Jan Potter & Bonne Swett - Inspired2Sew Duo
The dynamic duo of Jan Potter and Bonne Swett are two sewing buddies best known as the “Inspired 2 Sew” girls at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, Washington. They attend Sew Expo, shop, take classes, and decide which fabric, pattern, book, or technique will be the basis for their “challenge”. They don’t reveal their finished creations to one another until the day they arrive at Sew Expo — the following year! Jan and Bonne’s friendship only happened because they shared a love of sewing — and their story should be an inspiration to all of us. Jan Potter says: My dear mother was a great seamstress and taught my sister and me to sew, embroider, knit, and crochet. My degree is in Graphic Design. Art-Create-Sew! That’s my life and what I’ve always wanted to do! We live on a remote mountain ranch in Oregon — my husband logs and develops property and I am a retired Graphic Designer.
I’m driven to sew and garments are my passion! Color is dominant in everything I sew - the bolder, wilder, more vivid, the better! I love combining unusual colors and patterns and trying to make them work!! Do you see that word “trying”?!! Sometimes it doesn’t work, but I just cut it up and go a different direction! Joy and fun in the journey is the most important part of creating and sewing for me!! Bonne Swett says: As a teenager, I was introduced to sewing when I was invited to join the local 4-H club, and I was hooked!!! My husband and I own and operate an equipment rental business and my life is about keeping things in the proper order. I have a business degree and an accounting point of view. I love to sew just about anything — it’s my “me time”. I follow the rules, I believe in symmetry and pattern instructions. When my kids were still at home, finding space and time to sew was a challenge. Nancy Zieman’s book 10-20-30 Minutes To Sew was what kept me from giving up. It was a true light bulb moment for me. I often think of what I would have missed out on had I not read that book. How did the unlikely partnership of the wild artist and the organized accountant become the Inspired2Sew duo? Click HERE to read the full story