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!

Alan Luna

Name: Alan Luna

Age: 14

Location: San Diego, California

Profession: 9th grader (high school)

Craft(s) of Choice: Sewing, sketching, drawing, writing, nature crafts, knitting

I got into crafting after my aunt from San Fransisco came to visit. She introduced me to this crafting movement, and showed me sites like Makezine, Craftzine, Threadbanger, and other stuff like that. She told me that crafts were not gender-specific. So I did all these crafts and I really like to make stuff. It’s my passion, besides writing. So I really liked this website that shows other crafters around the world.

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 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 Stern

Name: Andrea Stern

Age: 45

Location: Chauncey OH USA

Profession: Artist

Craft(s) of Choice: Art quilting, beadwork, knitting, and plush

Blog: http://andibeads.blogspot.com

My Gran taught me to crochet when I was seven. I remember being so proud that I learned to make a basic chain. It was all I did for weeks. One day I took my crochet to show and tell, and the chain reached to the back of the classroom and back. My teacher was surprised and asked “Is that all you did?” I was so proud and said “Yes!” I vaguely remember her being a little disconcerted that I was so happy with just a simple chain. Since then I have learned to do a lot more. I taught myself to knit after my Gran died in 2000, and I always think of how proud she’d be to see how far I’d come since that initial first chain.

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!

Anna Marasco

Name: Anna Marasco

Age: 37

Location: Omaha

Profession: QA Engineer

Craft(s) of Choice: Knitting, Crochet, Sewing, paperCraft(s)

Blog: http://dyedinthewoolbluestocking.blogspot.com

Whenever life feels out of control, making something with my hands and simple materials is tremendously comforting. I define the scope and the success of the endeavor and I have a tangible thing to show for my efforts.

I prefer things with a small scope and a portable nature. King sized quilts– right out. Knitted dishrags– totally, completely in.

Annie Modesitt

Name: Annie Modesitt

Age: 47

Location: St. Paul, MN

Profession: Hand Knit & Crochet Designer / Teacher / Writer

Craft(s) of Choice: Knitting, Crochet

Blog: http://www.modeknit.com

Crafting keeps me loving life. It’s been a hard few years – not just for me, but for many folks – but in the midsts of any pain there’s the balm of steady, rhythmic, gorgeous, pulsing creation.

When I can settle my mind and soul to devise a pattern or item, hone it, craft it, finish it – it makes me joyful. Carrying it one step further, sharing with others the step-by-step of completion, is one of the deepest joys (and hardest jobs) I know.

Crafting makes me feel connected to the world at large, and to my larger self. It helps me communicate the essence of my soul.