About

I am from Brooklyn, but Brooklyn before it was hip. I grew up sewing and knitting and crocheting. A Maker from an early age. A Danish Au Pair taught me to knit, so I knit Continental. This meant it was hard for my Mother, who knits English, to help me when I was a kid.   She did teach me to sew, on her tiny Elna Lotus, and I have clear memories of a drawstring skirt from a Vogue pattern that I made many times.  It was a favorite outfit, complimented by dyed longjohns bought at Canal Jeans and my LL Bean boots. I love clothes, always have. Probably connected to my earliest days of a dancing career. The swish of fabric was entrancing. A class at FIT in the 80’s showed me that I should stick to home sewing machines.  Most hand-crafts took a back seat for college and careers as a wedding photographer and then a photo editor at various magazines including Forbes, New York Magazine, LIFE, and People. A stressful run of years led me to seek more tactile experiences in the late 90’s and my sewing machine was unearthed. From there it was a long and windy path to a huge stash of both yarn and fabric, a wardrobe of handmade clothes, a bout with Tennis (Knitter’s) elbow and a yearning to create community.  I left the office life in the early 00's to pursue a (short-lived) career in pastry, which mostly served as a way to leave New York City with a marketable skill. Not long after moving to Maine in 2005 my ex-husband Don and I created Rabelais, a specialized cookbook store.  This brought me into the world of modern food where I became concerned with all things local, sustainable, and DIY. Themes that I believe translate well to the modern world of Making. A Gathering of Stitches is my attempt to resolve, and combine, all these interests.