Join host Misty Doan as she sits down with Ashlee Elle of The Dream Crochet for an inspiring conversation about creativity, community, and finding joy in the making process. Ashlee shares her journey from family craft nights to becoming a successful crochet designer and Instagram creator, offering honest insights about overcoming introversion, managing creative blocks, and maintaining artistic passion when your hobby becomes your career. Whether you're a seasoned crafter or just starting out, this episode is packed with encouragement and practical wisdom about embracing the creative process.

Key Episode Highlights:

• How Ashlee discovered crochet during pre-YouTube family craft nights with pizza, movies, and hands-on learning
• Ashlee's journey from self-portrait photography to confidently sharing her crochet art online
• How focusing on the art rather than herself helped overcome social media anxiety
• Why Ashlee embraces creative blocks as necessary "rest periods" for the mind
• Maintaining joy when your creative hobby becomes your full-time career
• How Ashlee draws creative inspiration from poetry, music, nature, and even non-yarn craft supplies
• Treating your creative practice like a garden that needs nurturing and care
• Why "abstract" first projects have character and the importance of practice over perfection
• Ashlee's exciting plans to merge quilting with crochet
• Managing the challenges of putting your art online while staying true to your creative mission

Join host Misty Doan for an intimate Birthday Bash week conversation with the incomparable Jenny Doan, founder of Missouri Star Quilt Company. In this heartfelt episode, Jenny shares the incredible 16-year journey from a simple quilt machine purchase to building a global quilting community that spans continents.

Discover the story behind Missouri Star's viral first YouTube tutorial (spoiler: it involved a broken leg and heavy pain medication!), learn why Jenny believes your skills shouldn't "die with you," and get an exclusive look at the company's humble beginnings when they had just "three bolts of fabric and a quilt machine."

Key Episode Highlights:

• How a quilt machine "too big for the house" launched Missouri Star during the 2008 crash
• The story of their first YouTube tutorial—broken leg, wheelchair, and pain medication included
• When the post office started picking up packages and a woman flew from Brazil to visit
• Jenny's philosophy on passing creative skills to the next generation before they "die with you"
• How not knowing quilting "rules" became Jenny's superpower for shortcuts and innovation
• Why taking creative time for yourself isn't selfish—it's essential for caregivers
• Jenny's leap of faith into humanitarian work and stepping away from Missouri Star
• How this break might transform Jenny's creative process and what it means for the company

Southern Charm star Craig Conover joins Homespun host Misty Doan to share his incredible journey from struggling law student to successful entrepreneur. After facing ridicule for his love of sewing, Craig turned his middle school home economics skills into Sewing Down South, a thriving home decor brand.

In this candid conversation, Craig opens up about overcoming perfectionism, dealing with haters, the power of charitable giving in business, and why he believes everyone should pursue their passions regardless of what others think. From his $199 Amazon sewing machine to building retail stores in Charleston and Nashville, this is a story about trusting your instincts and never giving up on what brings you joy.

Key Episode Highlights:

• How a Southern Charm reality star turned middle school home economics memories into a million-dollar pillow empire
• The $199 Amazon sewing machine purchase that changed everything
• Hurricane Dorian charity drive that generated $60,000 in weekend sales and forced the pivot from garage to factory production
• Why giving up majority ownership to business partners was the smartest decision
• The mental shift from seeking validation through nightlife to finding joy in staying home to sew
• How charitable giving became both authentic mission and brilliant business strategy for media coverage and customer motivation
• Craig's advice for hobby haters: "You'll never find someone doing better than you talking about you"

Join host Misty Doan as she sits down with beloved pattern designer and fabric artist Minky Kim for an intimate conversation about creativity, resilience, and finding your voice in a new country.

In this heartfelt episode, Minky shares her incredible journey from moving to the US from Korea with just two suitcases to building a thriving creative business with over 200 sewing patterns and her own fabric lines with Riley Blake Designs.

Key Episode Highlights:

• How a sewing machine became Minky's "first friend in America"
• Starting a creative practice in a tiny space with limited resources
• The challenges and triumphs of learning English while building a business
• Why Minky focuses on small, approachable projects that can be finished in a day
• Her transition from posting wordless step-by-step photos to becoming a published author
• Navigating social media as a creative entrepreneur
• The importance of showing up consistently while staying true to your authentic voice
• How everyday moments with her three daughters inspire her whimsical designs

Join Misty Doan as she sits down with artist and fabric designer Janet Wecker Frisch of Riley Blake Designs. From discovering her style through vintage illustrations to launching a thriving creative business at 40, Janet shares how her love for storytelling, faith, and art has shaped a meaningful career in fabric design.

Key Episode Highlights:

• How Janet transitioned from stay-at-home mom to full-time artist at age 40

• The inspiration behind her whimsical, vintage illustration style

• Why her first fabric collection, Hungry Animal Alphabet, became an instant hit

• The process of merging antique public domain art with digital design

• Stories behind her collections like Pumpkin Patch, Old School, and Press On

• The heart behind her upcoming creative space and workshops

• Encouragement for anyone starting late or outside the traditional quilting world

Join host Misty Doan as she sits down with Vanessa Gertson, the creative force behind Lola Boutique and fabric designer for Moda Fabrics. Vanessa shares her inspiring journey from a divorced mom working until 1 AM to becoming a recognizable name in the quilting industry. Discover how she built her signature style, overcame imposter syndrome, and learned to protect her creative energy while building a sustainable business.

Key Episode Highlights:

• How Vanessa started her fabric design career with just five minutes a day in Photoshop while raising two young kids
• Getting rejected by Moda, then coming back a year later with improved designs that landed her the dream job
• Working from her kids' bedtime until 1 AM as a single mom and learning when to finally say no to opportunities
• Building a signature style without using signature colors - creating recognizable designs while changing palettes every collection
• Her design evolution from hand-drawing and scanning sketches to drawing directly on iPad Pro
• Why she won't write another book right now and how she protects her creative energy from overextension
• Living 45 minutes from Zion National Park and how nature resets inspire her fabric collections

Join host Misty Doan on Homespun as she sits down with the incredibly talented Kira Delaney, a fiber arts educator and pattern designer who has transformed her lifelong love of crafting into a thriving career. In this inspiring episode, Kira shares her unique journey from theater costume design to teaching middle schoolers after-school fiber arts programs, and how working in yarn shops led to publishing her own knitting and crochet patterns. Discover the profound differences between teaching children versus adults, why "letting yourself be a beginner" is crucial for learning, and how her theater background unexpectedly prepared her for inclusive pattern design. Kira also introduces hybrid crochet (Tunisian crochet) as an accessible entry point for nervous beginners and shares her philosophy that creativity should bring joy, not frustration.

Key Episode Highlights:

• Kira's evolution from theater costume design to full-time fiber arts teaching and pattern design
• Why children are naturally better students than adults - and what we can learn from their fearless approach
• How theater costume experience led to inclusive pattern sizing and fitting expertise
• The introduction of hybrid/Tunisian crochet as an ideal beginner technique combining knitting and crochet benefits
• Teaching philosophy: "If we're frustrated, we're missing the point of creativity"
• Building a fiber arts career through yarn shop teaching, pattern publishing, and festival workshops
• The importance of making tangible things in our increasingly digital world

Join host Misty Doan as she sits down with Jess Barrera, founder of Sally Tomato, to explore her inspiring journey from working at a family quilt shop to building a successful bag pattern and hardware business. In this engaging conversation, Jess shares how she turned her college entrepreneurship major into a thriving creative business, the challenges of scaling from her basement to a full operation, and her passion for making bag-making accessible to sewists of all levels. Discover the story behind her viral prom dress made from denim, her approach to product development, and valuable advice for aspiring creative entrepreneurs looking to turn their passion into profit.

Key Episode Highlights:

• Growing up at Nancy's Notions quilt shop and turning college entrepreneurship major into Sally Tomato empire
• The denim prom dress challenge that proved friends wrong and built her design confidence
• When inventory overflow took over the house - the moment she knew the business needed help
• Hardware innovation solving customer frustration with coordinated supplies and matching components
• First trade show chaos with homemade brick walls and learning the industry through trial by fire
• Balancing workaholic tendencies with family life using habit trackers and vintage movie inspiration
• Making bag-making accessible through educational tutorials and supporting sewists at every level