24 | Winter
•
2009
Above | Jeanette Brockelsby strikes a pose in one of her colorful creations, affectionately
dubbed her "chicken coat." Color is but one element of the quilting art.
rusting fabric and heating wrappers. "You think of the fiber and cloth as your palette
and go from there," she said. "It's very freeing."
It seems fiber is in her blood. "I can't fathom my life without fabric in it," she said.
Her great-grandmother, a seamstress, made clothing now found on display at The
Boston Museum of Fine Art.
In a very different twist of fate, Jeanette Brockelsby came to fabric accidentally. All
she wanted was a floor-length nightgown, a luxury prohibited by her tall stature. Fed
up, she stepped into Loving Stitches to try and make one herself. During a free class
aimed at acquainting her with her new sewing machine, it became painfully evident
that quarter-inch seams weren't her cup of tea. She and her Bernina had other plans.
Brockelsby made her living in the fast lane, teaching motorcycle safety to
Fittingly, one of her favorite
pieces is a floor-dragging
jacket she affectionately calls
her chicken coat. "I think it
helps not knowing how to sew
properly," she said. Without
a firm grip on the rules, she
didn't have to give much
thought to breaking them. And
break them she does. She
sketches out a design then
twists, stitches and layers her
fibers into submission.
