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Home > Our Story
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Welcome! I'm Glenda Hopp, the person behind this one-woman show. Rather late in my life I've discovered a passion for hand dyed knit fashion fabric. It came about as many things do, out of necessity.
I've been a home sewer, on and off, for almost 50 years. I made my first garments on my grandmother's Singer treadle and still can remember the almost meditative feel of my feet moving the treadle in a steady, controlled rhythm. New machines are wonderful but the only machine that makes me smile is that treadle. I still have it but haven't worked on it in years. One of these days though...
Through high school and college, sewing was the only way to get the "dress up" clothes I needed or wanted. Then I made most of my young son's clothes until I returned to the workforce. There were still many years of Halloween costumes, the most memorable being Uncle Sam with top hat and all.
While I was working in a variety of careers and could afford most of what I needed, I drifted away from sewing. Except for a few quilts for gifts it was so much easier to buy clothes, especially business suits. When casual clothes become the norm, it was Dockers and logo wear for most of my days.
Then, in 2001, my son and I started a business making hypertufa planters and garden accents. It was wonderful, dirty, very strenuous work. My wardrobe disintegrated into "shop clothes" that were stained and worn by the cement and "show clothes" that were good enough to be seen by customers but could still stand up to loading and unloading all of our pieces at a garden or art show.
After 9 years I started thinking about a change of occupation. My son was considering moving out of state and I was getting to the age where making hypertufa full time was not an option. (BTW, my son is still in Michigan and is still making wonderful hypertufa garden accents. You can see them at FarmbrookDesigns.com.)
My casual wardrobe was suffering. I started making some things but I felt
limited by the available fabrics. As an occasional quilter, I had
discovered the beautiful hand dyes made for quilting. But quilt fabric is
lightweight and woven and I like wearing knits, especially cotton and
bamboo. I searched the web for knit fabrics in the same rich colors and
textures available for quilters. Finding absolutely nothing, I decided
to dye my own!
It took some experimentation to figure out how to dye yards of cotton
knits. I wanted to create not only the mottled look but coordinating
solids for companion pieces. I'm well on my way but the more I learn,
the more there is to learn! But I'm loving every minute of this adventure in color.
I hope you enjoy my site. And I'd love to hear what you think about the colors, the fabrics and the kinds of fabric you'd like to see in the future.
Glenda
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