Adriana

Name: Adriana

Age: 39

Location: Columbus OH

Profession: Self Employed Artist / Web Sales

Craft(s) of Choice: Wire work, crochet, nature photography, knitting

Blog: http://myspace.comadriana_weaver

I am a disabled, multimedia artist who weaves with both fiber & wire, takes nature photography & builds sculptures. I live & sell online with my brother who knits. Our studio is filled with love, creativity & CATS!

Alyice Edrich

Name: Alyice Edrich

Age: 40

Location: Beresford, SD

Profession: Freelance Writer and Artist

Craft(s) of Choice:
When I’m watching television or on long drives, I love to crochet blankets.

When I’m feeling nostalgic, I love to scrapbook and make mixed media canvases using photographs.

When I want to de-stress, I must put paint to brush and create vases out of old jars and bottles.

Blog: http://alyiceedrich.com

When I was a young child my honorary aunt used to whisk me away for a weekend of crafting. Those moments with her, painting statuary—and later t-shirts—helped me cope with the pains of my childhood in a productive, healthy way. Creating beautiful things took my mind off the ugly things in my life. But more importantly, it bonded us. Those weekends together were therapeutic on so many levels and my time with her showed me what a good, loving relationship was truly about.

When I became a mother myself, I knew I had to continue that tradition with my own children so we took up crafting. We made Christmas ornaments, painted walls, and did whatever their little hearts desires. The joy on their faces, after having accomplished something they could be proud of, along with the relationships we were building, were priceless—something money could never buy.

But then one day I lost all hope, due to a death in the family, and I quit crafting altogether. But that need to create kept lingering and tugging on my soul until a few years ago when I picked up a skeen of yarn and created my first blanket. The excitement in my children’s faces, having received a gift that took so much patience and time to create reminded me of a joy that can only come from creating and giving of that creation.

Since then, I’ve been a crafting maniac!

Amanda Ballard

Name: Amanda Ballard

Age: 18

Location: Simi Valley, CA

Profession: college student

Craft(s) of Choice: knitting, crocheting, jewelry-making, drawing, graphic art

I first learned how to knit when my mother got me this Learn to Knit kit when I was 11. At the time, she was teaching herself how to knit for the first time. From the kit, I learned pretty quickly. After I made 3 small projects, I had myself a knitting hiatus until my 15th birthday. That’s when my mother gave me another knitting kit for older girls. I’ve been knitting non-stop ever since. I’ve learned to crochet when I received a similar kit on my last birthday and learned fast from that too. In the past year, I’ve knitted about 20 beanie caps to donate to chemo patients at a local hospital. I plan to continue knitting and crocheting more items to donate to charities in need.

Amanda Duncan

Name: Amanda Duncan

Age: 25

Location: Richmond, VA

Profession: Crafts/Material Studies Major, Senior

Craft(s) (s) of Choice: Metal/silversmithed jewelry, crochet, knitting, glass working, sewing/quilting

Blog: http://spin-me-a-yarn.blogspot.com

All I ever wanted to be was an artist, I only realize now that my idea of an ‘artist’ was a ‘crafter’. In 2006, I decided to go back and finish my degree, transferring to a school on the east coast with the intent to pursue a BFA in Fashion Design. Less than a semester in, I changed my mind. Time running out on a decision, my professor suggested perhaps Crafts was where I belonged. My response was keen surprise: “Crafts? There’s a major for Crafts?!” Who’d have thunk? Now, finally on the precipice of graduating, I’m in love, completely obsessed. I wake up in the morning with crafting on my mind and I go to sleep with new ideas brewing just waiting to take shape in my dreams. My main focus is metalsmithed jewelry, but I’ve recently acquired an unparalleled obsession (for me) for crochet and have rediscovered my adoration for fabrics and quilting. Being able to create means the world to me.

Amy Humphrey

Name: Amy Humphrey

Age: 41

Location: Missouri

Profession: Musician

Craft(s) of Choice:: Crochet, Serging

As a bassist with chronically cold fingers, I wanted to learn to knit or crochet so I could make fingerless mittens. That was a year ago — since then I’ve become a crocheting maniac and even took over the web design for our local yarn shop! I wanted to show the world how cool crochet was, so I wore a pair of my fingerless mitts in one of my recent YouTube videos.

Amy Jayne

Name: Amy

Age: 21

Location: Madison, WI

Profession: College Student

Craft(s) of Choice: Crochet, Jewelry, Sewing, Drawing

I love to crochet during the school year, it’s rhythmic and soothing, such a great de-stressor. The best part is that all my friends reap the benefits of new scarves every Christmas

Amy Polcyn

Name: Amy Polcyn

Age: 34

Location: Livonia, Michigan

Profession: Knit/crochet designer and technical editor, previously taught 1st and 2nd grade for 10 years (and produced many young knitters and crocheters)

Craft(s) of Choice: Knitting and crochet

Blog: http://frottez.blogspot.com

I’ll never forget the moment when I realized yarn was going to become a lifelong obsession for me.  I was sitting in English class in 10th grade, and I noticed a classmate’s bookmark– crocheted green spiral with a long chain tail and googly eyes.  Simple of a project though it was, I was absolutely transfixed.  How was it made?  How do you do that?

Later that day I remarked to my then-boyfriend how I wished I knew how to crochet, and to my surprise, he offered to teach me!  That evening we went shopping for crochet hooks and yarn and spent several hours in my mother’s living room with him patiently trying to explain the steps and me making my first clumsy attempt.  My passion for crochet eventually crossed over into knitting as well (though I had to teach myself to knit)! Now that crafty-type stuff is what I do for a living, I understand how significant a gift my boyfriend gave me by opening the door for me to working with yarn.

Anabel Sousa

Name: Anabel Sousa

Age: 33

Location: Paris

Profession: Free lance artisan

Craft(s) of Choice: Weaving, crocheting, knitting, and a little bit of sewing

Blog: http://crearescreer.wordpress.com

I started when I was a little girl. My mother knitted and crocheted and she passed me the first tips. Then I went to an art school and not many years ago I went into weaving. Now I’m fascinated by the possibility of create everything starting for a simple thread.

Andrea Lyn Van Benschoten

Name: Andrea Lyn Van Benschoten

Age: 38

Location: Rockaway, NJ

Profession: Seach Engine Optimization Analyst

Craft(s) of Choice: Crochet, Yarn Spinning, Needle Felting, Wet Felting

Blog: http://thefiberforum.com

Since I was a child, I always wanted to learn to crochet. My grandmother tried to teach me, but like most children, I didn’t have the required attention to learn. After she passed away, I wished I had learned from her and it is one of the regrets of my life. I did learn in 2000 and have been addicted ever since! I tried knitting, but it just didn’t “speak” to me the way crochet did. Probably because of the connection to my grandmother.

As I continued to improve my skills, I decided to give yarn spinning a try, first with a spindle, then with a wheel. When my husband told me to pick out a wheel to purchase, I did lots of research. When I narrowed down my choices, I showed him photos of them. He immediately picked the Majacraft Rose. It is a beautiful piece of equipment and has a rose etched into the wood. It is a perfect tribute to my grandmother, since Rose was her name. As I feel the fiber move through my fingers to create yarn, I always feel my grandmother’s spirit nearby guiding me.

To take my “fiber addiction” even further, I took some of that roving I use for spinning and decided to give felting a try. I love it and have created many items and received several blue ribbons at the New Jersey state fair. I have made many life-long friends through my fiber journey and am grateful for every one!

Angie Stump McKibben

Name: Angie Stump McKibben

Age: 44

Location: Ohio, USA

Profession: Graphic Artist on Hiatus

Craft(s) of Choice: Cut Paper Collage, Knitting, Crochet, Sewing, Painting, Etc.

Blog: http://stumptious.wordpress.com

I grew up with artists and crafters on both sides of my family, so creativity was always going to be encouraged in my life. One of my earliest memories with my maternal grandmother was making crepe paper roses that she would dip in paraffin for stability. I thought it was the epitome of fine art back then, even though it was a throwback to my grandmother’s Appalachian heritage. Crafting turned into more of a therapeutic necessity, rather than recreation, when I was around age 12 and this grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. As her disease grew, I longed more and more for the days when she could engage with me in the fun of crafting. Today, my own mother now has the disease. She is the third known generation in our family with Alzheimer’s. Crafting keeps me grounded in those good family memories, and is a therapeutic release from the bad. Whether a technique is from a modest cultural place or from a fine arts master, they are both of great value. May we never lose these beautiful crafting talents!