About

Learn more about Jill Tarabar and JiSTdesigns:

I’ve spent alot of years trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I’ve always been “crafty”, sewing and knitting for as long as I can remember. Designing and creating my own clothes and for my family, I even crafted my own wedding gown. After graduating college (with a degree in Government and International Relations no less) I found a job in a craft shop at our local mall while looking for a “career”. There I learned the craft of stained glass in order to teach and sell supplies.I soon met my husband, Marty. We married and moved to follow his job opportunities – every 6 months for a time – until landing in New Jersey in the mid-80’s. Stained glass was something I could do anywhere – and it made a wonderful gift.

The beginnings of an actual business…

During that time, I was able to develop a line of boxes and picture frames that I created (while my 2 young children were napping or at school) and sold to a chain of retail gift shops on the east coast. I was suddenly in business!

All the while, I continued to knit and sew, enjoying the softness of the fiber in comparison to the sharpness of the glass. Healing fingertips always presented a challenge when knitting!

In 1990 we moved to our present home in Chalfont, PA. After continuing for a time with the wholesale production of gift items, the business drifted away as times changed. Once my children were in school full time, I went to work as well, earning a paycheck, becoming a graphic designer by day and a crafter by night!

As years go by, I’ve concentrated on stained glass craft at times and more on knitting, felting, spinning and weaving at other times. But glass is a part of me and for years I’ve been hoping to find a way to combine the two crafts into one.

Recently I discovered knitting with wire which presented me with a great opportunity to combine knitting and glass… who know where this will lead!