Tag Archives: Janice Colbert writer

Embroidered Life

MAY 13, 2021

When I was a child I had to create things. I was happy to receive embroidery kits with the design printed on linen with all the colours of embroidery floss included for a Christmas gift. I found it was something fun to do while waiting for my aunt and uncle and cousins to come to our house for Christmas dinner or for us to go to their house because we alternated each year. I liked quiet projects but that didn’t mean I wasn’t an athletic girl because I was busy with downhill skiing, skating lessons, dance school, riding my bike and skateboarding, slalom waterskiing and Royal Conservatory piano lessons. My mother and paternal grandmother influenced my interest in needlework. Both women always had a project on the go.

My grandmother crocheted and knitted many outfits for my Barbie dolls that she sent by mail from Montreal along with a pair of crochet slippers for Christmas gifts. Here are examples from her creative soul; a Chanel inspired coat and hat with lips buttons and a short jacket and slim skirt with navy-blue contrast on the collar and hem. Striped stocking stitch sweaters with bateau neckline, a miniature button and matching hats with pompon. My grandmother knit clothes for my dolls but I designed clothes for my sister’s dolls.

My mum was a knitter when it was the style out of necessity to wear hand-knit sweaters, mittens, scarves and hats for both men and women. I think they both did cross stitch, needlepoint, crewelwork and smocking. My mother certainly took my sister and me to a dressmaker to have dresses made with smocked yokes.

Crewelwork detail, rattan chair and geraniums, tapestry wool on linen.

I was receptive to experimenting with the needle arts. I followed what the popular trends were in needlepoint, rug hooking, crewelwork, crochet and knitting. But needlework was a pastime that went by the way because my real interest from a young age always was design.

While on summer break from design school, and with a friend from school, we attempted to sew two smocked Peasant Blouses. The neckline and shoulder of the raglan sleeves have the honeycomb smocking stitch and the sleeves are gathered by running a length of embroidery floss through a channel created by the wave smocking stitch. There are six cross-stitch roses on the blouse. Because of the smocking on the neckline and shoulders the blouse was sixty inches wide at the hemline and fell just short of the waistline. The blouse was not comfortable to wear.

After design school, I was too busy to make anything other than what was related to clothing designs for my business. Years later, after my daughter was born I took up the 1980s quilting craze because I wanted to make a quilt for her and kitty-corner to my store, Janice and friends, there was a quilt store. I took a class once a week to make a twin size quilt.

Infant’s nightdress, smocking on front yoke only and sleeve cuffs, two sets of fabric ribbon closures on the back neckline and waist.

Raglan sleeve dress, smocking front and back and on the shoulders, snap closures on the back neckline.

I was lonely for my mother and grandmother who both died prematurely. Mary, my mother-in-law became the only needlewoman that I knew. She smocked flannelette nightdresses and knitted beautiful baby sweater-sets with hats and booties, works of art in traditional knitting patterns for our children.

Mary surprised us for our daughter’s first birthday with a smocked dress.

Classic Yoke Dress for English smocking on the front and back yokes and the set-in sleeves, button and loop closure with placket on sleeves and the back neckline.

To see that dress style again. I was hooked and asked if we could make a dress together.

I bought the fabric, Mary did the smocking and I sewed the dress in time for Christmas.

Smocking is usually worked on soft fabrics, batiste, cotton, lawn, silk and crêpe de Chine. Smocked dresses require a lot of yardage because you need 3 inches of fabric for every inch of the smocked pattern completed. For this dress the measurement around the hemline for a small child is 72 inches. Children’s clothing remains the best-known use of smocking.

Here is the letter that arrived by post when Mary had finished her smocking portion of our project, Thursday, November 27, 1986.

She shared “a few little tips.”

“I have added the blue as you suggested. I am enclosing some floss in case you need to make button loops or on the edge of the collar. Sometimes they put an edge [blanket stitch] around the collar, but mostly for older children when the collars are larger.”

“The buttons are a good idea, again a button can be used at the wrist if you find difficulty getting her hands through or if too big—you are good at making plackets. I shy away from making them.”

“I ran a red thread on top of both front and back to help the fraying. It can be taken out after you put in the yokes—or left in will not show.”

“You will notice there are small seam allowances under the arm and side seams. Just sew over the smocking needed for seam, keeping the lines of the pattern even. The smocking is done this way so there are no blanks without smocking and the pattern is more even.”

She signed off with hugs to my family with wishing me Good Luck! Decades later on reading her letter again, her words struck me. She deferred to my youthful experience because I was educated in design. She took my suggestion to add some blue thread, enclosing extra floss in case I needed to make thread button-loops, and said, “I shy away from making plackets.” In hindsight I remember that when her father died from pneumonia, her mother sold the farm and moved with her two daughters into town. Her mother took in sewing to keep the family afloat. Mary knew more about sewing than she let on, but was never one to shine a light on her ability. I heard stories about her sewing the curtains and covering the upholstery when the family project was to refurbish a Volkswagen Camper Van—the Hippie Van— and she sewed garments for herself and her daughter. But that was long before I met her.

The last smocked dress that Mary made was a sundress. The hemline circumference on this one is eighty-eight inches. Smocked dresses, intended for special occasions, don’t show signs of wear, because young children grow rapidly and need new clothes for every change of season.

Children gravitate quickly to exploring the world of gathering bugs in the ravine, sand boxes and play forts and painting with mud. The time for fancy dresses is short lived.

Smocking embroidery is a labour intensive needlework art and it’s best to be done when one has time and young children in your life to enjoy it.

When I had my store I made this door hanger for my business. The atelier is OPEN!

For my on-line Handmade Shop, I’m working on hand and machine embroidered brooches on linen fabric.

The colour ways include, orange, pink, blue and grey-ecru with red thread.

Left to right, ecru, pink, green and red French-knots sewn with Perle Cotton outline the edge of each brooch.

Wool and an antique-brass brooch-clasp finish the back. Each brooch measures 4.5 x 2.5 inches.

Closing time at the atelier.

9 x 18 inches. Satin stitch embroidery sewn by hand, embroidery floss, cotton, eyelet lace.

PLACES I REMEMBER: SWITZERLAND

THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

There were many family trips after 1987 but we returned to Italy and Switzerland fifteen years later in 2002. I was in a car accident with our fourteen-year-old son and seventeen-year-old daughter the week before we were booked to fly. The car was a write off. After we had a check up with our family doctor she said it was too early to begin physiotherapy and thought we would feel even worse if we stayed home. As banged up as we were she cleared us for travel. In Florence, with a separated shoulder and severely bruised legs, I couldn’t hold a camera steady and could only walk short distances in a city that is among the top walk-able cities in the world. We had to hire cabs or horse-drawn carriages to see many of the world-renowned artistic treasures. It was a trip of healing, with daily exercises to help us mend, we slowly improved as the weeks went on. We were of no help to Jim with lifting. It was hard on him as the main baggage carrier and therapist in a family of four.

Lake Como

Switzerland was a three-day holiday, August 10-13, tagged on the end of touring Italy that began on July 26. On day sixteen, we drove Route 2 from Como across the Swiss border, through the Gotthard Tunnel, a 13 minute drive to Andermat and then Route 11 (Sustenstrasse) at Wassan, with a stop for lunch at Restaurant Sustenbrüggli to Interlaken.

A few weeks earlier we had another car accident when leaving Naples for a scenic coastal drive of the Amalfi coast. A driver gawking at a woman slammed his cube van into the back of our car while we were stopped at a red light. We spent the rest of our morning arranging another rental car. Back on route heading south, it was the best side of the road for a view down the sheer cliffs to the shoreline villages and the Tyrrhenian Sea, but a hair-raising ride for the children and me. With our eyes squeezed tight, the odd peek here and there, we leaned into the middle of the car away from the window. We felt as precariously perched as the fishing villages.

Restaurant Sustenbrüggli, Elevation 1876 m.— 6155 ft.

Here we were on the Swiss Route 11, famous for hairpin turns. We felt the same precariousness, but did appreciate the mountainous scenery. On route to Interlaken we went up the Jungfrau, Elevation: 4,158 m.—13,642 ft. (Canadian Rockies 3,954 m.—12,972 ft.) and then drove on to Interlaken for the night at Chalet Oberland.

From Interlaken we re-visited Gstaad for a walk about to stretch our legs, before arriving in the French speaking medieval town of Gruyères for lunch and a tour. This was our first time to experience a car-free town, where you park your car and walk across a large gravel parking lot to the town.

We were seeking out Raclette for lunch. In Switzerland the electrical raclette, a modern way of serving raclette involves an electric tabletop grill with small pans, known as coupelles, in which to melt slices of raclette cheese. The device was put in the middle of our table. The Gruyères cheese was brought to the table sliced, accompanied by platters of boiled or steamed potatoes, other vegetables and charcuterie.

Gruyères Castle, French Garden

After lunch, we rambled along cobblestone lanes, in this fairy tale village, where the main street is 300 meters from beginning to end. We shopped for souvenirs and discovered a lace making demonstration. It boggled my mind how the artisans kept track of so many wooden bobbins in their crisscrossing of threads to create their intricate patterns.

H. R. Giger

Fairy tales have happy endings in this town. Gruyères Castle dating back to the 13^th century had a French garden behind the castle walls. A collection of art, Fantastic Art, by HR Giger was shown inside the castle.

Sunset on Lake Geneva

We made it to Montreux after missing it in 1983. This time we were too early for the 36^th festival running from July 5 – 23. But we saw the Charlie Chaplin statue and toured Chillon, the water castle. Built on an oval shaped island, Chillon means rock platform. The French painter Gustave Courbet depicted the castle in many of his paintings. After his trial concerning the Vendôme Column, Courbet was compelled to personally pay for the rebuilding which left him in financial ruin. He was forced to live away from France, exiled near by in La-Tour-de-Peliz from 1873 to his death in 1877.

Swiss Army Traveller-Set, includes sewing awl and scissors among nineteen tools in total

We drove to Lausanne and then Geneva to stay overnight at Hotel Strasbourg with plans for a day of sightseeing in Geneva before our flight home the following day. It happens often when travelling, to arrive at a location to discover the one attraction that you want to see is closed. I can’t remember what our teenagers wanted to see but as we drove into the city there were signs clearly stating that it was closed. To walk the promenade along Lake Geneva and to see the Jet d’Eau pushing water to a height of 140 meters just didn’t hold their interest. It was a day spent shopping, finding souvenirs and Swiss Army Knives and a promise to look forward to Fondue for dinner at a posh restaurant.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021

In spite of our brief experience in 1983 with Switzerland that was all about the intensive rain, we were enamoured of the country. And so we thought it a good place to return to with our young daughter August 21-September 5, 1987.

Tea Cosy, alpine flowers and cuckoo clocks

Our Swiss hiking and spa trip began with Zurich. We figured we would have something to do in the evening with a two-year-old if we stayed at Spa Hotels for their mineral water pools. The Spa guests appeared to be octogenarians. Even though Jim and I were decades younger, it was our daughter that held the cache of a visiting celebrity. They couldn’t get enough of her in the dining room and when walking the grounds. We wondered about when the pools were used because we seemed to have exclusive use, just the three of us took in the waters in the large pools. Maybe the spas were busier during the day when we were out sightseeing. We stayed in Weggis, the northern part of Lake Lucerne, four nights at Sigriswil (Thun), night seven in Lenk a spa resort in the Simmental Valley, one night in Gstaad, two nights in Geneva, Leukerbad for two nights, Vevy for two nights then back to Geneva.

Fisba, Swiss made, hand rolled edge, cotton

There was always something interesting for a two-year-old, hiking the countryside securely seated in a frame-pack hitched to her father. The meadows and delicate alpine- flowers, the call of cattle and bells, geraniums and carving on chalets, the alphorn and glacial lakes were from her vantage point, six feet above the ground, same height as dad.

On the mountain train to Jungfrau

Trips with a child, away from the distractions of early-childhood programs and nursery school, parent’s work and a city life, are about a slower paced lifestyle. It’s not about how much or how little one sees on a trip. It’s about one-on-one family time. It is well known that a child’s development and vocabulary soars on holidays with their parents.

Brienz, a woodcarving town on Lake Brienze remains etched in my mind for the cuckoo clocks, wood sculptures and chocolate-box chalets. I had finished shopping for a souvenir and our daughter was tired. Jim was close by but absorbed in the mastery of the carving, taking a lot of photos and wanted more time. I took a break with her and sat on a bench along the lake to observe the water, the Bernese Oberland and the endless sky.

Carved wood Springerlie cookie press, Brienze

A cloud shadow crossed the lake; the surface waves ruffled the water. Wrapped in a blanket, cosy in her Osh Gosh overalls, she was sleeping in my arms. I felt insignificant beneath the Frau of the Mountain. I wondered how she perceived this landscape, from her stature at 34 inches. We had such a big canvas to fill. Where would her life take her? What surprises and adventures were to come?

Elevation: 1,050 m.—3,440 ft. (CN tower antenna spire: 553.3 m.—1,815.3 ft.)

Hotel Bernerhoff in Gstaad was near the train station. Wood was featured for the interior and exterior, the back of the dining chairs had holes cut-out in heart shapes and the balconies had detailed leafy cut-outs and cascading geraniums. Everything one would want to see in a Swiss town. The turndown service included the white eiderdown rolled at the foot of the bed just like the one I first saw in Zug. Golden Delicious apples were in a ceramic bowl in the hallway with a note, “Gute Nacht!”

After breakfast we explored the underground pool and sauna area. There was a sign outside the sauna—a T-shirt image with an X layered on top—this meant no clothing in the sauna. It was the opposite of what would be expected at home. It was just a talking point for us, saunas are not for toddlers. On checkout we received a lovely gift, a ceramic dish from Hotel Bernerhoff. And then, back in the car and on to Geneva for two nights at the Beau Rivage. I’m not sure which route we drove along Lake Geneva but we were close to Montreux. This time we were too late for the 21^st year of the festival that ended on July 19.

Our last night was spent in Geneva at the Beau-Rivage. Designed to impress. The grand staircase led to hallways with balustrades open to the underlying mezzanine. On arrival the valet offered to park our car in their lot. Things that amuse a child on a car trip, whole and crushed cheerios, empty packages of other snacks and disassembled parts of Mr. and Ms. Potato Head were strewn about the floor and back seat of our car. It was the age of excess; we were driving the most expensive car we have ever rented, a Mercedes. We said, “No thank you” and chose to self-park.

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

Tea Cosy, alpine flowers and cuckoo clocks

We stayed in Zug, Switzerland on our first trip to Europe in 1983.

From my travel journal:

Saturday, June 25

We were in Wörgl, Austria on Saturday night. “Raining in Wörgl.”

Sunday June 26

“Meat, cheese and rolls for breakfast on the train,” 45 minutes “to Innsbruck.” Walked Innsbruck, had Austrian hotdogs, pretzel and beer for lunch” and then on the “12:30 train to Zürich. We walked the Bahnhofstrasse to Lake Zürich, walked back through Old Town. Cheese fondue dinner near the station, caught the commuter train to Zug, arrived 8:30” (30 minutes journey).

“Walked Lake Zug and found Hotel Rössli overlooking the lake ($35/ night shower and breakfast).”

“Walked around town in the evening, many ducks, had coke at hotel restaurant, played slot machine”

I remember Zug for our lodging, Hotel Rössli, with intricate carving in the wood interior. We didn’t stay in hotels every-night. Night trains with compartments could be reserved for a small upcharge because we bought Adult Eurail Passes. Rössli was a splurge. The bed-covering rolled at the foot of the bed was like a puffy merengue confection. I had read about eiderdowns but had never seen one. Zug, meaning train in German, was our sleeper car for two nights.

Monday June 27

“Nice breakfast” (train to Interlaken 3 hours)

Arriving in Interlaken at noon, it was raining and we had left our jackets at the hotel. Unprepared for the weather, we had to change plans to get out of the rainstorm. “ The Montreux Jazz Festival was of interest.” We were too early for the Festival that started on July 8, but we wanted to see the location on Lake Geneva. We thought we would go there, but “trains weren’t going to Montreux.” It would have been a six-hour train ride, which would not have been realistic anyway. By the time we arrived there, our time sight seeing would have been very limited before we had to catch a train back to Zug.

So we “caught the train to Bern” (Interlaken to Berne 30 minutes). It was raining in Bern, so we stayed in the train station and “caught the train to Zürich, (1 hour) and then a connecting train to Zug (30 min.) It was raining in Zug at 4:00 p.m.”

The day was a back packers write off. In my journal, “most of the day on trains but good scenery, water, very green at Interlaken.”

In Zug, we “changed for the weather” and “waked the town, took photos of deer and parrots and the town. Schnitzel and French fries for dinner in old town and tried Kirsch (Yuk!)”

“After dinner we walked to the train station for chocolate and then to the hotel.”

Tuesday June 28

In the morning we “paid bill for 2 nights, had breakfast, still raining, walked to train station, caught train to Zürich” (28 min. ride)

“2 minutes to catch train to Basel” (1 hour train ride)

“2 minutes to catch train to Frankfurt” (60 min. train ride) and “made all connections!”

Arrived Frankfurt 1:17

Places I Remember: London

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Like others, I won’t be travelling this year. Locations are unreachable in a world were we used to choose a destination with the click of a button and arrival was only a few hours or a day’s journey away. Hopefully travel holidays will be possible soon for everyone that has been yearning for an adventure this year.

My fabric-scapes (tea–cosies with solid colour and print fabrics) are reminiscent of places I remember.

Tea Cosy, crown print, red, white and blue

London

When I was a child I moved regularly because my father was an officer in the RCAF. We didn’t have any of the enviable postings over seas, like the Black Forest in Germany that I heard about from my friends. Our one international posting was in the United States. We moved to Key West, Florida for two years. Travel was not something we did for family vacations. Holiday time was spent at the cottage on Black Lake, Ontario or on the ski slopes near Ottawa. My first travel by air was an exchange trip to Vancouver with my high-school band in grade thirteen.

Janice & friends was the name of my boutique, to show and sell my designs under my label, Janice Colbert Toronto

After five years of marriage, Jim and I bought Eurail passes in 1983 for a three-week trip to twenty-one countries in Europe. I had my fashion business and a retail boutique. My mother-in-law— a retired bookkeeper—and my aunt—a retired director of nursing for an Eastern Ontario hospital—offered to mind the store so my sales assistant could have her regular days off. They thoroughly enjoyed a fashion–holiday of their own making.

London was my first destination in Europe. We arrived in Gatwick, took the train to Victoria Station to catch the train to Dover. I felt like I had been dropped into another world, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I took a quick look outside while waiting for our next train. I loved the hustle and bustle of the double decker buses and London taxis zipping by and the 1860s architecture. From Dover, we were on the Hoverspeed to Boulogne next morning with connections for an express train to Paris.

Our last destination in Europe was Amsterdam, followed by a train to Hook of Holland to catch the ferry to Harwich and then another train to London. We arrived on July 1, 1983 for a two-day visit before flying home to Toronto. We took the Round London sightseeing tour. (July 1, “excellent tour” was my noted in my travel journal.)

From the Parliament we walked by Westminster Abbey, the Horse Guards, through St. James’s Park (July 1, “beautiful” in my journal) to Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus. We tried to buy theatre tickets but the good shows were sold out months ago. It wasn’t as easy as it is now to make reservations ahead of time. Ticket reservations were made buy phone or fax and the payment by credit card. But just the same, it hadn’t occurred to us to reserve in advance.

18 Argyle Square London

The Langley, a townhouse hotel on Argyle Square, is where we stayed. It’s still there, with an updated exterior, a black and white theme, divided lights on the windows, balconies on the second floor and renamed, The Gyle. The Langley is now a luxurious Georgian townhouse hotel, in Camden. The Langley (or The Gyle) is just one mile away from the British Museum.

The stores and markets were on the next day, Selfridges, M & S, Fortnum and Mason, Harrods, Kings Road, Chelsea Market (July 2, “punkers have just about taken over the area”, my journal notes again). There’s a list in my journal, noting the fashion that I saw along the way—knitted sweaters with shoulder seams ripped out, black and grey post nuclear-war fashion (shop on King’s Road), Laura Ashley look, dropped waist dress with horizontal tucks on hip band, Tyrol fashions, white romantic blouses, smocked dresses for adults (Kings Road), blouse with lace yoke, bow tie, dolman sleeve (Amsterdam.) Photography was more cumbersome back then. We used film and had to wait until we returned home to have the negatives processed for prints; or slides that were projected onto a screen from a slide projector. Sometimes it was just easier and faster to sketch something that caught my eye.

We didn’t travel again until 1985. We spent seven nights in London on our first family holiday with out nine-month old daughter. One of the sites we visited was Paddington Station and we bought a Paddington Bear near the London Zoo. The bear was larger than her. We were there leading up to Christmas and so the splendour of Harrods ramped up with holiday lights left a vivid first impression. Of course Father Christmas was discussing Christmas lists with tiny customers in the toy department. From there we toured England and Wales. The United Kingdom was a comfortable travel test-drive for inexperienced parents. We knew it would be easy to communicate with doctors if she was unwell.

On the London Double Decker Bus

Paddington Bear

Tea time in Wales

When newly graduated boomers entered the work force in the 80s and 90s they made good money and spent it without hesitation after years of living the student life. People would fly to London for a few days to see some shows and be back home before anyone noticed they were gone. It was less cumbersome to travel before 911; airport security did not add inordinate hours to departure and arrival plans. The majority of travel time was spent in the airplane. Jim arranged a just-the-two-of-us fifteenth anniversary surprise-trip to London in 1994. We left our son and daughter with Jim’s parents at their cottage near Ottawa. I didn’t know where we were going but thought we might be going to New York. Jim just said to pack for September weather and to bring something dressy to wear for dinner. From the Ottawa airport we flew to Halifax, so I thought we were going to Prince Edward Island, where my childhood summer vacations were at my grandparent’s farm. But no, we had a 9:55 p.m. flight to catch to London! We left on Thursday and arrived home on Sunday. It was out of character for us because we were farsighted in our approach to money, so it was a big surprise that we were doing what I had only read about! We saw two shows on our three-day theatre vacation, the musical Cats, from the poetry collection by T.S. Eliot with the musical composition by Andrew Lloyd Webber on Friday night. The following evening we were at the ‘New’ Starlight Express with music also by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Famously, the actors performed the entire show on roller skates. It sure was fun to experience London theatre, something we missed out on ten years before.

Capturing memories

We returned in 2000 with our fifteen-year old daughter and twelve-year old son for the London sights, and a ten-day tour of England with highlights that included Blenheim Palace, Oxford, Windsor and Legoland, Stonehenge and the Salisbury Plain chalk plateau, Appledore, Clovelly, the fortified manor house Powderham Castle, St. Ives and Lands-end. Travelling with children adds an extra complexity to a trip in the effort to meet everyone’s expectations. Friends have often said to us, “Why go to the extra expense to bring them along? They won’t remember what they saw.” That was never the point. They remember that they traveled with us and we had special experiences. Our children learned to be good travellers over the years when we made their summer holidays a priority. Travel has given them the confidence to go out and create their own experiences. Something that I never had.

Five years later in 2005 we were kicking around the London galleries. We were on the tube (on our way to lunch with Jamie Oliver at Fifteen) at King’s Cross Station when the tube bombing happened on July 7. We were so deep underground that we had to walk up an infinite number of escalators and hurried to exit the station. Once outside the chaotic scene of Bobbies, barricades, fire trucks and sirens overwhelmed us. The underground was closed for the day. Taxis were always full. The only option was to walk, about a forty-minute walk if you knew where you were going, to the restaurant. After lunch we walked from Hoxton to our hotel in to Bloomsbury, about another forty-minutes. We paused and looked at neighbourhoods along the way. Sticky and cranky and flummoxed about making a few wrong turns, the British folks were wonderful on route in giving directions, handing out maps and bottled water. We didn’t really know what happened until sitting down to dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. The Canadian journalist Patrick Brown was having dinner with his son, at the table beside us. We chatted about the days events but it was only much later at bedtime when there was finally news coverage on what happened. The following day we left London, for a thirty-day driving trip of Scotland and Ireland, that included a check-in with our son who was on a summer school adventure in Edinburgh and Dublin.

In 2012, I was shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. We were back in London to see the Royal Academy Exhibition and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Flotilla on the Thames. From there we caught the Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) to Paris and Brittany.

Our last trip to London was in 2019 for our fortieth wedding anniversary. Surprisingly it was our first time to visit Buckingham Palace. The palace can be closed for official duties, so bookings never seemed to align with our travel dates. The closest we have come on a previous trip was to visit the Royal Mews, a collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family.

By now since we have seen many of the major attractions in London, we focus on the small museums. The Fashion and Textile Museum, founded by Dame Zandra Rhodes is the only museum in the UK dedicated to showcasing contemporary fashion and textile design. I saw the retrospective on Orla Kiely’s work.

entrance with exhibition banner for Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern, Bermondsey

small portion of the Wall of Handbags

Orla Kiely designs for women

The Brunel Museum tells the story of the Thames Tunnel, the first tunnel known to have been constructed successfully underneath a navigable river and was built between 1825 and 1843 by Marc Brunel and his son Isambard using the tunnelling shield newly invented by the elder Brunel and Thomas Cochrane.

After seeing the Brunel Museum we came across The Rotherhithe Picture Research Library and Sands Films Studio while walking around the neighbourhood. We were reading a plague about it when we were invited in have a look. It is a small British film production company, founded in the mid 1970s. The business is housed in a former granary and has its own soundproof stage, workshops, costume department, set construction workshop, cutting room, cinema and other services needed to make films.

coiled wires for making corsets

the sewing room

The red, white and blue National Colours of England are the same colours in the flag for the United Kingdom. The colours are taken from the white and red flag of England, and the blue and white flag of Scotland.

London-scape (detail) cotton fabric, solid red, navy and white stripe and print, crown print on white frill

London, on hold for now, but we will return there, and other places to boot!

CHRISTMAS ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

Naïve art, fabric stockings, married for three months, this was our first Christmas in graduate-student housing. Jim was the superintendent so we had free rent for a tiny one-bedroom apartment a few doors from the student pub in Kingston. I made the stockings out of red flannelette. I didn’t have enough fabric to cut the front and back in one piece so there are two seams on the back of each stocking where three pieces of fabric had been joined.

The English paper piecing rosette is here in a smaller version of the one used on the Retro Tea Cosy. White eyelet cotton is used for the cuff and rosette, the heel and toe on my stocking. Jim’s has navy-blue stars and red polka dots on a white background.

The hanging loop is red bias-binding tape that also edges the cuff, and defines the heel turn and toe. The stockings are large enough to hold a bottle of wine, a tangerine in the toe and a few luxury chocolates, but they are small (19.5 x 6.5 in.), in relative terms to our expectations where Christmas stockings and everything else has been scaled to fit our large-sized lifestyles that include big stocking that still won’t hold all the spoils and extravagant consumption at Christmas.

VIYELLA SHIRT

I made this Christmas shirt that for my husband over 40 years ago.The heritage 1784 Viyella is the oldest branded fabric in the world. The strong but soft twill-weave fabric is a wool and cotton blend, 80% lambs wool and 20% Egyptian cotton. The fabric was the first and most natural performance fabric centuries ago. It kept one warm in cold temperatures and cool in hot temperatures. Modern technical fabrics offer this today. Viyella is known for cosy clothing styles. Designers with a vintage flair, for example Laura Ashley, were drawn to it. The original wool/cotton blend is no longer available. It has been reversed to 20% wool and 80% cotton unless you can find a vintage design like this shirt.

Every Viyella fabric pattern has a name, there are many tartans and plaids, but I could not find the name for this one. Does anyone know what it is called? This classic-fit sports shirt has a topstitched straight collar, front button placket; a slight pleat at the base of the back yoke gives ease of movement in the shoulder. The sleeves have a cuff and a placket.

I had forgotten that at some point the sleeve had a rip in it. I don’t remember how it happened. It was the norm to reduce waste, to mend, not to throw things out. Mending was intended to be as invisible as possible. Here is the repair, to make it ‘good as new’.

The trend to reduce waste is back on the minds of some people. The style is for conspicuous mending. To evolve the garment into an environmental fashion statement.

FIVE-BUTTON RED VEST

What says Christmas more than this flame-red, wool-gabardine-vest with five buttons? The vest was for Jim, and is a similar vintage as the shirt. It has one welt pocket on the front and is fully lined with a satin fabric. The back has a self-fabric belt and a buckle with three eyelet buttonholes.

TREE SKIRT

The first Christmas tree skirt that I had ever made was quick and easy to create because it has minimal stitching. When I was juggling design work with raising two children I didn’t have time for complicated projects. The skirt came about at the eleventh hour. At the moment when the tree was put in place and they were busy hanging decorations we realized that we didn’t have a skirt. I zipped upstairs, pulled out some blue felt and cut a forty-two inch diameter circle with a smaller circle in the centre to accommodate the tree trunk, and slashed the fabric from the centre to the hem to create an opening. Then I cut lengths of nine-inch red-satin ribbons and tacked them eight inches apart along the hemline. I finished the hemline by pinking (zigzag detail) the edge with pinking shears and did the same to the ends of the ribbons to create a theme.

I don’t think I was missed; the kids were still enjoying the tree and the decorations, when I came downstairs with the skirt.

We used that skirt for many Christmases, sometimes alternating with other tree skirts from sophisticated silk with a scalloped hem edged with pearls, burgundy velvet with soutache-cord snowflakes to rustic black-and-red plaid with moose, bear and oak leaf appliqué motifs. I think the blue felt one has always been my daughter’s favourite.

SLEIGH BELLS

I was compelled to make this Christmas costume for my son and daughter when they were in elementary school. A Canadian magazine might be where the concept originated. I’m not sure but it was a brilliant idea.

Two red sweatshirts were required. I shopped the stores to assemble the bric-a-brac. The craft shop had the bells, fabric paint, ribbon and glitter. I didn’t know if I could find unadorned old-fashioned sweatshirts in children’s sizes. If I came up with nothing, that would be the end of the project. Cotton Ginny had them in sizes XS and S.

I so loved Cotton Ginny sweatshirts and sweat pants from the 1980s and ’90s. They were made in Canada and early to market in what became an explosive fashion trend; to move sweat pants from the gym to loungewear and casual street- wear. I had many sets for myself in a rainbow of colours.

The Christmas tree, a green painted triangle outlined in green glitter is the focal point of the shirt. There are fifteen gold sleigh bells hand sewn in rows. The tree topper is a gold bell tied with a plaid ribbon. There is a zigzag checkerboard across the chest that alternates with red and white paint in the top row and green and white in the lower row.

Jingle Bells in green paint is hand printed on the front of the left sleeve. A sleigh bell dots the “I”.

The teachers at Whitney School in their Junior Kindergarten and Grade 2 classroom thought the sweatshirts were lots of fun and allowed the jingling and tinkling like reindeer harnessed to fly through the sky before school was out for the holidays. If at times a minor distraction, the teachers in 2020 would welcome such a respite.

DJANGO SANTA

I have been a doll enthusiast from a young age. The first one, a Suzy Smart doll from the 1960s, was on my wish list for my first Christmas in Key West. She sat in her school desk, dressed in a plaid jumper, waiting for me beside the Christmas tree. If you pulled a string, she could spell, add and recite. I received my first fashion doll when I was ten-years-old. She was a Christmas present from my uncle sent by mail from his home in California. I had not heard of Barbie and was delighted to receive his gift complete with a carrying case for her and all her clothes.

I admire the miniature scale of dolls. Where puppetry is prevalent, in the places we have traveled such as Britain, Budapest and Prague, by extension handmade dolls with clay faces and hands, dressed in knitted sweaters and leather shoes are for sale.

This doll has had many lives. When I made him for the first time, I made two. I gave one away to my friend whose husband died suddenly in dire circumstances. The second one was for a fun decoration to have at our ski chalet. He was welcomed to our collection of Christmas decorations. Once the holidays were over we packed him away in a box and left him in the basement.

The next year when we opened the box I was heartbroken. Mice had their way with him as swaddling for their nest. His beard full of dried mouse poop, threads eaten, batting pulled out of the body. His pants had holes and urine stains. The buttons had teeth marks. I had spent days making this doll. Santa was no longer presentable. I couldn’t throw him out.

Six years later, I didn’t know if it was possible to restore him but I had the strength and the time to try. Could I pull the beard off the face that had been attached to cotton with glue? His clothing was washed, new buttons and fancy threads were found to replace what was gone. But still, I was hesitant about the job ahead of me. Is this where I wanted to invest my time? Did I really feel like making another pair of pants for a Santa doll?

Then I had the idea to create him anew as Django, not Santa.

Django is my husband’s alter ego, a version of himself where he lets the crazy out, traveling around, enjoying himself but not focused on anything other than what he needs doing that day, no commitments, no wealth or comfort but never on the street. For most of his life he worked in various roles in kitchens, more of the food processing factories of cruise ships, the small galleys of ships or the tiny food prep areas of private yachts, barges, and other working ships and boats.

This Django has a ponytail (like my husband) tied with green ribbon. The beard is a new one.

He wears a fresh cotton chef’s jacket with a cardinal print and polka dot kitchen pants. The cardinal is a traditional symbol of beauty and warmth of the holiday season. Ribbon suspenders are attached with wood buttons to the waistline. Rag-wool socks were cut to make the doll’s socks and the toque utilizes the red stripe. Black shoes are tied with silver threads. Django wears a black bistro-style apron embroidered with his name. The blue star, sewn with the utility-stitch, refers to a nautical flag he designed that travels with him, most recently to Copenhagen and Moscow.

SMOOTHING OUT THE WRINKLES

Sometimes what appears to be a basic rectangle placemat (19 inches wide x 13 inches high) is considerably more than its four miter seams and simple 2-inch-border. The white fabric with candy canes and peppermint-candy balls and the green fabric with red holly-leaves and white drupes are seasonal and festive. The provenance behind these VIP Screen-Print fabrics by Cranston Print Works Company from Cranston, Rhode Island began in 1806.

For a placemat, even with the two coordinating fabrics, it’s kind of flat—almost anyone could sew this—and could be overlooked for its clean lines.

There is an undertone of sadness that lingers beneath the sparkle and elevated mood at Christmas for those that remember loved ones that have died. The absence is palpable in the missing place setting at dinner. Christmas has always been unusually important for me—in fact since childhood—to make it personal and to build memories.

My mother was fifty-years-old when she passed. She was never spoken about again. Not with my brother or sister who was a teenager then. My father remarried suddenly. My family didn’t gather for any of the holidays. There weren’t invitations or phone calls by any of mum’s large extended family. A relative’s true emotional investment in family members is revealed in rough times. No one asked us how we were feeling through the early years of mourning. My sadness and my fear that I would get breast cancer festered beyond what would be considered healthy and then it became entrenched.

I missed her so much at Christmas dinner. Once we had children, I was afraid that I would die at age fifty and leave behind my children in their early teenage years. I knew what it was to lose a mother. Mental health therapists recommend, to not worry about something that hasn’t happened. As much as I tried to put on a brave face I found myself stuck in the same place, inconsolable at the dining-room table while spritzing the red linen tablecloth. Setting the table for dinner was the worst because she made beautiful dinners. Homemade bread and dinner rolls were always there for the start of the holiday meal.

Ten years later, another Christmas, time to smooth out the wrinkles. I decided to make new memories because mine were too painful. The four placemats from the early 1990s were my baby steps towards the beginning of new traditions and were the first Christmas themed sewing I had ever done.

The holly leaves traditionally symbolize the crown-of-thorns. The main flower meaning symbolizes defense or protection.

Wishing you a safe and happy household this Christmas.

THE DINOSAUR AND THE LADY BUG

FIRST PANDEMIC HALLOWEEN

OCTOBER 22, 2020

The announcement from the Premier of Ontario says that Halloween is not possible this year. We are being asked to celebrate at home.

pumpkin patch, Saugus, Massachusetts

Shrieking Bat

Families that celebrate Halloween have Halloween traditions. After moving house five times over the years, we live in a neighbourhood with lots of young children. Even though our kids are grown there is never any question, we keep the lights on and shell out. Our outdoor decorations are set up weeks before and it is the same for indoors, with a little bit of a haunted house theme such as a shrieking bat that is motion sensitive, when activated it lets out a spooky dirge; bend-able skeletons, large and small; candle holders that have cut-off hands for the base, that kind of thing.

Our own ‘kids’ come over to help at the door and we each have one pumpkin to carve before dinner. The design and carving does turn into a friendly competition. Dinner is not elaborate, two large homemade pizzas, one veg and the other one meat.

Jim and I bought some top hats at Frankie Sez in Jordan Station and Beau Chapeau in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario a few years back, so we dress-up in the steam-punk fashion, all in black. Our dog wears a sweater with a squirrel on it, she doesn’t know it’s there but her favourite sport is running after squirrels.

Grip stand bowl, Halloween candy, miniature candy, Mars, Twix and Snickers chocolate bars, Rockets, Tootsie Rolls and M&M's, shrieking bat decoration

Grip stand bowl, Halloween candy, shrieking bat decoration

Treats at the door are always small bags of chips and miniature candy, Mars, Twix and Snickers chocolate bars, Rockets, Tootsie Rolls and M&M’s. The piano bench, set up in the foyer is where a Grip-Stand 6 litre bowl, like the one my mother used to bake bread, holds the candy. We use to pre-package the treats, with individual bags before that became environmentally unfriendly.

Wine is poured for neighbours that we know, they walk along and sip with their friends while their kids run to the doors. The wine glasses make it back to us eventually.

Older children at our door wear costumes that demonstrate their imaginative minds are on fire, expressed in their homemade costumes. It changes from year to year, but the tradition that kids ‘wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve’ is prevalent every year.

When I was a child, I did not feel the anticipation and excitement for Halloween. I wore store bought vacuum-formed plastic masks, held to my face with an elastic stretched across the back of my head, and a bargain-store satin gown tied at the waist over a snow jacket. I think one year was an attempt at Snow White! There wasn’t any question as to what the weather would be like. Growing up in Ottawa, Halloween was a cold weather event. Trick or Treat was for kids; we definitely did not go out once we were teenagers.

My father, growing up poor in 1932 Montreal often recalled a Halloween experience from when was young. He walked up to a door. Someone was giving out pennies. Heated pennies dropped in his palm and burnt his hands. We certainly do not go in for that kind of thing either.

Another tradition in our family was that I sewed Halloween costumes for my kids when they were small. I welcomed that yearly project. The first one was a clown costume for our daughter; she had not started nursery school and didn’t know what Halloween was. It was really our idea to get her started. I made the costume a little large, thinking that she could wear it the next year as well. Oh the ideas that come from young mothers! That didn’t happen, Halloween is a new opportunity for dress-up every year.

Her costume was practical; a one-piece step-in that was tied at the neck. She wouldn’t be inconvenienced by anything uncomfortable for the sake of drama. She dismissed the ruffled collar immediately. The fabric was a paint drip and fluorescent white stars on cotton; there was room to layer her clothing underneath to stay warm, because the weather did fluctuate drastically from year to year in Southern Ontario.

Clown

yellow paint drip and fluorescent white stars on red cotton

detail, purple pom-pons, purple ruffled collar

Vintage McCall’s pattern

1986, chid size 2-6

*Rickrack trim is sewn to the hem of the sleeves and legs. The gathered neckline has elastic in a casing that ties at the back with bias tape ties. Narrow hems finish the two layers of the collar. A casing is created to run a braid through that gathers the collar. Pom-pons are made from scratch with lightweight cardboard. Pom-pon kits did not exist thirty years ago.

My experience is mostly Toronto based because that is when my kids were the right age for trick or treating. After they were grown and we first moved to our most recent home, ten years ago, there were two neighbouring houses that did a joint haunted house. It was a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes and people came from all over the city. In those years we shelled out for over four hundred kids each year.

Children learn about their world through play with toys that mirror their parent’s work. The range that includes miniature garden tools, toy cars, dishes and dolls, kitchen equipment and electronics is broad and striking.

Clothing construction for a child is a miniature version of adult clothing. The garments have the same hallmarks of clothing construction whether it’s zippers in jeans, collar and cuffs, tailoring features on shirts or pleated skirts. The difference, unless for a formal occasion, is that the fabric is geared towards prints that reflect their interests and easy care fabrics for everyday wear.

If you would like like to learn to sew, a child’s garment is a good place to start. The fitting is less complicated than for an adult and you will learn the same sewing skills. Children are not demanding customers. The have no expectation of perfectly turned collars or exacting measures, and will be proud to wear something that mum or dad, auntie or uncle, or some other teen or older friend made ‘just for them’.

The project carries less weight for success because smaller yardages are required; there isn’t the investment of expensive fabric that could be a barrier to learning because of the fear of failure. Children outgrow their clothing quickly while your sewing skills grow along with them.

To begin with you will learn about sewing-pattern instructions, fabric cutting layouts, yardages, suggested fabrics and notions, for the garment you are going to sew. A child’s costume is quite often rated Very Easy, so the project will be finished quickly. I don’t tend to do seam finishes for something that will have little wear.

In general there are repeating clothing construction techniques that appear in more than one costume shown here.

Raglan sleeve: clown, bird and bat

Bias tape casings: a channel for ¼ inch elastic at wrists and legs: clown, bird, dinosaur, ladybug, and bat

Rompers long length: clown, dinosaur

Rompers short length: ladybug, bat

Front zip: bird, dinosaur

Hoods: (sewing a straight piece of fabric to a curved piece) bird, dinosaur, ladybug, bat, Grim Reaper and Batman

Velcro® tape for shoulder closure: ladybug, bat

Appliqué: Donatello, dinosaur, ladybug, ninja and Batman

Cotton fabric: clown, bird, Donatello, dinosaur, ladybug, and bat

Satin fabric: Ninja, Grim Reaper and Batman

Where the costumes details are unique, it is mentioned below the pictures for each costume and marked with an asterisk.

The Bird

pink hood for bird head, felt comb and beak, black buttons for eyes

Vintage McCalls pattern

1988, child size 5-6

front view, felt bird wings, front zipper, pink sateen rompers for toddler’s, child size 5-6

back view, wings and tail feathers

I did not design their costumes.

They are finicky and time consuming to sew without starting from scratch with pattern making.

*The hood has a “beak” visor with three narrow tucks, button eyes, and a felt three-colour comb. The structure comes from a loop of pipe cleaner stitched in a channel of the comb.

The scalloped felt-wings are sewn to the costume at the neckline and raglan sleeve seam line.

Donatello

elbow, wrist and knee pads, purple cotton fabric, polyester batting

elbow, wrist and knee pads, purple cotton fabric, poly batting

face mask and belt, appliqué letter D

Vintage Butterick pattern

1990, child size Small

*Elbow, wrist and kneepads are filled with polyester fiberfill; there is quilting detail and 1¼ inch elastic is enclosed in fabric bands. Felt belt with belt loop.

The Dinosaur

‘feet’ shoe covers, felt, elastic at ankles

hood and felt scales

Vintage McCall’s pattern

1987, child size 6X

I learned that there is the risk that young children will change their minds about their costume several times. It only takes a slight critical comment or a facial grimace, from another child to ravel a decision for the sake of fitting in or approval from a best friend. One solution is to involve your child in the process, choosing fabric and notions; and a hand at the sewing, so they can say “we made it” together.

front view, with centre front zipper, sleeves and felt scales

back view with tail and scales

*A length of fabric stitched and turned for the tail. Felt “feet” shoe covers have elastic at the ankle and zigzag cut edge. The sleeve cuffs are felt with a cut zigzag hem. The sleeve is a drop shoulder style, sewn with the same technique as a kimono sleeve.

The Ladybug

hood with antenna, pom-pon on pipe cleaner tip

Vintage Butterick Pattern

1990, child size 5-6

front view, romper with spots

back view with spots on the wings

*For the wings, interfacing is fused to the fabric to create stiffness. The wings are stitched on a curve, trimmed and clipped before turning right side out.

The Bat

hood with ears

rompers with bat wing

Vintage Butterick pattern

1990, child size 6-7

*The bat wings with four curved edges for each one are enclosed in the sleeve under arm and side seam. Ears are enclosed in the darts on the hood.

The Ninja

hood, black satin fabric

detail of hip length tunic in black satin fabric, dragon appliqué in green felt, cord belt

Vintage Simplicity Pattern

1993, child size 5-6

*The satin tunic has a neckline facing, a slash in the back neckline that ties with satin twill tape and satin rope tie belt.

The Grim Reaper

detail of floor length cape in black satin, zig-zag collar in red felt, cord belt

hood, mask and leg wraps in black satin fabric

Vintage Simplicity Pattern

1993, child size 10-12

*The collar is felt with a cut zigzag hem and a red satin ribbon for the ties. The satin hood pulls over the head and has a cut zigzag hem. The leg wraps have HeatnBond® to stiffen the fabric and satin twill tape for the ties.

Batman

satin hood, appliqué bat silhouette on yellow felt circle

all ages, all sizes

*The ninja, Grim Reaper and Batman are sewn with satin, a slippery fabric. It requires more advance sewing skills to keep the seams lined up and even as the fabric is run through the sewing machine.

sand art, Casa Marina Hotel, Key West, Florida Keys

While the response to a handmade costume was supportive from some friends and parents to sewing things like this for children, there were an equal amount of derogative jabs made towards me for choosing to ded-icate time to these projects. The unoriginal term, Suzy Homemaker, drawn from 1960s children’s household toys comes to mind. It is an infantilizing, dismissive and derisive reference to any woman (but never made to men) with habits linked to domestic activities where women traditionally do the work. The SH term is a cutt-ing remark, just as it was intended. At the very least seamstress, tailor or stitcher would have been nice to hear. I had the years of design training.

I wonder about the motive to put someone down. In part it came from jealousy or regret, for choices made in how to spend ones working hours that negates time put to other uses. Time, like a pumpkin pie can only be sliced into so many pieces before the slices are just too thin to be of any use.

My mother-in-law used to say, “We all have different ways of earning a living and different ways to spend it.”

Once we realized Covid-19 had gelled across the world, it had become nearly impossible to buy a sewing machine. The wait lists are long for all price points. People are returning to traditional projects, brushing up on sewing skills or learning to stitch for the first time. Some have the fantasy, from watching TV shows about The Making of Things, that they can become the next best sewist (new word combination of sewing and artist) and assume their idea is scalable without learning the breadth of construction that fills volumes.

The only adult size costume, an original design, that I have made was a Cookie Monster costume for my husband when we were in university in Kingston. I have never made a costume for myself. On revisiting my work here I find the Clown costume is holding a lot of appeal. Next year Pierrot in a top hat might be shelling out at my door.

Happy Halloween everyone!

A BEAR’S LIFE

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Have you wondered what to do with children’s stuffed animals or as some may call them stuffies? Quite often an infant will receive a bear when they are born. Many children have one that is their favourite over all others. And in some ways they are a child’s first friends.

After years of daily cuddles they become scruffy and later set aside as children grow out of them. That doesn’t mean they are unwanted, even into young adulthood they are not to be donated or thrown out. Honestly, I feel the same way. They hold memories for me too.

My daughter and son both had their bear that was the one. It was the same style of bear, 16 inches tall, one had a brown one, and the other one was white.

They should be considered as textiles and won’t do well in a scruffy box stored on a shelf in the garage or attic enduring decades of exposure to heat and cold. After a run through the wash cycle they should as a minimum be wrapped in acid free tissue paper and kept in a climate controlled situation.

When I was thinking about how to store the bears, I thought about how it is the convention that women’s quality handbags include a dust cover to protect them when not in use. That is where my idea came from to design a custom dust cover for the bears.

To begin, I gave the bear one final wash. The results were not dramatic but any remaining dust was removed before storage. The bear had developed a wattle in the neck area, a characteristic of aging for anyone. The stitches around the head had come lose so I was able to fill in the neck with some stuffing before stitching back up. I found a curved upholstery needle and 12 weight Sulky Cotton Petites made the sewing less cumbersome.

I chose a neutral colour for the cotton and drafted the pattern pieces for a bespoke envelope style pillowslip.

Cut a length of fabric that allows for a 6-½ inch overlap and some extra length to accommodate the curve over the head, snout and the rounded tummy.

I programmed the text—the bear’s name and the year of my child’s birth—on my embroidery machine. The embroidery could be equally successful stitched by hand with the fabric stretched in an embroidery hoop. Machine embroidery goes a long way in helping those with less flexibility in their hands. On the other hand it is known that hand embroidery is relaxing.

Sew a narrow double folded hem across the width at both ends. You could use the same colour thread as the embroidery. The side seams are sewn as a French seam, shown here, but a one-half inch seam that is pinked or overlocked would work as well.

Here it is! Embroidered pillowslip completed, 20 x 16 inches.

It is nice to make a label. Include your name, the date of completion and a short message.

Snowball . . .

Goodnight bear!

OLD TOWN TROLLEY AND STATION

OCTOBER 1, 2020

I returned to Key West for the warm winter weather seven years ago. Jim wanted a project and warm weather. He had a retirement dream to buy an old house in France and rebuild it. It wasn’t as easy for us to travel so far away from Canada with a little dog and live in France for the winter months, January through April. It also wasn’t practical to be so far away from family or if we needed to get back home quickly as we recently experienced when Canadians abroad received a travel advisory to return home immediately.

Over the years that we were in Key West I was collecting vintage post cards. This fabric collage is after a postcard with the title, Old Town Trolley and Station—a beloved tourist attraction—that is now known as the Conch Train. Just writing this brings to mind the whistle and clash-clang of the bell when the train departs. I have vivid memories of the Conch Train from when I lived in Key West as a small child.

This piece could be called a quilt because it does have horizontal machine quilting across the surface. There is a layer of batting between the front and back of this piece. But the fabric has not been pieced—which means sewing all the small pieces to each other with a ¼ inch seam allowance—the edges of the fabric pieces butt up against each other.

The design has been arranged on top of a vintage tea towel. I have a collection of them from my years of travel.

There is that hexagon again! Chickens are free range in Key West. Here they are wandering around the tea towel just the way they appear on the streets. I cut the hexagons from a French inspired fabric that I had in my collection.

The perimeter of this work is finished in one of several ways a quilt would be completed. Binding the edge with a narrow strip of fabric is probably the most common one. I chose to finish the edge with Prairie Points, where squares of fabric are folded in four to create a triangle, and then the corner of one triangle is slightly tucked into the adjacent one. It takes a lot of measuring to get it right!

Old Town Trolley and Station, 2020, fabric collage, vintage tea towel, prairie points, 20 x 28 inches

The back of the collage has hanging sleeves at the bottom and top edge, a length of matt board has been slipped through, with holes at each end to attach to hardware on the wall.

I recreated the address side of the post card by printing it on fabric. It is a good idea to include information about the quilt for historical purposes. As a minimum the maker’s name and the date should be there. I machined embroidered the title, fabric content and size. On the address side, I have the address. But Key West is so small that the zip code, 33040 would be enough!

The postage stamp is a black bird-print fabric in the top right corner. 2020 is repeated many times to replicate the look of a cancellation mark. And just for fun, AIR MAIL has been added too. Once the creative juices get flowing it’s hard to stop!

The machine quilting is more prominent on the back.

Old Town Trolley and Station, 2020, fabric collage, reverse side, fabric post card, machine embroidery, 20 x 28 inches

WOOL AND CREPE DE CHINE

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

We adopted a dog named Scamp! You will see him in the pictures for a feature on my work in the local paper, the Hamilton Spectator.

Local designer enjoys job’s independence

By Doreen Pitkeathly Spectator Staff

c. fall 1981 Hamilton design studio

DESIGNER JANICE Colbert doesn’t only believe Hamilton is as good a location as Toronto for designing—she thinks it’s better.

“I’m better off here. Toronto is so big and all the manufacturers are there. The stores are just clogged with people trying to sell their clothing.”

Janice moved her small designing business from Toronto to Hamilton in October of last year and, although the move was for personal reasons, she finds it hasn’t hurt her work one bit.

A graduate of the fashion course at St. Lawrence College in Kingston and a native of Ottawa, Janice has had her own business for about a year and a half.

Instead of custom work, she operates a scaled-down version of what the big tIme designers do. Every season she designs a line of clothing and then goes out and searches for a buyer among the retail stores.

“In my first season I sold 40 outfits. Last season, my second, I sold 250 garments, so I’m happy with the way things are going.”

Janice estimates that to be successful her seasonal production should total more than 1,000 garments but she’s in no hurry to become that big.

“I figure about 250 garments is my limit, doing all the sewing. I’m getting to the point now where I have to get other people to help me with the sewing.

Janice’s studio is located in the upper floor of her King Street East home. Like any other full-time job, she spends an entire day designing, cutting and sewing and finishing her garments. She has no problem disciplining herself, she says, and enjoys the job’s freedom.

“I like being my own boss. I’m disciplined enough and organized enough to do it. Some people don’t understand how I can, but I enjoy scheduling my own time. I also like selling my ideas to stores and I like shopping for fabric. I think it’s the independence that appeals to me mainly.”

Janice designs for the 18-to-40-year old woman who wants sophisticated, good-looking clothing. Her designs are essentially classic and she keeps her line small with good mix and match ability.

c.fall 1981, Janice wears popular ethnic look, wool blend skirt with matching shawl, her dog Scamp, a Cockapoo is on leash in her backyard

c. fall 1981, popular ethnic look, wool blend skirt with matching shawl

Her fall line features feather corduroy in wine, gray, camel and green in two skirts styles, a walking short and a pant. To wear with the bottoms, Janice has designed a pullover bow blouse, available in natural-coloured raw silk or an elegant print polyester crepe de chine in colours of gray, brown, mauve and wine.

She has also incorporated this fall’s popular ethnic look into a wool blend divided skirt and regular skirt, each with matching shawl, in a brown or wine mixture.

One of Janice’s designing quirks is buttons—she loves them and says they add a little extra to a garment when they’re good quality. On her corduroy pieces all the buttons are real leather, on the blouses, they’re mother of pearl.

The retail price of Janice’s designs is reasonable, ranging from about $55 to $80, depending too on the retailer. Currently her clothing is available at J. Jatel’s in Stoney Creek and Designer Collections in Burlington, as well as Kingston and Gananoque.

“I don’t need a lot of accounts to keep going. I think I can make it, going by my increase in sales already. If it keeps increasing, I’ll be fine. You need to get to a point where you have a few good stores that will buy from you on a regular basis.”

At this point, Janice is turning all of the money she makes back into her business, buying extra machinery and setting up an efficient studio. The financial rewards may not be great but she’s much happier doing this that working in a design factory where most young designers have to get their start.

Gray feather-weight corduroy walking short,

front wrap conceals the front zipper, leather button with loop,

front pleats, slash pockets

OUR HOUSE WAS A VERY SPECIAL HOUSE

AUGUST 20, 2020

Jim was driving a Volkswagen Thing from Toronto to Burlington for his work with a developer. It really was too long a distance for a daily commute, because his job also required driving three hours north to Georgian Bay several times each month for planning meetings in the evening.

In the spring of 1980 we bought a house. All we could afford was a house in Hamilton. Not being from southern Ontario, we didn’t grow up with the negative prejudices towards Hamilton—the Steel Town— that others harboured.

Hamilton had a lovely downtown and we lived near the well treed Gage Park, that had the unique Hamilton Children’s Museum, a farmhouse from 1875. The original Tim Horton’s was in sight from our front door.

Our house, a fixer upper for sure, in the Junction came with good sized backyard and a pear tree. The property was zoned for business. We converted two of the bedrooms on the second floor into showroom and workroom space. We thought about having a dog.

the showroom with design table made from an old sewing machine table from a factory, clothing samples hanging on a pine rod

Our neighbour next door worked at the True Temper plant. He saw Jim as a suit because he carried a leather briefcase and dressed in office wear for work. Jim was more like him than his appearance let on. Jim looked forward to working on the house on the weekends. They had a lot of interesting conversations in the driveway but our neighbour never did get his head around Jim rebuilding windows.

Shortly after we moved to Hamilton, Jim joined a life company in Toronto. The commute from Hamilton to Toronto was the outer limits of the commute on the Go Train. The trains did not run as regularly as they do now. Missing your train was not an option. He studied during the hours on the train through distance learning at UBC to become a mortgage broker.

FABRIC-TIONARY

CLOTH.

1. Fabric woven, felted or knitted, made of vegetable, animal, mineral or synthetic fibres. Commonly used for garments and other covering. 2. Piece of fabric of type, size, texture adapted to certain uses; as tablecloth, sailcloth, etc.

border fabric. Design printed along selvage or printed parallel with selvage.

bouclé. Novelty yarn of various fibers, having loops to produce nubby surface on fabric woven or knitted from it.

braid. Narrow cord-like strip woven of silk, wool, linen etc. for trimming, binding, designs, outlines etc. Varieties of braids usually named for use or appearance.

broadcloth. Closely woven fabric in plain weave, of cotton, silk, rayon, or mixtures. Has light crosswise rib because filling yarn is heavier than warp with less twist. Resembles fine poplin. Used for men’s shirts, women’s and children’s sports and tailored dresses, pajamas.

brushed wool. Napped woollen fabric, usually containing long, silky mohair fibres.

challis. Soft, lightweight, plain woven fabric without gloss, either plain or printed. Made of fine wool, or wool mixture, one of the softest cloths made of wool, or of cotton and rayon.

check. 1. Pattern in squares of any size, woven or applied. resembling checkerboard; also, square in such a design. 2. Fabric having pattern of squares.

hound’s-tooth c. Small, irregular design of broken checks.

chiffon. Soft, delicately sheer fabric in plain weave of silk, rayon etc. having soft or sometimes stiff finishes. Used for dresses, foundations, scarfs, blouses, veils etc. Often used double.

calico. 1. plain, woven cotton cloth printed with figured pattern on one side. Also called cotton print. 2. In England, plain white cotton cloth. So called for Calicut, India, where cotton textiles were first printed.

corduroy. Durable cotton or rayon cut pile fabric in either plain or twill weave with wide or narrow wales, cords or ribs which are formed by extra weft or filling, making wales, cords or ribs. Made in black, white and a wide range of colours; sometimes printed.

denim. Strong, coarse, washable fabric in twill weave; yarn dyed, sometimes in white or different coloured filling. Used for overalls, heavy wash garments, dresses, jackets, jeans and shirts. From French de Nîmes, meaning from Nîmes, a town in France.

fancy weave. Simple designs are woven over the regular filling yarns. Doby weave is an example, a type of construction in which small geometrical figures are woven in the cloth.

felt. Thick firm packed, smoothly matted fabric, made of rayon, wool, hair, fur and cotton that are carded, hardened, and treated by moisture, heat and pressure. Used for hats, pennants, caps and glove linings.

flannel. An all-wool fabric of woollen or worsted yarn with a soft napped finish. It may be twill or plain weave. Viyella flannel is a Williams, Hollins and Company trade name for a cotton or wool flannel made in England. Associated with sensible cosy clothing.

flannelette. Soft cotton fabric, slightly napped: in white, solid colours, floral and plaid designs. Used for baby garments, loungewear and shirts.

fussy cut. Cut fabric shapes that isolate a specific focal point, colour or motif that is found in the fabric.

gingham. A yarn-dyed plain-weave cotton fabric with woven-in plaids, checks or stripes.

jersey. Plain-knitted ribbed fabric; usually wool or worsted, but also silk, rayon, cotton, etc. Used for undergarments, dresses, suits, coats, sweaters, bathing suits, etc.

Liberty. Trade name for fabrics exclusive with Liberty, of London; notably, fine-textured silks and cottons of excellent quality.

Liberty pattern. All over floral print, delicately balanced in colour, typical of the designs used by Liberty, of London, for their fabrics.

nap. Fuzzy or hairy substance of fibres projecting on some materials, giving downy appearance, forming soft surface and lying smoothly in one direction.

organza. Sheer, fine, crisp fabric.

pom-pon. Tuft or ball of feathers, wool or ribbon. Usually worn as an ornament on a barrette, handbag, shawl, sweater or costumes.

rick rack braid. Flat woven braid in zigzag form. Made in cotton, silk, rayon and wool, in various sizes and many colours. Used for trimming.

satin. Silk or rayon fabric, having smooth finish, high gloss on face, and dull back; also double-faced. Luster and brilliancy are due to manner of weaving and finishing between heated cylinders. Used for dresses, blouses, accessories, coats, linings, lingerie, trimmings, etc.

sequin. Shining disk or spangle of metal or other substance. Used to ornament fabric and add glitter to evening garments and accessories.

raw silk. Fibre of silkworm cocoons.

smocking stitch. Decorative stitching holding fullness in regular patterns often elaborately done.

smoked pearl. Mother-of-pearl in dark, smoky grey colour. Used for buttons, studs, etc.

suede cloth. Woven or knitted fabric with surface napped and shorn to give appearance of suede leather.

swiss cotton. Fine, crisp cotton fabric; plain, dotted or figured; white or coloured. Design made by chemical application; swivel or lapel weaving. Originated in Switzerland. used for dresses, blouses, curtains, etc.

tulle.(F. tool). Fine, small meshed net, made of silk, cotton, or synthetics.

twill weave. Weave producing distinct diagonal ribs or lines on fabric. Cotton twills include denim, a strong coarse washable cotton fabric in a twill weave.

weft. Yarn running crosswise of woven fabric, at right angles to warp, which is lengthwise yarn.

warp. Lengthwise threads of fabric that form the foundation between which the weft, or filling of crosswise threads, is woven.

worsted. Firm, strong, smooth-surfaced yarn spun from long-staple, evenly combed, pure wool.