The Craft Subversive

I love to read whenever I can and I travel a lot for work. Exploring different places is amazing. I also run as a hobby and I really enjoy doing anything out in the garden--planting, growing, picking, etc.

I love making a wide variety of craft things. Right now I'm making snarky magnet buttons out of vintage magazines.

Working with felt is what I do primarily, though, because it's fun and versatile, and I love seeing what I can create.

There's a smattering of painting in there too, and I like making objects for my daughter to use or play with. I'm very much a dabbler.

My craft space is a mess! My crafting space itself is the back corner of the (finished) basement. I mostly work on a spare couch and I’ll often watch various programs while finishing things up late at night—nothing that takes too much visual attention or requires focus to follow, though. I have a to-go box ready to go for when friends have crafting nights; I can easily bring projects with me and get a bit of work done while socializing as well.

I watch a lot of comfort TV while I'm crafting. I like Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, episodes of Star Trek, etc.

I also listen to a podcast called "The Greatest Generation" which is, um, about Star Trek the Next Generation and not WWII heroes. It's very geeky.

My earliest craft memories start at about age 4 or 5, sitting in on my grandmother’s “Stitch-and-Chatter” club with “the ladies” from the neighborhood. I was given watered-down coffee and a flour-sack towel of my very own to embroider (I think it was a mouse-and-strawberries pattern).

I love making person-based ornaments/activity book pictures out of felt. It's very satisfying to figure out how to highlight detail/facial features and characteristics to make someone recognizable in just felt and embroidery floss.

Though not really blogs, I follow some artists on instagram. Two of my favorites are Knitteapolis and Emerald and Fig.

I'm also a member of the American Craft Council--which basically just means that I get a great magazine every few months with lots of crafty inspiration.