin.

Win An Audio Book! Have a favorite knitting book that you'd like to listen to while knitting? Recommend a title for Kathy to make into an audio book and get in the random drawing for an audio copy of "A History of Hand Knitting" by Richard Rutt. To enter, simply copy your post into an e-mail to Jennifer@craftsanity.com. Please include your mailing address in your e-mail so I know where to send your prize if you win. The deadline is Saturday, March 8. Good luck everyone!



Support the show! 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.

Kristin Nicholas is my kind of creative. Some people pick one art medium and stick to it, but not Kristin. She does it all.

She's a craft book author and illustrator who is into stitchery, knitting, painting, ceramics, interior design and gardening. So in addition to using color with wild abandon in her knitting and embroidery projects, Kristin enjoys splashing color throughout the 1751 farmhouse where she lives with her husband, Mark, and daughter, Julia. On this farm located on an abandoned apple orchard, Kristin and her family live and inspired life raising sheep, pigs and chickens.
Read More...

Dearest Listeners,

It's bitter cold in Grand Rapids today where the mercury is hovering around 4 degrees. Even, Juna, our Alaskan Malamute who loves to nap outside on a snow pile, is hunkered down inside today. It's too cold to go out, so it's a great day to grab your favorite blanket and settle into to a cozy chair and listen to a podcast.

Today, I offer up a great conversation with Samara O'Shea, the wordsmith who writes custom letters for clients over at letterlover.net and the author of "For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing." Samara's approach is wonderful in that she didn't write a straight how-to guide. Instead she mixes in her own letter-writing adventures with makes the book come to life. Read More...

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. Read More...

Tune in this week for a lively chat with Lily Chin, an internationally famous crochet and knitwear designer and champion promoter of both these wonderful art forms.

On this episode of CraftSanity, Lily shares the story of how she got her crafty start and gives us an behind-the-scenes tour of her life as a pattern designer and fashion industry insider. She talks about her experiences crocheting runway pieces for the likes of Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren and Isaac Mizrahi, and even offers her solution for managing a big yarn stash in the Big Apple where abundant yarn storage space is hard to come by.

Read More...

This week I'd like to introduce Hilary Seabolt, an inspiring young woman who discovered her felt toy-making talents about two years ago and launched a homemade business called Lilly Bean Market from her home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Hilary in the attic studio where she creates play food out of wool felt. (She was the subject my weekly craft column published today in The Grand Rapids Press.) Each piece is machine sewn, then embellished with hand-stitching. Hillary ships felt food to shops and customers across the country and abroad. From ham and cheese sandwiches to fish dinners, cookies, cakes and good ol'  PB&J, Hilary has created a collection of 60 items to keep you and your children entertained for hours. Read More...

Tune in this week for a conversation with printmaker Alynn Guerra.

I met Alynn, 32, of Grand Rapids at a local street fair and really liked the prints she creates and sells under the name Red Hydrant Press. Not long after, I recorded an interviewed and wrote a column about her for my newspaper.

As I recently wrote on my GR Press blog: I respect the social commentary and accessibility of Guerra's work. You don't have to make millions to own it, and you don't need to stand on your head and squint with one eye to try to understand it. Alynn speaks through her art, carving images and words into printing blocks and linoleum and "publishing" her work for a limited audience one print at a time.
Read More...

At long last, I'm back podcasting. Here's an interview I taped with one of my favorite knitters, Susan B. Anderson, when she made a return to trip to Grand Rapids in November.

Susan who hails from Madison, Wis., was in town to promote her latest book "Itty-Bitty Nursery." Read More...

The yarn is expensive and fabulous, the color is exquisite, and the cable pattern is divine. So what's the problem?

Him. He won't wear the damn sweater you spent hours stitching. Every now and then even the most gifted knitters and crocheters find themselves in this seemingly no-win situation.

Realizing this after creating a few items that bombed with her boyfriend, Debbie Stoller has just come out with a new book she hopes will reduce the frustration on both sides when crafty folks make gifts for men.
Read More...

This week I'm bring you a chat with artist and crafter Kristin Roach, 24, of Moline, Illinois. Kristin is the creative force behind the website Craft Leftovers, where she posts free patterns weekly. Tune in to find out how this art major at Northern Illinois University manages to balance school, her job at a yarn shop and her crafty side businesses. Read More...

Download the show (you may need to right-click the link)
Listen to show in browser

Subscribe to CraftSanity on iTunes

RSS feed for podcast



HANDMADE STORY No. 1: The Witch


My next podcast isn't quite ready, so please enjoy this Handmade Story by Francesca Penchant, of Seattle, Wash.
I hope this is the first in a series of listener stories about the handmade items in your lives. Have a story to share? Email me.

This week's guest is Sabrina Gschwandtner, author of a "KnitKnit: Profiles + Projects From Knitting's New Wave," a fantastic book that just came out last month. It's a wonderful collection of profiles of 27 interesting knitters, some you've surely heard of and others you'll be glad to learn about.
Read More...

Many of you have requested her as a guest and now she's finally here. Settle in for a chat with Amanda Blake Soule, that 31-year-old crafter, blogger, photographer, writer, unschooling mama extraordinaire who documents her creative family life in Portland, Maine on her blog Soule Mama.

Come along on a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to be the "Soule Mama" and hear all about her exciting book-writing adventure.
Read More...

Frustrated by the growing list of soldiers dying in the war in Iraq, Anne Landre, 52, of Milwaukee, Wis., decided to pay tribute to growing list of female causalities by stitching each woman's name into a fiber art project.

As the list of fallen soldiers grew, Anne launched the Mother's Day Project and enlisted the help of volunteers, each stitching a single name on a swatch to be returned to her. Anne's plan is to take the names and incorporate them into a traveling tote bag that the stitchers will each get a chance to use as they go about their lives for a week or so. The response was so overwhelming that Anne got enough volunteers to make two tote bags. I got in on the second bag. Read More...

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. Read More...

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.
Read More...

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. Read More...

The wonderfully inspiring Amy Karol is back to star in another episode of CraftSanity. (She made her debut on episode 27, so be sure to check that out if you missed it.) Amy is still as artistic and crafty as ever, but there have been some major developments since we last heard from her. She just had another baby girl and published her first book, "Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew." Congrats, Amy!

We taped the interview before Amy went into labor, so you'll have to visit her blog for the latest news from the homefront. Read More...

Julie Jersild Roth is a soft spoken woman with big talent. Like Nell, the lovable character she created for her book "Knitting Nell," Roth has a quiet voice.

But listen up, folks, because Julie, 48, of Minneapolis, Minn., has a wonderful story to share. This week Julie is going to tell us what it's like to be a children's book author and illustrator and even read her book to us.

And in the usual CraftSanity fashion, we talk about a bunch of other stuff, too. Take a little audio stroll with us and get inspired for your next creative project. (And find out how you can win a copy of "Knitting Nell.")
Read More...

This week you'll meet Carol Sauvion, the executive director of the PBS series "Craft in America" that airs nationally Wednesday, May 30.

Carol, 59, of Los Angeles, got her start in the arts as a potter in the 1960s and has operated Freehand Gallery in Los Angeles for more than 25 years. Tune in to hear what inspired her to make this wonderful documentary about American craft tradition and how her creative business has enriched her life. Read More...

Feel like your knitting sometimes gets the best of you and want to feel a little more in control? Then this is the show for you. Meet Jennifer Stafford, of San Francisco, a 37-year-old knitting powerhouse who knows what she wants from her craft. By day she works a regular job at an internet media company, but when she's knitting she takes on a much more powerful persona. She is the DomiKNITrix, the creative genius behind domiKNITrix.com. Read More...

Tune in this week for a chat with Afya Ibomu, the author of "Get Your Crochet On! Hip Hats & Cool Caps." This 30-something author, certified holistic health counselor, and crochet artist will talk about her book of fabulous patterns and give you the courage to do what yarn snobs define as the unthinkable: crochet with acrylic. Afya will share the story of how she got into crocheting hats and selling them to famous rap stars. Read More...

Annie Mohaupt majored in architecture but found the office setting was not for her. When a friend asked her to share a table at the Renegade Craft Fair, she had a reason to execute that shoe idea she had been kicking around for a while. The shoes were hot sellers and the rest is history. Now, Annie, 31, of Chicago makes shoes full-time. To date she has turned out more than 1,000 pairs of cute and comfortable handmade shoes. (These shoes are so great -- I bought a pair myself). Read More...

Doing her part to get people stitching, Heather Holland-Daly is an up-and-coming cross stitch designer whose unique designs will make you want to grab a hoop and some colorful thread.

With a background in theater, Heather, 40, of Bellville, Ill., has taken an interesting career path from the stage to retail to becoming her own boss as the owner and creator of her very own cross stitch design business.
Read More...

This week's guest is writer, crafter and TV producer, Jessica Vitkus. She is the author of "AlternaCrafts: 20+ Hi-Style Lo-Budget Projects to Make." She also worked for Sassy magazine and "Martha Stewart Living TV," "The Daily Show," "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and "Craft Corner Deathmatch."





Read More...

Ellen Knudson appreciates the beauty of text on a page. She's a lover of letters and the words they add up to when she make her books the old fashion way with ink and type and a needle and thread.

As a book artist and operator of Crooked Letter Press in Starkville, Miss., Ellen spends quality time with each beautifully constructed book she prints on her beloved letterpress.

Read More...

This week’s guest is knitter Susan B. Anderson, the author of “Itty-Bitty Hats: Cute and Cuddly Caps to Knit for Babies and Toddlers.” I had the pleasure of meeting Susan when she came to West Michigan for her recent book tour. Read More...

This week’s guest is Tsia Carson, the author of the great new book “Craftivity: 40 Projects for the DIY Lifestyle.” Tsia, 36, of Beacon, New York, is the founder of SuperNaturale, a fabulous independent website where the movers and shakers on the art/craft scene post articles and discuss all things DIY.

Tsia is a mother, artist, crafter and partner at Flat, a multidisciplinary design firm in New York City. She has taught at both Yale University and the Rhode Island School of Design. So she has the street cred to tell us a thing or two about art, craft and DIY culture. Read More...

This week’s guest is Betty Christiansen, a 37-year-old freelance writer, editor and knitter living in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. She is the author of an inspiring new book called “Knitting For Peace: Make the World a Better Place Once Stitch at a Time.”
Read More...

This week CraftSanity features an interview with Melissa Alvarado and Hope Meng who, along with their friend Melissa Rannels, co-own Stitch Lounge, an urban sewing studio in San Francisco and co-authored the fabulous refashioning book "Sew Subversive: Down & Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista."

Tune in to hear the story of how these three crafty women stitched their way into business and the wonderful world of crafty book publishing.


Read More...

Hannah Rogge, 28, of New York City, is a crafty woman with a unique style of her own. With blue hair and nail polish and jewelry fashioned from nuts and bolts from her local hardware store, Hannah isn't afraid to craft outside the box. Tune into this week's podcast for the story of how this Rhode Island School of Design graduate splits her life between her day job designing animated windows and her after-hours craft habit. Read More...

Listen to the podcast
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.
Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Diets and support meetings didn't work for Janice Taylor. So when she heard a wise voice in her head, she listened to it and turned her obsession with food into an art form. She began making delicious foods the focus of her art instead of her dinner plate. Today she refers to the voice as "Our Lady of Weight Loss," the muse that inspired her to creatively shed 50 pounds and invent a new profession for herself as a weight-loss artist.
Read More...

Before Laura Buzard created her own line of Laura Bee Designs handbags and opened a fabulous store and working studio in Seattle, Washington, she was crafty woman with a dream. Now she's a successful business owner specializing in custom designs made from fabrics customers select from her stash.
Read More...

Listen to the podcast
This week the CraftSanity podcast visits the home studio of Grand Rapids, Michigan glass artist Nancy Puffer. She's a 49-year-old stay-at-home mom turned artist who makes the vibrant beads she uses to make fantastic one-of-a-kind jewelry. Tune in to hear how she fell in love with lampwork and how it's changed her life.

Read More...

Listen to the podcast
This week's episode of CraftSanity features a conversation with Natalie Zee, the associate editor of CRAFT magazine and writer of the publication's blog. Zee, 33, of San Francisco, is a crafter, fashion trend spotter and tech expert. Check out her books, her personal blog and her her flickr gallery. We chat about CRAFT and crafting and how you can get your work into this fine publication. Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Etsy's PR and marketing guru Matt Stinchcomb, former guitarist for the French Kicks, takes us behind the scenes of this rapidly growing, online craftopia. Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Melinda Barta, 26, of Fort Collins, Colo, is the author of "Hip to Stitch: 20 Contemporary Projects Embellished with Thread." Melinda shares the story of how she landed her crafty gig as an assistant managing editor at Beadwork and Stringing magazines published by Interweave Press.
Read More...

Listen to the podcast
When Lisa Kartus makes a knitting mistake, she revels in it. Tune in to this episode of CraftSanity to hear how this financial reporter turned knitting writer has emerged on the crafty scene with her debut kniitting book "Knit Fix: Problem Solving for Knitters" Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Looking for an easy way to get the word out about your crafty creations? You're in luck! On this episode of CraftSanity we're going to meet the one and only Marie Kare, the brilliant creator of the Sampler, a marketing and promotional tool designed to help indie business folks get exposure.
Read More...

Laughter comes easy for Claudine Hellmuth, 31, a mixed media collage artist and author living the ultimate creative life in Orlando, Fla. Her humorous and whimsical artwork is fantastic, with her latest pieces including collage scenes featuring back and white photos. (Above are some of her recent commissioned pieces.) She travels the country teaching art workshops and makes art, including several commissioned pieces, in her home studio.

Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Rhonda Simmons is a 43-year-old artist living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where she documents life with plaster castings and empowers other women to celebrate themselves in their own artistic ways. And it's Rhonda's whimsical spirit that led her to convert feminine hygiene dispensers into colorful "Outsider Art in a Box" dispensers. Who would of thought those dispensers could ever be so fun? Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Since her debut book “Knitting in America” captivated a new generation of knitters in the mid-'90s, legions of yarn loving fans have grown to recognize Melanie Falick’s name on the front of a book as a symbol of quality. Like so many others, I’ve collected and enjoyed her books over the years. Therefore, I'm especially pleased to feature a conversation with her on this week’s show. Read More...

(From left) Jane Patrick, Richard Ashford, Nilda Callanaupa)

Sometimes the craft gods smile upon us and we just have to soak it all up. That's exactly what I did when Convergence 2006, the Handweavers Guild of America international convention, made a stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. last month. I grabbed my recording equipment and headed downtown to tape some mini-interviews with weaving enthusiasts from around the globe.
Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Tune in this week for a chat with Debbie Stoller, the co-creator of Bust magazine and author of the "Stitch 'N Bitch" books that have inspired thousands to pick up their needles and start knitting and crocheting. Many of you are probably familiar with her wildly popular knitting book "Stitch 'N Bitch Nation" that was joined recently in bookstores by her latest crafty publication, "Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker." Read More...

Amy Karol knows what it’s like to land a great job, only to go work and feel like something is seriously wrong. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in interior architecture, she landed an impressive job as a commercial interior designer and got to work. But she’s wasn’t feeling it.
Read More...

Listen to the podcast
Linda Permann is living the ultimate crafty girl's dream in the Big Apple. She's the 26-year-old craft and decorating editor for Adorn magazine, SOHO's latest craft publication that just hit newsstands this summer. Read More...

Listen to the podcast
This week I’m going to bring you a chat with Heidi Kenney, the crafty woman behind the website and online shop My Paper Crane. She’s a hip 28-year-old, Baltimore-area artist making impressive plush creations. She’s a mother and maker who creates whatever she wants out of fabric.
Read More...

Tune in for a chat with Betz White, 41, a fashion designer, artist and crafter living in Verona, Wisconsin. She’s going to give us an inside scoop on children’s apparel design and share the story of how she’s developing her own signature line of handmade goods that incorporate her skills as a knitter with her knack for working with recycled wool and cashmere sweaters. Read More...