American Jane’s new “Look and Learn”

Sandy Klop of American Jane has created a line that will take you back through your yearbooks, all the way to grade school! Each detail of this Look and Learn collection is sweet and young, and the colors are so vibrant. Here’s a bit about the sentiment behind the line and then a lot more about the creator!

Look and Learn
Remember first grade, sitting in rows alphabetically or at color-coded tables? And little chairs just our size, but it was hard to sit in one place for a long time. Recess was the most fun of all, especially on rainy days when all the toys and art supplies became available to everyone. Remember new books, clean pieces of paper, the smell of paste.

It’s all in Look and Learn, the best of childhood memories. Patterns available using Look and Learn fabric are Merry-Go-Round, Tea Party, Four on the Floor, Color Crayons, and Teddy Bear.

About American Jane
American Jane Patterns is the brainstorm of Sandy Klop. The name comes from a real person who was named America Jane. The name sounded perfect for the look Sandy creates. Sandy likes traditional patterns presented with her own color palette. She has focused more recently on a 30’s, 40’s, 50’s look with an emphasis on children and toys. Her look is upbeat and pleasing to the eye.

Putting Patterns Together
Sandy first makes a quilt with fabric available to her, most often of her own design. She then writes the directions to make the quilt, remembering how she put it together. Her husband Stan edits the pattern and sends it to a graphic artist who creates pictures to go along with the directions. The pattern is reviewed until it meets all the requirements for an accurate, easy-to-follow pattern. Stan prints it, ships it to distributors and puts it online at americanjane.com. Sandy will kit popular patterns in her fabric for customers who can’t get the fabric easily in their local quilt store.

What’s ahead
Sandy designs two fabric lines each year for Moda. The “Look and Learn” line followed “Peas and Carrots” and “Basic Building Blocks”. Her new line to be introduced at Fall Market in Houston is called “Wee Play.” One popular pattern using measuring tapes will be reprinted in different colors. Her previous lines have been reprinted to keep up with the demand. Fortunately, Moda is willing to reprint when there is a demand for a certain pattern.

All in a Day’s Work
Sandy has a large studio upstairs in her home which includes a 12′ long arm quilting machine. She can produce a quilt, quilt it, and bind it in short order. Stan works in a small office downstairs. The guest bedroom downstairs contains racks of patterns which now number more than 100! Sandy and Stan meet for coffee early in the morning to go over American Jane business and review patterns. After breakfast, Sandy often takes a long walk before going to her studio. Once she is in her studio, she in is in her own creative world. She barely stops working for lunch. At 4:00 Sandy meets up with Stan and goes to Peets Coffee in downtown Walnut Creek to enjoy their deep roasted coffee and review the day.

In the evening, Sandy often will bind a quilt or look through books and magazines for new ideas. She has a drop-in sewing group that meets on Thursday nights at Thimble Creek. No day goes by when she isn’t sewing or working on quilts. Sandy is happy with her life. And Stan enjoys going along for the ride.