You could be in Vickie Howell’s next book!

And I have to tell you that the DEADLINE’S TOMORROW (AUGUST 15)!

I only found out about this today, so I apologize for the short notice. Still, there’s enough time to cobble together a profile about yourself as a crafter. If yours gets chosen, you’ll be featured in a book Vickie plans to put together called Craft Corps, which hopes to “…focus on the community perpetuated by craft and the designers and hobbyists who feed it.”

Vickie is the uber cool, ultra-hip author of Knit Aid, Not Another Teen Knitting Book and New Knits On The Block. She’s also the host of a knitting TV series called Knitty Gritty on the DIY Network.

Here’s Vickie’s call to crafters:

As part of the content, I’m hoping to include 50-60 short profiles of crafters of all types. If you knit, crochet, embroider, decoupage, paint, sew, bead, tat, work with ceramics, collage, etc.—I want to hear from you! Whether you’ve found success selling your handmade sock monkeys on Etsy or you crochet chemo caps for charity, I want to know who you are, what you craft and why you do it.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE PROFESSIONAL CRAFTERS (in fact, it’s preferable as the book’s other content will focus on that)!

I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to receive e-mails from people all over the world, sharing their favorite memory of crafting, what crafting has done for them or what got them started and how they’ll never stop. These stories–from hilarious craft mishaps to touching crafty life stories– have inspired me to collect more to share with the public, handmade community.

If you’re interested in possibly being a part of Craft Corps, please fill out the following questionnaire, cut and paste it into the body of an e-mail, and send it to: craftcorps@gmail.com as soon as possible (but no later than AUGUST 15th.)  If we’re able to use your profile, an editor will contact you directly with more info.

Thank you so much for participating! xo, Vickie

Craft Corps

Crafter Profilee Form

Name:

Age:

Location:

Profession (If you’re in school just put what level of student, ie College Student, Middle School Student, ect.):

Craft(s) of Choice:

Blog (if applicable):

Memory, Story or Anecdote related to crafting in your life (no more than 250 words):

It’s easy and painless! Here’s mine, if you’d like an example.

Name: J. Ana Fuentes Flores
Age: (Aha! I’m not posting this!)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Profession: Copy Editor
Craft(s) of Choice: sewing, quilting, jewelry-making, crochet, knitting, embroidery, fabric arts, baking and cake decorating
Blog (if applicable): www.thegirlwithacurl.com

My Crafting Anecdote (248 words):
I’m the 36th grandchild of a quilter who lived to 102 years old. Growing up in the Philippines, I watched my grandmother piece her pinwheels and Dresden blocks on a manual sewing machine until she was about 98. Many of her 12 children were crafters in one way or another, and most of her 36 grandchildren, especially the women, followed suit. All these numbers convey how, as the youngest grandchild, I often felt dwarfed by the crafting skills of the women in my family. I couldn’t start a project without thinking about how precise Tia Deding’s piecing was on her latest fan quilt, or about the delicate hand-drawn threadwork of Tia Etta’s table napkins.

For a long while, I was stumped, too intimidated to follow in their footsteps.

It was only when I came to the States five years ago that I welcomed my crafter self. As an immigrant, I came here with very little STUFF to remind me of an old life: some photographs, an old journal or two. In those early days of patching together a new life, I discovered what WAS rich in me: a history of hands picking up needles, quilting, knitting and purling, bending the will of fabrics. I finally embraced being cut from the same cloth as all the crafter-women in my family. Crafting, in all its forms, became my new home. I hope I live a full, long life just like my grandma, crafting to the groove of my own needles.

If you craft in ANY way, do it! And good luck to you!