quilting

Episode 77: Maura Grace Ambrose – Grandma’s attic, Americana, Family and Folk Fibers

March 24, 2017

Sponsor: Making is a bi-annual handcrafts publication created by Carrie Bostick Hoge of Madder, that brings crafts people from different areas of focus to one publication. The act of making helps to connect us to the past, knowing that many craft skills were practiced daily out of necessity. We also connect to our present, as we stop to slow down and enjoy the work at hand, leaving behind the stress of our busy days. And, possibly at the heart of our creations, is the future. As the sweater we knit or the blanket we quilt becomes an heirloom for our family to use, enjoy, and pass down to the next generation. Circling back and tying us to the past. All these connections are equally important and help to bring meaning and value to the beauty and utility we make. Subscriptions just opened for 2017, with the Spring issue DOTS shipping in May, which includes a Q & A piece with today’s guest Maura Ambrose and myself, and the Fall issue LINES shipping in October. This year you’ll enjoy projects, essays and more from And if you missed past issues, they’ll be available beginning next week from the shop. Make sure to visit makingzine.com to subscribe and follow along on the blog and Instagram @makingzine.

Fiber folk: When it comes to quilting, few are as passionate, dedicated and adorable as Maura Grace Ambrose of Folk Fibers. Through hand quilted elegance and natural dyeing exploration, Maura has created a mesmerizing collection of some of the most beautiful quilts I’ve ever seen. Her journey has lead her to a place where her craft comes second only to her family and the home they’ve created. I hope you enjoy getting to know Maura and her passions. You can find Maura at folkfibers.com and on Instagram @folkfibers.

Photos by: Maura Ambrose, Dennis Burnett, Josh Goleman, Rinne Allen, Boots and Pine, Wynn Meyers, Knoxy Knox

Sponsor: Scratch is an innovative new yarn and craft supply shop located in Lebanon, New Hampshire. They’re committed to providing a beautifully curated selection of yarns and supplies for knitters, as well as roving, tools, and kits for needle felters. Their shop also features embroidery, sewing, and select fine art supplies. Scratch operates with the guiding notion that makers are curious and creative, and should be able to find exciting, high quality materials to work with all in one place.

Scratch is also home to the areas only handcraft focused maker space–home to a sewing bar, multiple looms, common workspace, a tool library, and more! Explore their full schedule of classes, and weekly Craft Night focused on building the creative community in the Upper Valley.

You can find Scratch online at scratchmakerspace.com, and on Facebook & Instagram: @scratchmakerspace

Giveaway: The winner of last weeks episode giveaway is Tiffany H. You’ve won a two year subscription to Taproot Magazine, 2 skeins of Stone Wool and 2 skeins of Greenbow Farm Lopi yarn. Congratulations!

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Making Magazine and they’re giving away the Constellation Bandana Embroidery project kit along with Issue no. 1 FAUNA. To enter leave a comment on this blogpost.

Music by Jónsi.

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Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 47: Anna Maria Horner – Planless, intellectual property, Motherhood, and Craft South

February 4, 2016

Sponsor: Chicken Boots came to be from a love of all things functional and fiber. Creator and founder Saremy Duffy started her career in the fashion industry and as a designer and pattern drafter in apparel and outerwear. With a longing to bring her own designs to market, combined with her love of knitting and sewing comes Chicken Boots was born, fun and carefully crafted cases to store your most prized knitting and sewing notions. The effort and passion Saremy puts into her products is evident and I encourage you to find the Chicken Boots booth at Stitches West later this month, check out all the handy bags and cases and show her some love. You can find Chicken Boots at chickenbootsusa.com and on Instagram @chickenbootusa

Fiber folk: Behind every name, achievement or brand is a person. A person with a very real story…a story of where they are today in life and the journey that got them there. Anna Maria has a smile and voice that shines as bright as the fabrics she designs, but more than that, she has a personal story – from traversing early motherhood and 7 children through a career in design, to marriage, entrepreneurship and making. I hope you feel the passion and inspiration. You can find Anna Maria at annamariahorner.com and craft-south.com and on Instagram @annamariahorner and @craftsouth.

Sponsor: Craft South is a destination for makers and a supply shop for locals, located in Nashville Tennessee and founded by Anna Maria Horner. I always love finding shops that combine both the love of making from fabric and fiber, and Craft South is a gem in our community and I’m excited for you to hear a bit more about it’s story and founder in today’s episode. A well curated shop featuring fabrics, yarns, embroidery and Janome sewing machines. And most importantly you’ll find all the tools to support your making, including a calendar full of workshops and weekly classes in sewing, patchwork, knitting, embroidery, and kids camp and taught by some of our favorites including Rebekka Seale, Jen Beeman, Karen Templer, Carolyn Friedlander, Anna Maria Horner and more. Make sure to visit Craft South in person when in Nashville and online at craft-south.com and follow along on Instagram @craftsouth.

Man on the Street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked the question, “If you’re a sewer, how does sewing play into your textile or fiber journey?” We had some great answers from Amy @urban_farm_wife, Beatrice @threadandladle, Hope @hopehawley, Abby @abbygoodknits, Sam @samanthamaylamb.

Woolful Knitalong: It’s been fun to see so many folks joining in on the latest WoolfulKAL where we’re knitting the Portland Pullover designed by Carrie Bostick Hoge in Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter yarn and featured in the latest Taproot magazine issue “Shelter“. The knit along goes to the end of March so there’s still plenty of time to grab the issue and knit along with us. If you’re on Instagram make sure to checkout the hashtag woolfulKAL to follow along with all the beautiful knits. To find the Portland Pullover pattern, head to taprootmag.com and look for the latest issue “Shelter”.

52 Weeks of Wool: If you follow me on Instagram or my blog than you may have seen a fun project I’ve taken on this year called 52 Weeks of Wool. Each week I hand spin a new wool breed from a fiber flock from here in the US or abroad, and share my experience on the blog and Instagram. My goal for this project is to handle as many different types of wool as possible, and share a bit about each farm and flock that the wool comes from, helping bring light to many sheep breeds and producers. If you have a flock, fiber farm or know someone who does, I hope you’ll consider joining me on this project by sending me a small tuft of fleece to spin. If you’re interested, shoot me an email at hello@woolful.com.

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is, Kristin, you’ve won a skein of Suri Alpaca yarn from Old Homestead Alpacas. Congratulations!

This week we’re giving away a $25 gift card to Craft South! To enter, leave a comment on this blog post.

Music by Jónsi.

80 Comments

Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 46: Max Bainbridge & Abigail Booth – London, Amish inspiration, traditional crafts, and Forest and Found

January 21, 2016

Sponsor: Old Homestead Alpacas is a beautiful homestead built in the 1870’s, located in Walla Walla Washington and now owned and operated by Elaine Vandiver and her husband. They’re creating a wonderful and welcoming place, with visions to live off the land and share their goods with their local community and beyond, including their gorgeous alpaca fiber and yarn. But their dreams go much deeper, and their story even deeper still. Elaine is an Iraq War vet and her husband a soldier in the National Guard, and as members of the Farmer Veterans Coalition, they are hopeful that this year they will be able to partner with their local VA hospital to start a program to bring returning combat vets suffering from PTSD and other service related trauma to the farm, sharing with them the incredible opportunity and purpose a career in farming can bring…something they themselves have found to be positively life changing. I encourage you to visit Old Homestead Alpacas on Facebook at Facebook.com/oldhomesteadalpacas, on Instagram @oldhomesteadalpacas and their lovely shop full of alpaca goodness at etsy.com/shop/oldhomesteadalpacas

Fiber folk: Max Bainbridge and Abigail Booth have built a life and business together in East London. Max is a woodworker and Abigail a natural dyer and quilter, and despite their individual practices seeming very different – their roots in traditional craft and the natural environment make them a perfect combo. It’s been a pleasure to follow their journey this past year as they’ve built their business and explored the different facets of making. You can find them at forest-and-found.com and on Instagram @forestandfound. And with that, here’s Max and Abigail…

Sponsor: 6 Bits Storybooks, is a digital quarterly publication for knitters who love to immerse themselves deeply in their knitting experience…from the mouths of story tellers: knitters, photographers, writers, designers, friends & nature. These storybooks incorporate designs, imagery, location, words, learning and tools to create an deeply engaging experience, taking readers on a journey. 6 Bits was created by two incredibly passionate and inspiring folks within this community, Melissa and Melody, and this week they’re releasing their second issue Dwell, a beautiful digital editorial magazine, featuring articles from international knitters and dyers, where you hear the ‘whole’ story behind the designs and modeled in beautiful environment tied to the issues theme. So make sure to visit 6 Bits Storybooks at 6bitsstorybooks.com to subscribe to this stunning new publication and experience the newest issue Dwell and follow along on Instagram @6.bits.storybooks.

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is, Erica Garris. You’ve won a skein of the beautiful Pamiri yarn from Kismet Fiber Works. Congratulations!

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Old Homestead Alpacas and they’re giving away a skein of their small farm Suri Alpaca yarn, homegrown in Walla Walla Washington. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on today’s episode’s blog post at woolful.com.

Music by Jónsi.

78 Comments

quilting

Episode 77: Maura Grace Ambrose – Grandma’s attic, Americana, Family and Folk Fibers

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Episode 47: Anna Maria Horner – Planless, intellectual property, Motherhood, and Craft South

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Episode 46: Max Bainbridge & Abigail Booth – London, Amish inspiration, traditional crafts, and Forest and Found

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