Celebrate National Handmade Day: make something with your hands

Did you know the first Saturday in April has be designated as National Handmade Day?

Make something! Reverse collage using recycled papers, catalogs, and acrylic paint.

There’s something quietly powerful about making something with your own hands. In a world driven by automation, speed, and convenience, National Handmade Day invites us to slow down, tap into our imagination, and reconnect with the simple joy of making.

A little history behind National Handmade Day 

Observed on the first Saturday of April each year, National Handmade Day was initiated and registered by Amy Bierstadt of From Scratch Farm in 2017. It was adopted as a national holiday in the US in 2018. 

The day was created to honor and celebrate artisans, crafters, and makers of all kinds—whether they knit scarves, piece quilts, carve wood, paint canvases, throw clay, or bake from scratch. The day also shines a spotlight on the importance of supporting small businesses and independent makers who dedicate their time and skills to produce unique, handcrafted goods.

From: the National Today website 

The focus on the work of artisans and craftspeople stems from one of the first “advocates of the handmade,” William Morris, who spurred the Arts and Crafts movement in the 1860s because of his concerns about the effects the Industrial Revolution had on craftspeople and their direct connection to the creation process of manufactured goods. 

In recent years, the rise of handmade goods is also closely tied to a growing focus on sustainability, individuality, and quality over mass production. Platforms that support independent sellers have fueled a renewed interest in handmade items, turning what was once considered a hobby into an expanding and prosperous global movement.

How to celebrate? Make something!

You don’t need to be an expert to take part in National Handmade Day. The beauty of this celebration lies in process, not perfection. Here are a few simple ideas to get started:

Creating collages with recycled papers in a junk journal.

Try a new craft
Always wanted to learn how to knit, crochet, paint, or bake bread? Today is the perfect excuse to begin! Start with something small. Pick up a kit at a local quilt shop, sewing center, yarn store, craft store, or from online makers. Or take a class—in person or online. Let yourself enjoy the learning process.

I’m experimenting with knitting mittens and finding the knitting patterns I like.

Upcycle or mend 


Turn something you already have into something functional. Sew fabric scraps together to make a mug rug. Give new life to a pair of jeans or work shirt with embroidery. Make fabric rope for baskets or placemats. I use my fabric scraps to make charity quilts. And I recycle papers and cardboard to make junk journals.

Fabric twine made with fabric scraps and trimmings from quiltmaking.

Scrappy kitty quilts for the Cat Clinic.

Making art journals or junk journals with recycled paper and card board.

Cook or bake from scratch


Handmade doesn’t just apply to crafts. Making a meal or baking cookies from scratch is a deeply satisfying way to celebrate. Every year, we drag out the 94 box of crayons to color Easter eggs.

Coloring Easter eggs.

Create a gift

Instead of buying something, make a gift for a friend or loved one… a hand-lettered card, a decorated frame for a photo, a hand-painted postcard. I love to make pillow cases. I personalize them with fabric in the recipient’s favorite colors or with motifs they like—cats, dogs, flowers, fishing, etc. These items can be personalized and carry a unique touch that a store-bought item can’t replicate.

Watercolor postcard.

Support local makers

Purchase items at craft markets or small online businesses that focus on handmade products. Every purchase helps sustain creativity and craftsmanship and supports an independent artist.

Share your work

Show off your own handmade creations and inspire others to join the fun and creativity on social media using #NationalHandmadeDay. Also tag the small business where you purchased the kit, supplies, and materials.

A page from this year’s 100 Day Stitch Book.

Why It Matters

Taking the time to create something by hand is more than just a hobby—it’s a way to be present in your own life. It encourages mindfulness, reduces stress, and fosters a sense of accomplishment. I try to do something with my hands every day and use a Create Daily Tracker to document my progress.

Create Daily Tracker for 2026.

Handmade items also have a special meaning to the maker and the recipient. These items carry stories, connections, and memories that mass-produced goods simply don’t have.

National Handmade Day reminds us that not everything has to be instant or perfect to be valuable. Sometimes, the most meaningful things are the ones we take the time to create ourselves.

Stan Leigh, one of our outside cats, has to check out my crafting supplies.

So today—or ANY DAY—grab some fabrics, needles, thread, yarn, paint, paper or any material of choice, clear a space, and make something—anything. 

Craft with a kid, craft with a group, or enlist a “fuzzy friend supervisor” to keep you company. You just might discover that the act of making is the most rewarding part of all.

Charity quilts ready for quilting

I spent a productive day at our guild’s Cuddle Quilt workshop last Saturday. I got three cuddle quilts basted… well, almost… the weather had other plans. It was too cold and windy for spray basting, so my guild friends and I had to adapt. 

Three tops sandwiched and ready for pin basting and quilting.

Layering the quilt sandwiches

At the workshop, batting was cut for all three quilt tops and the tops were layered with their backings. The next step is to pin baste before I can move on to the fun part: quilting. 

The workshop coordinator prepared and made available several rolls of bindings. We chose some coordinating colors for the tops I brought in and once quilting is done, these charity quilts will be on the fast track to being finished.  

After borders are added, this quilt top is ready for basting.

Besides the three quilt sandwiches ready for quilting, I have this (above) and another top almost complete.

Thanks to the guild members at the workshop who helped me cut the batting and lay out the sandwiches. All in all, it was a great workshop day. 

Winter of Care and Repair: carrying the process forward

From the quiet stillness of the winter solstice in December 2025 to the first breath of the spring equinox this past Friday, March 20, I participated once again in the Winter of Care and Repair Challenge. It's a simple but meaningful practice to care for what we already have. 

Winter of Care and Repair: mending blue jeans with an inside patch and running stitches.

Mending: a stitch in time…

Over these past three months, I worked my way through a variety of mends (my favorite form of C&R). Each mend may be small on its own but is powerful in accumulation. These are my successes:

• I strengthened a pair of my soft-with-wear jeans through slow stitching (shown above),
• patched holes in several socks, 
• extended the life of a favorite purse by repairing its handle, 
• gave new structure to bath towels with fresh hems,

Mending socks with Scanfil mending thread.

• hemmed a pair of jeans for a BIL (who has a very short inseam),

Shortening a pair of jeans.

• and mended a silk drawstring travel bag that hold my slippers in my suitcase.

Repair of my drawstring travel bag for my slippers.

Some repairs felt especially satisfying. The most meaningful project was repairing a quilt that I made for a BIL (Brother #2) by adding new appliqué patches to worn blocks and attaching a new binding over frayed edges where needed.

Worn fabrics and holes in a much-loved quilt.

Each new patch was carefully needle-turned and appliquéd to match the seam lines of the patchwork below. After the new fabrics were applied, I re-quilted the areas, trying to blend the new quilting with the previous quilting motifs and join the new quilting lines with the existing.

“Checks and Balances” with new appliqué patches attached.

An additional (new) label documents the repair, so this quilt now carries both its history and its renewal.

Original label (right) and new label to document the quilt’s story.

Home maintenance

The Winter of Care and Repair extended beyond fabric. We turned our attention to home, specifically the kitchen. We repaired a door hinge on the refrigerator and I tightened the screws on a wiggly door handle. It was practical work that ultimately saved a significant expense by avoiding the need for replacement. These moments of maintenance reinforced just how much value lives in a little attention. 

Paper recycling

This season also included recycling and creative paper reuse. 

Two junk journals made with discontinued sales boards and recycled brown packing papers.

I made several junk journals from recycled paper and old sales materials, transforming what might have been waste into something both functional and expressive. 

• One journal was used for Junk Journal January, 
• two pocket-size journals hold space for drawing and sketching (shown above), and 
• the most current journal is for my “Scrap a Day”100 Day Project. 

Handmade journal using recycled papers.

These handmade books have already become my go-to books for journaling and drawing. And making them helps me practice various hand bookbinding techniques.

A second life for fabric scraps

Another meaningful project in the Winter of Care and Repair entailed the making and giving from materials I have on hand. Using scraps and discontinued fabric samples, I created several charity quilts—

• three to provide warmth for the outside cats, 
• two for a work associate who cares for her own cats and several outside cats,
• and I have three quilt tops awaiting my quilt guild’s charity Cuddle Quilt workshop where I can get them basted. 

Two quilts made from recycled fabric samples and fabric scraps from my stash.

Two small scrappy kitty quilts for the outside cats.

These quilts, made from remnants, became acts of care that extended beyond my own home, reminding me that even the smallest scraps can be gathered and made into something purposeful and kind. 

Changing a mindset changes relationships

What I’ve learned through this season is that repair is not just about objects. It’s about relationships—to our belongings, our resources, our family and friends, our habitat, and our habits. It’s about resisting the ease of disposal and rediscovering the satisfaction of stewardship… choosing restoration over replacement.

As spring 2026 begins, I’m carrying this practice of Care and Repair forward. It’s a mindset and part of how I want to move through the world: attentively, mindfully, resourcefully, and with respect for what I already have. Because small acts, over time, can make a big difference.

A different approach to FMQ: mark making with thread

Earlier this month, I embarked on a weekend getaway to the Cumberland plateau for a free-motion quilting workshop with Memphis textile artist, Paula Kovarik. The workshop, At Play in the Garden of Stitch, was hosted by Shakerag Off Season. 

Responding to paint spatters on a drop cloth with free-motion quilting.

Free-motion quilting continuous lines. How many different lines can be made?

The workshop offered a refreshing shift in how I think about quilting. Instead of looking at the functional aspect of the quilting stitches—holding the three layers of a quilt together or creating background texture to support the patchwork composition—Paula’s approach to free-motion quilting was more like drawing and mark making. The sewing machine became a drawing tool to make lines, shapes, and colored fills, in addition to creating texture. 

Thread sketching in contrasting thread to create new focal points.

With that approach in mind, I now understand her preference for 40 wt, 3-ply thread. The thread has a more pronounced presence on the surface of the work. With a heavier thread, every line can hold its own. The stitches can read like sketched lines, and if the thread is of a contrasting color, it can shift the focus from the patchwork to the quilting. 

Quilting doodles with fills.

Since I rarely ever mark my quilt tops for quilting, Paula’s direction to respond intuitively to the fabric surface or previous stitched lines was a familiar and welcoming free-motion concept for me. A no-mark approach is something I have always loved about free-motion quilting! So it was easy to embrace the direction of this workshop. 

Quilting ideas for an existing piece

A valuable take-away that came out of this workshop was getting Paula’s feedback on a collaborative textile piece I started in another workshop last summer. Examining the piece through her lens of “thread as drawing” opened up new possibilities for how I might quilt it. We discussed ideas for how quilting lines could echo the circular format of the mandala composition—creating a subtle rhythm and supporting the radial layout of the piece. She also suggested to quilt over some of the appliqués—which would definitely make the quilting more manageable... and enjoyable for the quilter. 

Collaboration piece awaiting quilting.

The workshop was a playful weekend of experimentation and free-motion quilting. It was a reminder that quilting can be as much about mark making and exploration as it is about function and tradition.

The retreat facility

A view of the valley from the classroom.

The facility—where this workshop and an abstract painting workshop was held—is located on a tranquil, picturesque campus. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to meet up with several artist friends from past workshops—Michelle, who was my roommate for the weekend, Becky, Susan, Claire (our class assistant), Karen, and Paul. 

Friendships were renewed.