Story of My Life

STORY OF
MY LIFE

JANE McLEAN
(it rhymes)

1948-Present

Welcome
to my busy mind
and restless nature!

The rowdy central panel was given to me by Australian quilter Racheldaisy when she heard about my fiber art project.

Key to fabrics and findings:

Acorn: Love their little caps; favorite trees: red maple, quaking aspen, balsam fir, white birch
Applause: If the audience is entertained/moved, I’ve done my job
Apple: Cortlands are my favorite
Aprons: Wear one every day, sewed dozens for PinchPenny Threads
Baton: My brilliant high school career as a baton-dropping drum majorette
Birds, Goldfinch: Always wanted to fly
Books: Taught myself to read at a very early age; favorite: Song of Solomon (Toni Morrison)
Boston: What’s not to love about that city?
Butterfly (silver): My second pierced earrings, c. 1968
Cards, Scrabble Tiles: I’m a lover of games from way back, especially word games
Cat: Meow!
Clothespins: Love to hang out laundry
Compass: I’m a great navigator and love road trips with friends
Dove in Trinity: Received at a Baptist conference, Ocean Park ME, 1965
Dr. Salk: So many medical discoveries in my lifetime
Fairies, Toadstool: Love little people and their dwellings
Flag and Pledge: I was in first grade when President Eisenhower added “under God”
Flamingo: From Thing 2’s boxer shorts: Mr. Elberfeld and I got married in Captiva FL
Flip Flops: Bare feet are best, flip flops are next
Fortunes: These fortunes are true for me
G Clef: A beautiful spiral for a life filled with music
Girl Scouts: Brownie to Senior Scout, later a Cadette leader
Harvard Heart: Gift from Mr. Elberfeld c. 1965
Hen: Chicken whisperer--that’s me
Holly: Love Christmas music, presents, and pie
Ice Cream, Good Eats: Love my sweets and treats
Jack-o-Lantern: From Thing 2’s boxer shorts; I love Halloween but not the gore
Jane McLean “It Rhymes”: That’s me as my grandmother Vera on the cover of a pictorial story of my life
JCL Charm: Latin Club in high school; hated the subject, loved the Roman banquets
JFK: 11/22/1963: High school sophomore English class when we heard the news
Knitting: I knit simple items so I can talk at the same time
Laugh Often: OK, I will
Lighthouse, Lobstah: We retired to rocky Midcoast Maine in 2015
Lily-of-the-Valley: My favorite flower; grandmother Vera’s wedding bouquet, granddaughter Stella’s tattoo
Lined Paper, Notebook, #2 Pencil: My preferred writing tools
Lyre: Think of me as a storyteller, not a prevaricator--and a jokester
Maple Leaf: In the colors of my favorite season
Muse of Comedy: I’ve been treading the boards for almost 75 years
Niagara Falls: Lived in Upstate New York for 25 years
No War: A peace lover from way back
Pattern, Rickrack, Sewing Notions: Love putting fabrics and patterns together
Picnic: Hate bugs, love picnics
Popcorn and Projector: I adore movies, favorite: My Brilliant Career, favorite actor: Gene Hackman
Rainbow Heart: Nobody’s 100% anything
Ram’s Horn: Never met a spiral I didn’t like
Rolling Pin: Indifferent cook, good baker
Sign Language: My brilliant career in special education
Sing Sing Sing: Been singing since I was 10 months old
Singer Treadle Machine: I sing and I sew, I sew and I sing
Tartans: The McClures and the M(a)cLeans
Teapot: I drink two beverages, tea and water
Thing 1 and Thing 2: My sons
TIE Fighter: Grandmother of third generation Star Wars aficionados
Tulip: By Maude Lewis, Nova Scotian folk artist and inspiration
Ukulele: Pickin’ and strummin’ and singin’ a song
United Nations: Spent a week in NYC learning about the UN and singing Henry the Eighth with 200 other high school kids
Universitas Bucnellensis: After a slow start and long delay, I finally received a master’s degree
Very Hungry Caterpillar: Eric Carle’s delightful picture book is a speech-language pathologist’s dream
Water Bottle: Love to go for easy hikes
Wishbone: An essential body part, along with backbone and funny bone