Remembering Lois Ericson
We just learned that our dear friend Lois Ericson died last week. Lois was a wife and mother, but she also was an author, teacher, and artist. She designed patterns and touched the sewing community like no other. Her books, patterns, classes, and persona opened the door to individual creativity for thousands of sewers. We already miss her spark.
Some years before I came to work at Threads, I had the opportunity to work with Lois for several days in her studio in Salem, Oregon. She and her husband, Len, picked me up at a late arrival flight in Portland. They drove me to a cottage, Lois handed me a key, and then said: “Here you are. Make yourself at home. Open closets and drawers, touch anything you want, eat anything you want, call us if you need anything, and I’ll see you in the morning.” This was Lois’s studio about a mile from her home.
Imagine being left alone in the workspace of your idol and given permission to explore to your heart’s content. I toured her magnificent button collection. I studied the garments on the rack and tried on some of them. I admired the artwork on the walls—the jewelry, the bags, and accessories she had made. Hanging from a branch in the kitchen was a collection of homemade brushes with twigs and retrieved pieces of wood for handles and feathers, along with straw, grass, and found fibers for bristles. Many treasures from fans and her daughters filled the studio’s nooks and crannies, and there was a journal with messages from previous visitors. It was dawn before my head hit the pillow.
When my eyes opened, I saw a row of bodiless garments dancing across a bookcase. What charming and irresistible beings these were. I wondered if I had managed to catch the last of the fairies that came in every night to make sewing magic. Later that day, Lois explained she was working on an idea based on the pithy expression “Clothes don’t make the man.” She wanted to illustrate how clothes would be without the person in them. She made miniature kimono, coats, and gowns; saturated them in fabric stiffening liquid; and styled them on those wooden drawing models until they dried. Then the garment could be removed from the model and left to dance alone. This woman was a creative force!
Her generous invitation to pore over her studio was not just inspiring. It was her way of giving me, as she had hundreds of students and others, permission to find different paths and unleash personal creativity. In many ways, Lois Ericson changed my life.
Marcy Tilton tells us: If you want to honor Lois, follow her lead. Go into your studio and create. Make. Invent. Teach. Lois continued creating right up to the end, pursuing a renewed passion for watercolors, and—always, always, always—fabric and fiber. Her design sense and style were instantly recognizable. She was beloved by many, and she forged a path in the fiber arts that is a foundation of the work many pursue today.
Lois contributed many articles to Threads over the years. Here are just a few examples of her great work.
Resist-and-Spray Technique for Dyeing Fabric
Textures: From Photo to Fabric
Master Class: More Great Fabric Manipulations
Unconventional Buttonholes
judith neukam, senior technical editor Posted on Jan 17th, 2012 in sewing
Comments (9)
Posted: 8:32 am on January 25th
Posted: 7:21 am on January 25th
Posted: 10:14 pm on January 24th
The sewing world and creative world, has lost a "tour de force".
Posted: 12:28 am on January 23rd
Posted: 9:48 am on January 19th
I was stunned when she mentioned to the class that she thought what I was wearing was sensational. A word like that coming from someone of such great statue in the sewing community was something that I'll never forget.
We were the last ones left in the classroom that evening, so, I asked if I could help her pack up everything before leaving. She said sure. We got to talking about so many things. She told me about her daughter, Diane and how proud of her that she was. She even took the time to meet my husband that waiting for me in the parking lot.
We started to correspond and I quickly paid for each year that she published, "The Rag." We corresponded through snail mail and then e-mail. Lois had a wonderful handwriting. I also purchased most of her patterns and have each of her books and right now I'm glad that I do.
Lois is someone that will always be in my thoughts and each time I go back through her books, or copies of "The Rag" I'm sure I'll pick up another nugget of creative wisdom. She was humble and brilliant and she will be sorely missed.
Posted: 12:42 am on January 19th
Thank you, Threads, for bringing us news of her passing.
Posted: 6:13 pm on January 18th
Posted: 4:28 pm on January 18th
Posted: 11:17 pm on January 17th
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