Welcome to MaryBethTemple.com

I am a freelance writer based in Northern New Jersey, who has turned her complete inability to commit to one career for any length of time into an eclectic range of writing specialties.

First off - I design patterns for and write about knitting and crocheting. My most recent book is The Secret Language of Knitters (Andrews McMeel, August 2007), which will soon be followed by its kissing cousin, Hooked for Life: Adventures of a Crochet Zealot (Andrews McMeel, spring 2009). For more on my life as a crafter please visit my blog - Alpaca Addict - or tune into my weekly internet radio show Getting Loopy! . You can check out my new pattern line at Hooked for Life, LLC, and see some of my other design work in many craft books and magazines.

Next, I am an essayist. I have written on everything from my poor deceased sewing machine ( "Rest In Pieces", Threads # 126, May 2006) to being the confused parent of a determined Irish step dancer (Mother and Daugther Two-step to an Irish beat , The Christian Science Monitor) to being mistaken for a terrorist (More), and learning how to chink a lof home (Log Home Design). One of the advantages of my nomadic lifestyle is that I pretty much never run out of material.

Lastly, I write non-fiction service, primarily about home design and decor, and American history. I write a column on country antiques which is seen in each issue of Hobby Farm Homes magazine, and have done home tour articles for magazines including Log Home Design, Custom Wood Homes, NJ Countryside, and Country Sampler. If you like antiques, you might also enjoy my first book Rescuing Vintage Textiles (St. Johann Press, 2000), a simple guide on the care and feeding of your vintage fabric collection. And in 2009, Storey Publishing will release The Log Home Owner's Handbook, an 85,000 word softcover manual covering every aspect of log home ownership from dream to finished product.

I am fascinated by American history and have spent a lot of time writing about transportation. 2008 is the centennial of the Model T Ford and that has given me some food for thought, most notably for AAA Living, and The History Channel Magazine. A lot of that information came to me after writing Driving the National Road in Indiana , a book I self-published in 2006. That little book is the gift that keeps on giving - currently I am Associate Producer on a documentary film on the area (working title: Stories from The National Road) which will be released in early 2009.

Thanks for stopping by, drop me an email if you have any questions or comments.