Supersheroes: Introducing Megan from Not Martha!
December 31st, 2006 by mariabinnsRemember the great interview we did with Ismoyo?
We have another great interview for you… I would like to introduce to you a long-time craft blogger and all-round super crafty person, Megan of Not Martha *Megan enters the stage to raucous applause and cheering*.
Mia: Hey Megan, it is great to meet you. Your craft blog Not Martha, was the first craft blog I ever started reading,over three years ago. Actually your marble magnets tutorial was the first craft tutorial I followed on the Net. I made a whole heap and gave them to friends and family – my sister Em still has them on her fridge.
Megan: They are very addictive, I hope everybody got a lot of use out of them. I’m still using the ones I show on the page. Thanks so much
for taking the time to ask me some questions.
Mia: Firstly I would like to ask some personal questions, like, where do you live? and what is your day job?
Megan: I live in Seattle and I make knitting needle cases as The Organized Knitter.
Mia: Well, I have been reading your site for ages, what year did you start the site?
Megan: Not Martha was started in 2001, I think that makes the site 20 in Internet years.
Mia: Why did you start the site? What were your goals? and what were your inspirations?
Megan: I started the site as a place to keep notes on the things I was making, at the time it was lip balm, and I included a weblog as a way to keep interesting links and inspirations. I didn’t have any goals beyond that but I really enjoy keeping the site.
Mia: You include so many cool tutorials to make some really interesting things, which tutorial is your favourite?
Megan: I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but I haven’t gone back and visited many tutorials in a while. It’s hard to have a favorite as lots of them are a few years old. I enjoyed making the Tiny Pinatas most of all, they were from a Martha Stewart project and a lot of messy fun.
(Tiny Pinata Tutorial photos from Not Martha)
Mia: What is your favourite craft?
Megan: It’s difficult for me to say, I enjoy knitting, but I know a lot more about sewing. I have avoided getting into making cards, I think the amount of papers and decorations would be overwhelming.
Mia: Can you describe for us your studio or craft space?
Megan: I have a small room with shelves on three walls, and shelves in the closet. I use it mainly to run The Organized Knitter so I’m surrounded by rolls of fabrics and bolts of interfacing. A cutting table, sewing machine and ironing board dominate the room. I also have a collection of magazines and bins of yarn on the shelves. It’s a bit disorganized but colorful.
Mia: Yeah, this sounds a lot like my studio, a small room that is kind of chaotic but really colourful.
Mia: What are the things which inspire you the most?
Megan: I seem to want something specific first, then set out to make it, so inspirations come along as I’m doing research. I tend to admire things which are clever or functional in some way. Lately, I’ve been admiring confections and items for celebrations – clever advent calendars, Christmas crackers and Humbugs.
Mia: What is your favourite magazine?
Megan: Right now I think it’s Imbible, a magazine about spirits, beer,wine, coffee and the culture of those worlds. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I am surrounded by people who are very connected with their coffee and beer, and living in a good food town, I’m around lots of great wine.
Mia: Do you have any future goals for your site? What are they?
Megan: I hope to update most of the early tutorials, so much more information exists on-line now since I made the lip balm and bath-bombs, for example. And I really would like to redo the tutorial about turning jeans into a skirt.
Mia: Apart from inspiring all of us, what do you hope to be doing in five years time?
Megan: I hope to continue to learn to cook, maybe I’ll have mastered a stew or creme brulee by then. Cooking is something that is certainly not innate for me, I find it difficult and mess up a lot of food. But that challenge makes it fun as well.
Mia: Anything else you would like us to know?
Megan: I truly appreciate the Internet community and how much information is freely shared, and how much support is given. It’s been great.
Mia: Well thanks so much for letting us interview you.
Megan: Thank you for the interest.
Hope you enjoyed meeting Megan!
Don’t forget to visit…
Mia
