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.

Dolly and Me

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I was never a doll girl—at least, to the best of my memory. There were dolls in my childhood life, but they were never something I couldn’t live without or something that I spent time playing with. I’d rather play with this toy where you had a square green plastic plate with holes in it, a whole bunch of flowers (I especially remember the daffodils, which we didn’t have in Florida), and a planting tool with which you pushed the base of the flowers into the holes in the green square. I wish I could remember the name of that … Continue reading →

A Pretty Top for a Pretty Girl

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When Butterick 5954 was released last fall, I ordered it as soon as it went on ClubBMV sale. In fact, I ordered two (one in each size) so I could make one for a friend. And that friend is … DearGrandDaughter. For Christmas, Ridley had asked for a Christmas party dress for one of her American Girl dolls. As I was nosing through my stash, I saw a lovely purple velour knit in a sort of paisley print. I believe I bought the fabric from fashionfabricsclub.com about 12 years ago. Simultaneously, I saw a pattern on eBay for pants, skirt, … Continue reading →

Fleece: an antidote for sub-freezing temps

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If you’ve read the newpapers or watched television or opened up Weather.Com in the recent week, you know that—along with the rest of the northern and eastern half of the Continental United States—we have been quaking in our long underwear. My son recently moved into a new-to-him, old-in-the-world-of-insulation house and has asked me for insulated drapes for windows. As he was moving in and getting settled, he decided to paint a few of the rooms that were the most color-challenged. The Jazzman helped out, and the project involved taking Miss Ridley to the paint store and asking her what colors … Continue reading →

Letting it speak to you

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As I reviewed the photos I took in May on our tour of the Burgundy and Champagne regions of France, Paris and Giverny, I realized I had a number of flower photos that I really loved. I started toying with ideas of how best to display them. I love looking at the pictures in the Houzz.com email newsletter and browsing Pinterest decorating ideas. At some point I saw a photo of white frames with white mats in a single horizontal line and thought these might be just what I wanted. I browsed several dozen sites searching just the right frame, … Continue reading →

Starting the Year Off Warmly

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Recently I saw an ArtYarns post on Facebook that screamed “touch me.” Really, just look at that thing of beauty. To look at it is to want it around one’s neck. Before fully researching the pattern, I started dreaming about yarns. On a visit to my LYS, The Flaming Ice Cube, my friend Melinda pointed out a merino/tussah silk yarn in a sorta variegated/hand-painted teal that had some lighter streaks in it. This is my color! I quickly purchased it, then went home to find the pattern. Oops. The pattern was only available from Mont-Tricot Yarns in Sutton, Quebec, Canada, … Continue reading →

Creativity Comes in Many Forms

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My experiments with creativity involve fabric and thread or yarn or glass or clay or crystal beads. But for many people creativity involves vegetables and fruit and flour and meat. Art comes out in a lovely presentation. That’s not me. I don’t like to cook. I cook out of love—to have something interesting and delicious ready for the Jazzman to eat when he gets home after a long day on the railroad. Not out of love for the process. For me, the hours spent preparing food could better be spent—definitely more enjoyably spent—cutting out a pattern or adding more rows … Continue reading →

‘Tis the Season …

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One of my great joys since my grandchildren started school has been to make holiday and end-of-year gifts for their teachers. Each year the teachers would get similar items, but each different. And all have been handmade. One year it was handknit scarves, one year the mesh zipper bags that I love to make, one year little purses. I deliver the requisite quantity to my daughter-in-law, and the children pick out which item is “perfect for” which teacher. This year it’s notebook covers. You know those fabulous Moleskine notebooks that you pick up each time you’re in Barnes & Noble? … Continue reading →

Creative Use of Selvedges

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I never wear blue. Probably the last time there was anything blue in my wardrobe when I was in a local sorority, Tyes, at Florida Technological University (now University of Central Florida) and our colors were blue and gold. I made a blue jumper for a rush party. (Wait for it … you know the photo is to follow.) For the next year I will be serving as campaign treasurer for my friend, Michele Lepore Hagan, who is running for the Ohio House of Representatives seat her husband, Bob Hagan, is vacating. I went with Michele to the Mahoning County … Continue reading →