My name is Hannah Haberkern. I’m a neurobiologist working at Janelia, where I spend most of my time trying to understand how fruit flies use visual landmarks to get to places of interest. But I am also passionate about designing and sewing clothes, bags and quilts. I learned how to sew from my mother and grandmother and many of my favourite childhood memories evolve around this activity. These days, sewing serves as a compensatory activity to research — as a creative outlet and by making me feel productive. It also helps me deal with the challenges of living with a chronic autoimmune condition.

I decided to start this blog for two reasons. First, to contribute to the big community of DIY and sewing bloggers, who I found very inspiring. Second, to be better able to share things I do with my friends and family that live abroad.