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.

Digging into my memory

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My home came with a lot of leftovers from the previous owner. That was fortunate for me, as I had been living with my son and daughter-in-law for a year before I bought this house. I had gotten rid of many possessions before leaving Tucson, after doing the ship-and-store or give-away analysis. The wicker chairs on my porch are one example of the sort of items I “inherited”—items one doesn’t need in a nursing home (where my home’s previous owner went after leaving here). The cushions on the chairs were old and not very supportive, but still usable. A year … Continue reading →

The best kind of compliment

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Thursday afternoon, around four o’clock, I was working killing time in the TV room when an incoming text pinged. Here’s what I read: “So, I have now seen both [your sons] with these handy fabric/mesh bags that they carry all of their gadget cords in. Do you happen to have an extra?” What a compliment! A) To notice something I made; B) To realize I made it; and C) To comprehend that you’re in such high standing on my friend list that I’d make one for you in a heartbeat. I didn’t have any extras around, but I dropped what … Continue reading →

Getting Just What You Want

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Six Months. This fabric has been waiting for six months, since I captured it from the fabric department at the Karstadt department store in Frankfurt, Germany, last November. It was similar in print and hand to the “Poster City” rayon/lycra print I got from Emma One Sock last year. The new fabric has waited patiently through the brutal winter we just endured. And now its time has come. I’ve been pondering pattern choice for this fabric periodically over the six months. I thought I wanted a simple top because of the busy-ness of the pattern. However, after making a Butterick … Continue reading →

With a Few Extra Touches

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My goal over the next few months is to destash—by sewing the pieces I love and getting rid of the ones that make me wonder what I was thinking. I picked up this piece of hemp/organic cotton knit from EmmaOneSock last September. It’s been lying on top of a box ever since, calling to me every time I walk into my sewing room. I had thought I wanted to make Grainline Studio’s Hemlock Tee. So cute, so easy, so comfortable. But when I started pawing through my patterns, I realized I wanted to make another of Katherine Tilton’s Butterick 5961. … Continue reading →

Me-Made-May ’14

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I’m participating in Me-Made-May ’14. What is it, you ask? Me-Made-May’14 (MMM’14 for short) is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to actually wear and love them. The me-made and self-stitched challenges have been taking place for over four years now and they work on both a personal and community level. The participants decide the specifics of their own challenge pledge, so that the month is appropriate and challenging for them …. A very common pledge is for a participant to aim to wear one self-stitched or refashioned garment each day for the duration of … Continue reading →

Another Butterick 5925

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I posted earlier today about a piece of fabric I purchased from MarcyTilton.com that just wasn’t my color. It was then designated for a dear friend, and constructed with her in mind. This is my first review of View A/B. My previous garment from this pattern was View C/D. Pattern Description: Pullover top has neckline and pocket variations, seam detail, and shaped hemine. A: slightly draped neck and pocket bands. Pattern Sizing: XSmall to XXLarge. I cut a Medium. Because this was for a long, lean woman who plans to wear it with leggings, I cut the body 2″ longer. … Continue reading →

But Not For Me

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Three tests gone bad very good for someone else, not me. Test #1: A new-to-me designer and indie pattern maker, MariaDenmark. Open the website, sign up for her newsletter, and you receive a free downloadable pattern for her Kirsten Kimono Tee. Maria’s tagline is “for clothes you wear every day.” A downloadable pattern, if you’ve never used one, is a PDF file you download, print on regular 8.5″x11″ copy paper, then tape together along printed lines. Some have only one or two sizes; some have all sizes. I grabbed a remnant of the Gorgeous poly/rayon/lycra knit that I used for … Continue reading →