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.

Thinking About Design

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[Photo borrowed stolen from Marcy Tilton’s fabric store. I wrote recently questioning the definition of design. This morning I reviewed my blog posts since early February of this year (the date I traveled to Santa Barbara and got kick-started by my friends/teachers/mentors Diane Ericson and Marcy Tilton and inspired by all my stylish sisters of the cloth on the West Coast). I have made a staggering 27 garments since returning from Design Outside the Lines. Twenty-seven! (Oh, and that’s in addition to a bunch of knitting, two sewn bags, and helping DGD make her first T-shirt.) Honestly, that seems a … Continue reading →

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy …

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I’ve got love in my tummy for this fabulous fabric. (Maybe one has to be born in the 50s to know that song.) When’s the last time you made something you loved so much you couldn’t wait to finish it before wearing it? That was yesterday for me! Ann Steeves had a knit sale this weekend. (If you’re reading this on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 13, runrunrun to GorgeousFabrics.com where the sale’s still on.) I picked up some of this poly/rayon/lycra blend from Gorgeous Fabrics last week, and it is to swoon over! Every time I put my hands on it … Continue reading →

Almost There

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I’m on the last row of the last square of six 25″ x 25″ squares of Tyler’s blanket. Five of the squares have been blocked. Four of the squares have been sewn together. I’ll finish it before the cold weather sets in, I hope. I’ll finish it before I leave for Frankfurt on November 8, I hope. I’ll breathe a sigh of relief when it’s done, I know!! Here’s the previous post on this topic. I don’t need any Good Mom points for this activity. My account is already overflowing beyond belief.

Training Them Early

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I posted a photo on Facebook yesterday that brought me so much joy I just wanted to share it here. This photo is from late 2006, a couple of months before my darling Boston and his family moved from Tucson back to Youngstown. It was taken in my home in Tucson, where I hosted frequent sleepovers for Boston and his sister. There are three facets to this photo: 1) the blanket on which he is lying; 2) the green blanket to his right; and 3) the red pajamas he is wearing. 1) When Boston’s daddy, DS#2 Tyler, was born, a … Continue reading →

The Guinea Pig Shirt

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Why, oh why, do I keep trying patterns no one has made before?! (Or at least no one has written a review or a blog post.) I must be a glutton for punishment, or else I’m emotionally bonded to my seam ripper! Today’s newbie pattern is Vogue 1363 in Sandra Betzina’s “Today’s Fit” line. I liked the layered look of View A. This has been my year of mixing prints, so I thought I would have some remnants that would work together with the Missoni-esque ITY fabric that I picked up at Vogue Fabrics’ booth at the Pittburgh Original Sewing … Continue reading →

It’s Spring Somewhere, Right?

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I’ve been feeling like I look o*l*d lately, and I don’t like it. This aging process—for me, anyway—is a depressing exercise in futility. My hair includes lots of salt’n’pepper around my face, and I don’t think it’s flattering. So I thought maybe if I make some brighter clothes, instead of all the muted colors and black, maybe I’d feel/look younger. I saw this piece of Nanette Lepore cotton bouclé knit on Emma One Sock’s ever-tempting and wonderfully organized site and thought it would be a fun color with which to test out my new anti-aging theory. My goal was to … Continue reading →

It’s a Learning Exercise

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Every year the Jazzman and I spend the week of the Fourth of July in a cottage at Madison Shores in Madison-on-the-Lake, along the southern shore of Lake Erie. Many of the families who summer there come from the Youngstown area, and have been staying in the same cottages in this development for 20 years. The sense of community is strong. On the Fourth of July, there are organized games for the kids. It’s a big deal! And I’m patriotic, so I want to wear something appropriate to the day while I watch my grandkids get their game on. This … Continue reading →

The Do-Over, All Done

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Remember the blanket that was my vacation project? It’s all done now. And it’s beautiful. The knitting? Not perfect. But the blanket that was the result of all those do-overs? Soft and cushy and wonderful. I believe I paid more for this Spud & Chloë yarn (four hanks of Outer, two hanks of Sweater) than I’ve ever paid for yarn. But the hand of this yarn—55% superwash wool and 45% organic cotton—is what makes the blanket feel so wonderful. I can envision making one four times the size for the adults in the family to cuddle up in. All the … Continue reading →