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Jan and Ellen were born at the tail end of the Boomer generation. They’re old enough to remember the Beatles appearing on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but young enough to have preferred Topo Gigio to Paul and John (Jan did, anyway.  Ellen thought Paul was hot.). They learned to craft at a very young age, so they have been crafting for a very long time. They escaped the dreaded ‘cutesy twin name’ syndrome by being the second set of twins in the family. (Two sets of twins under the age of four explains a LOT about their mother!)

Their mom taught them the basics of embroidery and tried to teach them knitting, but she wasn’t really that great at it herself. So, it wasn’t till high school that they actually knuckled down and taught each other from books. (This was after a number of years crocheting a disturbing number of granny squares.)

Both twins married in their early twenties…and both were fortunate enough that the men they married were good (and sexy!) guys who have a high tolerance for fiber stashes. Better yet, they tolerate the high maintenance requirements of their wives. These guys have stuck with them for almost three decades and appear to be in it for the long haul.

Two children each– though the children aren’t kids any more. All four are out of college. Jan’s daughter, Marie, lives in Brooklyn, NY with her wife Heidi, and her son, Allen, is in the Navy. Ellen’s older daughter, Karen, is a 2nd year intern at Brown University Hospital and her younger daughter, Jenny, works at a premier bakery cafe in NYC while exploring her life’s desires.

Jan is in the military and has served around the world. Ellen is in R&D at a major corporation. Both have graduate level degrees — Ellen with an M.S. and a Ph.D. and Jan with an M.A., M.S. and M.B.A. Jan roots for the Gators, and Ellen roots for the Buckeyes.

(Photo copyright 2005, Linda’s Photography, Delano, MN)