The Creative Connection

Tif Fussell is a Brit living abroad in a Mossy Shed just outside of Seattle. She shares her world with four teenage children, one man, Used Dog, Little Olive and various other creatures, some furry, a few with wings and one with a shell. Tif is happiest spending quality time with Miss Ethel, a trusty sewing machine or indeed browsing the shelves of despair at her local thrift store. On any given day she can be found rambling upon her blog at www.dottieangel.blogspot.com and selling her handmade ‘granny chic’ wares in her little store www.etsy.com/shop/dottieangel. Tif’s first book has just be released with UPPERCASE, The Suitcase Series: dottie angel (the peachy crafty life of Tif Fussell) part biography, part storybook, part crafty how-to and entirely inspirational. Readers will be motivated to pick up a needle and thread, hook and yarn, paper and scissors and start crafting the dottie angel way. You can find Tif selling her wares at the Marketplace and at the author signing event. She’ll also be doing a demo on friday at 3:30pm in the market place for a ‘an itty bitty kantha quilted wall patch’.

Janet Hurst enjoys country living. “I fondly remember my great-grandmother’s farm, collecting eggs, playing with kittens in the hay loft, and fetching jars from the old fruit cellar. I thought it was heaven on Earth! This is the type of life I knew I wanted for my own family. I had a dream of a few acres and a goat. That dream came true, and goats have been a part of things around my farm ever since! Because I had goats, I began to experiment with cheesemaking, and eventually I went on to study cheesemaking at the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese and the University of Guelph, Canada, as well as at small farms in Israel. I made cheese commercially for several years.”

In addition to making cheese, Janet enjoys writing. “I first started writing about goats, then cheese. This took me down the path of writing for many well-known periodicals, including MaryJanesFarm magazine. What a thrill to see my name in print!” Janet recently completed her first book, Homemade Cheese (Voyageur Press, 2011). She says, “The best parts about writing the book were the interviews with cheesemakers. I love to talk to small farmers, to learn about their operations and their lifestyles. Each one has a story to tell.” Janet continues to spread the art of cheesemaking across the country, through her writing efforts and her cheesemaking workshops.  (more…)

Lisa Kivirist is co-author, with her husband, John Ivanko, of the award-winning book ECOpreneuring and Rural Renaissance and the new cookbook, Farmstead Chef (Fall, 2011 release) as well as Kiss Off Corporate America: A Young Professional’s Guide to Independence. She writes frequently on food, farming and women in agriculture issues for a range of publications including Hobby Farm Home, Hobby Farms, the Organic Broadcaster and Edible Madison, often accompanied by John’s photography. Lisa is the lead writer for Renewing the Countryside: Wisconsin, featuring success stories of rural revitalization and writes a column on federal policy issues for the Women, Food & Agriculture Network (WFAN). Lisa’s writing passions extend into educational outreach: she speaks nationally on the issues she writes about such as women in agriculture, sustainable living and food issues at venues ranging from the Mother Earth News Festivals to university campuses. Her home writing base is Inn Serendipity Farm and Bed and Breakfast outside Monroe, Wisconsin, which she runs with her family, completely powered by renewable energy. 

Sarah Jane Wright, textile designer, children’s book illustrator and artist behind Sarah Jane Studios, started off her career as a one woman ETSY shop and had no idea how her business would grow in just a few short years. Sarah’s earliest memories involve pencil and paper, and from a very young age she knew she would spend her life as an artist. Unsure how to get her name out there, she started a blog, and opened her ETSY shop with a collection of prints, and has since become a childrens’s book illustrator with Harper Collins Children’s Books, a fabric designer for Michael Miller Fabrics, and is now the 10th highest seller of art on ETSY. Sarah also loves to embroider, and this year she has launched some best selling embroidery patterns which feature her whimsical and classic illustrations. This October she celebrates 4 years of running her design business from home. Sarah’s artwork has been featured in Parent’s Magazine, Romantic Homes Magazine and newest picture book, A Christmas Goodnight written by Nola Buck, debuts this fall. Sarah lives in Utah with her amazing husband (who is the backbone behind this creative at-home operation) and their three young children.

First known for her Fragment series of small fabric collages, Lesley is now an internationally known mixed-media and fabric artist with a passion for photos, color and the written word. She has taught extensively in the US and as far away as Italy, NZ and Australia. Her art and articles have appeared in numerous publications and juried shows. Her first book, Quilted Memories (Chapelle), brought new ideas and techniques to quilting and preserving memories. Lesley’s second book, Fabric Memory Books, combines fabric and innovative ideas with the art of bookmaking. Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur (C&T) takes a new material to a new level. Lesley defines Lutradur as ‘the magic in the middle’ – an art material that combines the best properties of both fabric and paper. More recently, Lesley had a hand in introducing the state of the art image transfer paper to the art world. Lesley Riley’s TAP™ Transfer Artist Paper and her latest book, Create with Transfer Artist Paper are changing the way the world transfers art and images. Lesley has filmed three instructional DVDs with Creative Catalyst Productions and Interweave. Not one to be camera shy, Lesley has also appeared on three episodes of Quilting Arts TV Season 1. A former editor of Cloth Paper Scissors and current contributing editor to CreateMixedMedia.com and Crescendoh.com, Lesley loves sharing al things art. Lesley is also the host of BlogTalk Radio’s Art & Soul show Realizing that artists, both new and experienced, often need more than new ideas and techniques to fulfill their art dreams, Lesley founded Artist Success™, where she shares her experience and knowledge as a coach and mentor. No struggling artists here! For more info, tools and resources, visit ArtistSuccess.com.   While not teaching, writing about or making art, Lesley, a Washington, DC native, loves spending time with her husband, 6 children and 6 beautiful grand-daughters. For more info about her art and classes, visit Lesley’s website, LesleyRiley.com.

Betz White has the uncanny ability of envisioning beauty in the unexpected, something new from something old, cupcakes from sweater cuffs. This skill has propelled her to the forefront of the crafting field. She is the bestselling author of two books that encourage readers to stitch beautifully and tread lightly: Warm Fuzzies (North Light, 2007) and Sewing Green (STCCraft, 2009). Her line of Betz White Organic Textiles offers organic fabrics manufactured in environmentally sensitive ways, all showcasing her mastery of pattern and color and the perfect accompaniment to her Make New or Make Do series of original sewing patterns. You’ll find her online teaching, event workshops, and blogging at blog.BetzWhite.com. Betz has built a career on thoughtful design, skilled craftsmanship, and materials that are kind to people and planet alike. Learn more at BetzWhite.com.

Drew Emborsky, aka The Crochet Dude®, was taught to crochet at age five by his mother while snowbound in Lake Tahoe. After studying fine art in college and living as a “starving artist” for years, he found solace in crocheting for charity while grieving the passing of his mom. It was during this time with the charity group that Drew became known as The Crochet Dude, which then led to the launch of his wildly popular blog in 2005, The Crochet Dude. Since then, Drew has had published numerous patterns in magazines and compilations books, his own full-length books, has appeared as a guest on various TV programs, and is currently the crochet expert on the hit PBS show Knit and Crochet Now. And watch out, crochet has a new Boye®toy, as Drew has teamed up with Boye® brand hooks to launch his own line of kits, hooks, tools, and accessories, available now nationwide. Drew lives in Houston, TX with his cats Chandler and Cleocatra.

Gale Zucker is the co-author/photographer of the book Shear Spirit: Ten Farms, Twenty Projects and Miles of Yarn (PotterCraft, 2008)  and the photographer for Mason Dixon: Knitting Outside the Lines (October, 2008). She recently completed photography for a new title, Craft Activism: People, Projects & Ideas from the New Community of Handmade, to be published by PotterCraft in September, 2011. Gale is an award-winning editorial and commercial photographer who’s worked on assignment for Smithsonian, Yankee, Wine Spectator, TV Guide, CraftStylish, USA Weekend, Woman’s Day, and for The New York Times, as well as for non-profit foundations and businesses. Gale has been teaching Photography for Knitters workshops since 2009, leading classes in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, California, Minnesota, and Washington state. A lifelong knitter and crafter, Gale lives in shoreline Connecticut with her family and blogs at She shoots sheep Shots.

Linda Ellis started writing poems as a child, a talent inherited from her Irish grandmother. She spent years working in the corporate world, but made the decision to leave it behind and pursue her dream of becoming a writer. Her writing has been featured in bestselling books and magazines such as Family Circle, US News and World Report, Leatherneck, WOW Magazine and other major publications, as well as hundreds of television and radio programs.

“I read of a man who stood to speak, at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone, from the beginning to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.” In 1996, an announcer read Linda’s Ellis’ poem, “The Dash” aloud on a syndicated radio program — and, to her surprise and delight, it became an instant, meteoric success. Calls and email came in from people around the world eager to tell Linda how her words had touched their hearts. That was the beginning of an enduring phenomenon. Linda’s books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and her latest work, Live Your Dash captures and expands upon the theme of the original poem: It’s not your birth or death that matters most, but how you spend each passing year. Linda shares her message of joy, hope, and positive energy through uplifting stories, essays, and poetry, along with tales of people who have been “touched by the dash,” including Senator Bob Dole, legendary football coach Lou Holtz, and American Idol winner David Cook. Live Your Dash is an inspiring look at life based on her fantastically successful poem.

Kathy Cano-Murillo is a writer and artist. Since 1990, she has sold her handmade “Chicano Pop Art” crafts to hundreds of retailers including Bloomingdales, Target, and Hallmark. From 2000-2008, she wrote a weekly syndicated Arizona Republic newspaper column, and has authored seven books including Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul and Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing. In 2001, Kathy launched CraftyChica.com, a wildly popular web site to inspire women to brighten their lives with clever craft ideas. Her profiles include iTunes, HGTV, DIY Network, MyLifetime.com, The New York Times, USA Today, NPR and she has a Crafty Chica product line with iLoveToCreate, a Duncan Enterprises Company. When she isn’t creating or teaching, she writes novels. Her “Crafty Chica Novel” series include the critically-acclaimed Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing (Grand Central Publishing). Kathy lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her husband, two kids and five Chihuahuas. Her motto for life is “Crafts, drama and glitter!”