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.

A Stripe Obsession

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Have you noticed all the stripes in ready-to-wear these days? Every time I click on a website or open a magazine, I see a plethora of stripes, with lots of variations in placement and alignment. I picked up this soft little gray and pale aqua stripe while in Santa Barbara at Design Outside the Lines. It’s out of stock now, but look at all the other sweet stripes Marcy has ready for your sewing pleasure. As I’ve probably mentioned here before, I’m a tad busty. I always have a hard time getting darts to aim properly, even with an FBA, … Continue reading →

A Successful Pants Attempt

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After seeing these pants, Vogue 8859, worn by several friends, I wanted to try them. I’ve been investing heavily in Eileen Fisher pants over the past few years, but about $150 per pair, on sale!, is a lot for me to pay for a pair of pants. It limits the size of my wardrobe – heaven forbid! I wanted gray pants for my upcoming vacation, so picked up a lovely piece of gray stretch cotton from Marcy Tilton’s brilliant online fabric store. I was very anxious about fitting the pants, as I typically have a love-hate relationship with pants patterns. … Continue reading →

Stars and Stripes

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Another piece of yardage I brought home from California made it to the top of my list this week. When I bought the fabric, a luscious double-layer fabric that’s comprised of a sheer black knit and what looks like your favorite old comfy gray t-shirt gone all wabi sabi on you (thanks, Nancy Shriber, for the term), I had no idea what it wanted to be. When I first picked it up off the counter, I thought it would make a great extended front for an old Eileen Fisher boiled wool jacket I had dyed black. But the more I … Continue reading →

Match Those Stripes!

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Another of Marcy Tilton’s “Cool Combos” that came home from California with me was a bundle of gray and black stripes—one with the stripes about ¼ inch wide, one with narrower stripes, and one with sheer black stripes and abstract gray stripes. The pattern I chose was another of Katherine Tilton’s tops—this time Vogue 8817. I liked the sheer stripe so much I decided to use the sleeve from view A/B, but without the trim strips. For the body I used view C. On the middle stripe on the upper front, I used the sheer, but doubled it (cut two … Continue reading →

Broken Wrist Knitting!

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I just completed my first knitting project since I broke my wrist on 11/30/2012 and had surgery to install plate on 12/7/2013. I follow The Buffalo Wool Company on Facebook. A month or so before my Fateful Fall, Buffalo Wool Company posted a picture on FB of a skein of their hand-dyed “Tracks” in a color they call Black Bunny 2, a wonderful mix of shades of blue, aqua, and lime. Tracks is comprised of mostly superfine superwash merino, with a little bison for warmth and strength. This yarn is soft!! I ordered a hank of the yarn, 400 yards. … Continue reading →

Katherine Tilton’s Vogue 8793

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Pattern Description: T-shirt with interesting collar options and suggestions for mixing fabrics. Designed by Katherine Tilton Sizing: XSM-SML-MED/LRG-XLG-XXL Fabric Used: Purchased from MarcyTilton.com, it is now sold out and I am not positive about the fiber content. I believe it is rayon/lycra. It’s absolutely yummy with great stretch. The companion stripe has less stretch, so has to be cut accordingly. Marcy and her team frequently post “Cool Combos” – a yard or so of several fabrics that they like together. Kudos to the team, all of whom have great eyes for the mix! Needle/Notions Used: Standard 10 or 12. A … Continue reading →

Oh, Pretty Baby

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Look at those two photos. If you saw that mass (or mess) of yarns on the left sitting in a pile, would you have any idea that the finished product would look like that infinitely touchable baby blanket on the right? Nope, me neither. I went into Fine Points Yarn Shop on Larchmere in the Shaker Heights neighborhood of Cleveland shortly after my birthday. They had sent me a quite generous birthday discount offer, and I was determined to use it! My daughter-in-law has suggested that I make a baby blanket or two for her photo studio. She thinks her … Continue reading →

Sleepy Bunny

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When I saw the bear and rabbit dolls designed by Debbie Bliss for Noro Yarns, I knew the rabbit was going on my list of projects. My grandson loves bunnies passionately, so the bunny will be offered to him for his bunny collection. I love Noro Kureyon yarn. A year ago I made a throw for our family room out of Noro Kureyon in their color #321, black/brown/gray. This throw is perfect on our brown couch, and keeps my toes completely toasty while I’m knitting and watching television. All Noro yarns are hand-dyed in luscious colors, with occasional unexpected hues thrown … Continue reading →