CRESTLINE — The basement of Ken Parr’s home has been transformed from a man cave into a sewing cave. Not for his wife, Susan, but for him.
Parr is a sewing whiz.
The 69-year-old, who retired in 2016, spends countless hours in his custom sewing room, complete with an embroidery machine and steam station. He stitches handbags and table runners. He pieces together elaborate quilts. And he makes memorable gifts for family and friends.
“One project at a time,” he said as he finished embroidering the design on a barbecue apron for his son, Eric, and daughter, Erin Meats, just some of the countless birthday gifts he plans to make this year. “I spend a lot of time down here, I really do.”
Parr, who ran Parr Insurance Agency for 45 years, got hooked on sewing eight years ago when he took his nine-year-old granddaughter, Caroline, to a beginner’s sewing class at Jo-Ann Fabric in Mansfield.
“I came home after the first lesson and said that was fun,” he said. “I came home with a Singer machine after one lesson.”
His first project was fleece pajama bottoms for the grandchildren and then a few pillowcases. About seven years ago, he attempted his first quilt pieced together from old T-shirts and flannel laying around the house. The binding was rounded because he didn’t know how to make it square.
He’s never stopped stitching.
“The quilts are the more fun thing for me to do. Each one of them is different and the satisfaction that I get when somebody opens that and sees what it is,” he said. “They all tell a story.”
The family room of his Clink Boulevard home is piled high with memory quilts and 50-inch-square lap quilts. Chevron or shoe box patterns on some. Others made with old neckties or flannel shirts. Still, others, crafted of quality batik cotton that’s been hand dyed.
“Yes, we have quilts coming out the kazoo,” said his wife, pointing out others, including the colorful Christmas package design covering the guest bed and a king-sized quilt in the master bedroom. “I think it kind of all fell into place, a Godwink kind of thing.”
As Parr’s hobby grew, so did his sewing cave. He installed fluorescent lighting above the work station – two three-by-eight-foot table tops mounted on steel file cases. He bought essential cutting tools and other notions. He designed a custom thread wagon to hold sewing and embroidery thread.
“I really enjoy the embroidery and learning how to design the embroidery,” said Parr, who already has logged more than 200 hours on his Viking machine since he bought it last August. “I’m taking a class this month on the software program for it.”
Much of Parr’s handiwork decorates his two-story home. But when spring rolls around, he will be a fixture at the farmer’s market in Crestline where he peddles snow-white Christmas tree ornaments, coin purses and cross-body bags all neatly finished on the inside.
He’s always on the hunt for quality fabric and will travel statewide to find it. And he’s a regular at Jo-Ann Fabric, where the employees know him by name.
“You learn a lot from these ladies that sew,” he said. “I always have a lot of questions when I go to the fabric store.”
He has made 22 quilts alone for his seven grandchildren. And five of the seven already have Singer machines, courtesy of the master sewer in the family. He hopes they will carry on the Parr tradition.
Because a needle and thread has gone a long way for this Crestline native.
“It just keeps your mind going. When you read about retirement they say to keep busy,” he said. “It’s just been a really fun hobby, and it’s kept me pretty occupied.”
