I started Craft Leftovers 2006 as a way to keep myself accountable to using up my leftover craft supplies and ever growing stash. My book, Mend it Better, was published in 2012 by Storey Publishing after they saw this sweet little Mini Zine and this mountain of craft I was generating. In 2016, I transitioned into working full time on my art practice and my brick and mortar shop.

I love making things and zines in particular. The most recent Craft Leftovers zine was released in 2019 and is available for purchase in my etsy shop. The next issue is due out in the Spring of 2024.

After years of running my own business — and boring friends with business talk — in 2022 I found a whole new place to ramble about this odd thread that’s run through all my creative projects. If you are a creative business type, you might find some really helpful ideas and stories on the Craft Leftovers Podcast. 

Here on Craft Leftovers, years later I continue with that first thread of inspiration (but now I have internet all the time). I look to my stash, I make a thing, and then I share with you how I made it from what I had on hand. It helps me to be grateful for the things around me and find uses for what I already have.

Want to stay in the loop about all things arts and crafty? Sign up for my mailing list. 

Nice to meet you and thanks for stopping by!

Kristin M Roach

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The Zine

Pick up Box sets, back issues and current issues in the Craft Leftovers Shop.

Learn more about how the Craft Leftovers zine came into being in this three part series of posts: One, Two, Three.

Some other random facts about Kristin M Roach:

Living in Ames, IA USA

  • Author of Mend it Better 2012
  • Owner of Little Woods Herbal
  • Bachelor in Fine Arts from Northern Illinois University, Minor in Art History
  • Curious Compendium of Practical and Obscure Skills, guest designer
  • Best of Knitscene, guest designer
  • Intertwine, artist in resident (instructor, fiber consultant, zine maker)
  • Published works in Knit Scene, Interweave Knits, The Best of Knit Scene, Make Magazine, and Craft Magazine.
  • Guest designer Button it UP by Susan Beal
  • Participant in Craftwerk 2.0: New Household Tactics for the Popular Crafts – Jönköpings läns museum, Sweden, 19 September 2009–16 January 2010
  • Two cats, a dog, two chickens on a quarter acre with my husband (the other part or the we anytime tech comes up) and our daughter Lucille (named after my great aunt who gifted me my first sewing machine). 
  • Run/bike/swim 8 Triathlons (7 sprints and 1 olympic) since 2011, I missed a few years around the birthing years and the opening of the brick and mortar business years. 
  • I draw every day. Almost. And I love it. Never a chore. 
  • My favorite fiber is linen followed by alpaca. 
  • My favorite craft-to-relax is knitting, I find sewing most practical and all my textile art is weaving and crochet. 

 

Hear Me ramble:

On Craft Sanity
On the CraftyPod

As Seen On:

The Quick List: Craftzine.com, Zine Wiki, Makezine.com, KCCI, KHOI, Chicago Tribune, Iowa State Daily, Des Moines Register, Juice, Knitscene, Interweave Knits, Threadbanger, AllFreeCrochet.com, AllFreeKnitting.com, CraftyPod.com, CraftSanitycom, One Pretty Thing, Craft Gossip, Whipup, more coming soon.

The Long Story: How did Craft Leftovers get started and where did I learn to knit, crochet, and sew?

My grandma always let me use her sewing machine to make “creations” and had a huge stock of craft supplies that she let me use when I was growing up. As soon as I went to high school I dropped craft like a bad habit, it wasn’t “cool” enough for me. Being a painter, not a seamstress like my grandma, was my dream. But when my grandma passed away I hoarded her supplies, I felt it was my last connection to her. What to do with it? I hadn’t made anything with “craft” supplies in years. I started to teach myself to sew, then crochet. Knitting always alluded me. Enter Jason, my partner. He taught me to knit and that really got things rolling. I started Craft Leftovers shortly after that, I needed a way to keep mine and my grandma’s stash accountable.

My grandma’s influence on my life lasted long after she passed and continues to this day. Art and craft have combined in my life, just like her life. I graduated with a BFA in Painting in 2008. I am still working through my grandma’s stash, but with the help of Craft Leftovers, I am making much headway. My sister says that she knows our Grandma would be proud of me. I hope so, I think of her all the time, especially when I have a question that I know she would have an answer for!

I’ve found that though I haven’t gone on a craft shopping binge in years, I still have loads of supplies. How long, if I refused to accept gifts of fabric and yarn from friends and no longer purchased anything other than necessities (like thread) would it take for me to whittle down my supply pile to just one shelf of stuff. How would that change my creative process? Because I started my crafting life with my Grandma’s stash. I do not even know what it is like to not have a pile of supplies to look to.

Here on Craft Leftovers, years later I continue with that first thread of inspiration (but now I have internet all the time). I look to my stash, I make a thing, and then I share with you how I made it from what I had on hand. It helps me to be grateful for the things around me and find uses for what I already have.

Until Next Time…

++ Kristin M Roach ++