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.

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 →

For Gifts and For Me

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One morning about two weeks before Christmas, I walked into the Bernina store where I work and noticed several women lined up holding bolts of Shannon Cuddle, a microfiber fleece. Benartex makes a similar fabric named Minkee. I believe Minkee has been around longer and is more well known. The variety of microfiber fleece that people are most familiar with is the dimpled version, frequently used in making baby blankets. My coworker had seen a video for an infinity scarf over the weekend and made one out of Cuddle. It was so beautiful that everyone in the store wanted one … Continue reading →

Common Interests

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I’ve been living in hell this week. While driving from Northeast Ohio to Western North Carolina two days before Christmas to see my 101-year-old mother and visit with my brothers and sister-in-law, I received a call from my SIL telling me we might have to move Mother from her assisted living facility to a nursing home. Damn! You see, my plan includes: Mother living as long as she wants—in perfect health the whole time—and then just dropping dead, painlessly, of course, from a heart attack or other instant condition. So far my plan isn’t working so well. In fact, we’re … Continue reading →

Does a Manly Man Wear a Scarf?

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As we were leaving Northern California after a wonderful week of vacation in September, I ducked into a yarn shop in Half Moon Bay and picked up two skeins of Noro “Cash Island” yarn (also called “Cashmere Island”). As I was writing this post, I learned it has been discontinued. Boo hoo! It’s a great yarn. I wanted to make more of these scarves. “Cash Island” is 60% wool, 30% cashmere, and 10% nylon. Can you say “soft”? Yep, soft. When I showed it to Jas after purchase, he asked, “Don’t you have enough scarves?” I didn’t tell him it … Continue reading →

Fail/Pass

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Back in 2012, I made one of Marcy Tilton’s jackets, Vogue 8709. I dipped into my stash and pulled out a rayon woven in rust and black, and found an old silk/cotton woven for cuffs and collar. A lot of work went into this top, and when it was done, it cried to live in someone else’s closet. Last summer our friend, Diane, invited it to live in her closet. When we arrived for “orphan’s dinner” at their home on Thanksgiving, she was wearing it and both she and the top looked very happy. Isn’t it nice when a fail … Continue reading →

More Little Gifts

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At this time of year, I’m always looking for [quick] cute little gifts for holiday party hostesses and (even more importantly) my grandchildren’s teachers. Shortly after starting to work at a quilt shop, someone showed me the microwave bowl mat. Brilliant! You know how the microwave dings and you grab your soup bowl and then cry out in pain because it’s so hot that it burns your fingertips? Some brilliant crafter figured out a solution. I’ve read ten or fifteen tutorials, and the one by Lisa Lewis Koster was the one I liked the best. (I’ve removed the link to … Continue reading →