Sometimes the best-laid plans of mice and men fall prey to a snowstorm.

Such was the case for the Jan. 12 opening of “Stitches” in You Are Here Gallery in Jeannette, the evening that Winter Storm Gia blew through.

Unlike previous openings in the new downtown art space, where guests jostled elbow to elbow for a view of the featured works, there was room for visitors to step back and get a good view of the fiber arts pieces created by Pamelajean Werner of Mt. Pleasant, a weaver and maker of rag quilts; Jess Higo Walbridge, a master crocheter from Greensburg; and Imani Russell of Arlington, Va., who makes rag dolls inspired by the Gullah culture of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

Still, a group of adventurous souls braved the snow-covered streets of Jeannette to admire the captivating work and visit with the two area artists. Russell was unable to attend the opening but will be present for an event later during the show’s run, said gallery co-founder Jen Costello.

The gallery’s lights cast a welcoming glow on otherwise-empty Clay Avenue, while the Just Roll’d Up sushi truck was parked outside.

Werner said that two of her featured quilts were made of fabric from the gallery’s Oh, Scrap! shop. Art and educational supplies and other items in the shop are donated to the shop to be sold at a low cost to artists on a budget.

“Somebody was going to throw that material away,” Werner said.

Werner said that, in other pieces, “I explored weaving fabric into fabric. We take fabric for granted; I wanted people to see what fabric really looks like.”

“Stitches” runs through Feb. 23. Gallery hours are noon-6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon-3 p.m. Sundays. For information, visit yah406clay.org.

Seen at the opening: gallery co-founder Mary Briggs, curator Danny Overdorff, intern Phoebe Walczak and “media mogul” Maddie Jaynes; along with Curtis Walbridge, Marcy Geyer, Abby Hostetler, Cheryl Cochran, Fritz Weiss and Nick Weglowski playing acoustic guitar.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley at 724-836-5750, smcmarlin@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shirley_trib.

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