Author Archives: Jan

About Jan

Musician and geek and Juris Doctor; lover of fine art and fine craft; mother and grandmother and significant other and friend. Passionate about sewing.

Love Potion No. IX

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Late last summer I saw a picture of a stunning geometric handknit scarf on Facebook. A few weeks later I realized I had to resign from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus because of work conflicts. I wanted a special gift for our assistant director, a beautiful and very talented young woman named Lisa Wong. Lisa’s wardrobe is filled with black, which she accents deftly with grays and occasional pops of color. She is chic to the Nth degree. When I had first seen the scarf picture, I instantly thought of Lisa and how wonderful this scarf would look on her. On … Continue reading →

Rewriting History

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In 1988, when John and I were newly a couple, his daughter Tamara met a lovely man (Jeff, who has now been her husband for over 25 years). During their first summer of dating, Jeff met Scott and Tyler and learned that Tyler was an avid musician. Having spent several summers at what was then National Music Camp (NMC, now Interlochen Arts Camp, IAC), Jeff graciously ordered information to be sent to Tyler. The seed was planted, Tyler learned more and more about percussion during the school year, and he applied to spend the summer of 1989 as a percussionist … Continue reading →

Will It or Won’t It?

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(Fit, that is.) About a month before the beginning of my ill-fated “career” at the Bernina store in Boardman, OH, I visited the second store Joyce owns, located in Twinsburg, OH. She had told me of picking up some fashion fabrics at the recent quilt market from the back of a truck in the parking lot and I had to see what she had bought. One piece caught my eye. It was several shades of gray, along with black and white, and was covered with words. It appeared to be a polyester, which I tend to shun, but had a … Continue reading →

A Tank That Won’t See the Light of Day

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I bought a kit from Craftsy with Meg McElwee’s “Tank + Maxi” pattern and enough Robert Kauffman cotton jersey to make a tank and a maxi. I thought it would be nice to have a maxi tank dress to take with me to Mexico next week. It was a PDF pattern, so I printed and taped and traced, then cut and sewed. Size Large, true to the pattern with the exception of adding 2″ to the length. Easy. Nice. Professional finishes. Not right!!! If you’re busty, you know that ripples across your bustline are a no-no. So, the first place … Continue reading →

Vacation = Must Sew

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As I write this post, it’s 32° outside and the snow is falling. We’re slated to accumulate about three inches today. So why am I sewing summer clothes and wearing sandals? Because next week is vacation in Mexico—yippee!! For me, vacation has always meant new clothes. I don’t know why. And when I have drawers full of perfectly suitable clothes, I always feel I need something new. Okay, truth: I want something new. Everytime Marcy Tilton and Katherine Tilton design new garment patterns for Vogue and Butterick, I snatch them up. I had picked up Katherine’s Butterick 6101 the moment … Continue reading →

Thick and Thin

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It’s pretty sad when the lack of two tassels keeps you from wearing something for almost a year! In my so-far-successful effort to finish everything I start, I made two tassels this week and have worn my new scarf twice. And I love it! The scarf in question is the Tilled Scarf by Quirky Bird Knits. The yarns are Malabrigo Rasta in color number 866, Arco Iris, and Malabrigo Silkpaca in color number 96, Sunset. The pattern calls for one skein of each yarn. At the end I ran out of the Rasta, so didn’t have enough for the tassels. … Continue reading →

Gayley Girl Gift

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My New Year’s resolution is to have only one project going at a time. And that translates to “finish what you start.” I can be a tad ADD, i.e. “Look at that pretty piece of fabric; I think I’ll sew that today.” And my Very Bad Habit is to throw each new pretty thing onto my cutting table. And the mess begins. If I can stick to my resolution—and 15 days into the year (half a month gone already?!), so far/so good—I can get rid of the clutter and mess and feel more at peace in my little basement haven. … Continue reading →

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

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It took the winter of 2014/15 a little while to set it, but it’s here now. Boy, is it here. The temperature for much of yesterday was right around 0°, with wind chill temps in the minus-teens. Tomorrow the wind chill temp is supposed to drop to about -24°. One does not go outside without gloves, even just to take the bag of used kitty litter to the garbage can! (TMI? Sorry!) At the Bernina/quilt store where I work worked until noon today, we’ve had two shelves of Shannon Cuddle just lingering on the shelves. Shoppers would come in and … Continue reading →