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lfvariety is the spice oflife. then the Neil Gowan family is well seasoned. In addition to operating a ZOO-acre best form. family intorests are many and varied.'Mrs. Gowan decorates cakes for all occasions. with wedding cakes her specialty. Dave. 23. works in' but! leather. making everything from key cases to shoes. and Dianne. 21. is a clothing designer who even does her own fabric designs. ,4 if that isn't enough involvement for one family furniture refinishing or ’ bmusic occupies much of their spare time. Dave Gowan plays drums with Jim . Patterson and the Northern Gentlemen. Dianne Gowan's fiancee also plays in the group and Dianne. though not in the group. plays the piano, flute and ac- |cordion. . It isn't uncommon for “iam sessions" at the Gowan household to draw about 100 people. including players and a listeners. Some bring food. and many stay for supper. The music drifting across the creek and fields ofthe RR 1 1 Allenl'ard home ranges from blue grass “Roziazz. from country and western to modern. Another Gowan son. Bub. who is working on his masters degree in , geomorphology is a guaranteed Visitor , .atiam session time. .r t Each talented Gowan became in- .rvolved in his or her respective hobby somewhat by accident. Outside the family. Mrs. Gowan's hr ‘at cake was for the friend of an aunt. Her first wedding cake was for her sister. 19 years ago. She knows mat she t has done more than 200 wedding cakes "since but hasn't kept an accurate record. Give Mrs. Gowan a decorating tip. some sugar and water, or icing and her talents knth no limits. She makes everything from roses to daisies. hells lu baskets baby cradles that rock to cite and swans. i She enioye meeting the people her hubby introduces her to and laughs at aomagf the experiences shelves had. ‘ although they,weren’t as funny at the v f . if one occasion. a dark leaks ugbtjq V a for decorating. ruin" " y. ‘Pinet no way ' site taeli to the min- By Ann Kelly Family Living Editor When the centre section ofa cake collapsed the day before the wedding. again an artificial section was iced and decorated and only the Gowens were any wiser. Although the problems have been many, and varied. Mrs. Cowan says she's always been lucky enough to get a cake done. She says light cakes are the biggest headache. especially when they aren‘t properly cooked. Her most challenging cake kept her up until 2 am. making maple leaves. that were iust like glass. The leaves required curled edges to give the effect of having fallen off the tree and blown onto the cake. "It was an involved one. it was dif- ferent. but I finally got it." recalled Mrs. Gowen. Her daughter. Dianne. made dolls clothes from early childhood She could knit and crochet whilc a pre-schooler. Although a guidance counsellor told her designing wouldn't lead to a job, Dianne was sold on taking the course after visiting an open house at Ryersnn Polytechnicel Institute. "1 can look at a piece of fabric and See what to make out or il. I especially like designing summer things. I've a million and one ideas for little daytime dresses." Dianne is currently working on out- fits for the band: cashual safari suits in beige tones. Hcr bedroom doubles as a work room and she has a wall lined with designs of her own. Her very first design was chosen for a designers“ show that went all across Canada. She has a cutting table. a sewing machine. rolls of pattern paper. pat~ tern blocks and fabric all housed in her bedroom. Her own designs include an Oriental gown in tones of oranges and reds. a navy slip dress with sheer iacket. a sun dress. a chemise. a bicycling suit and a white pepluni style linen suit with silk- screened print blouse. The black silhouettes on the silk fabric were also Dianne‘s design. Dianne enjoys hand-smacking her own designs. doing beadwork. stencil prints. lie dyeing or batik. She ex- "pecially likes trapunto. which resem- hlesguilting. and is currently working on stencil printed flowers in lrapunlo pots one neutral colored fabric. ate don't'inolude‘helling. Already she has a work withgher. Her sister Laura, Mrs. Bill McDonald of Mildmay area. is Willing to sen Dianne. Dianne admits that many ready made clothes drive her crazy. because of the shoddy workmanship. She also admits it's difficult to gel many fall designs ahead at this time of year. She's busy helping with the hayng Dave Gowen isn't sure what sparked his interest in leather, His father says it was skinning a pig and trying to ten the hide. but Dave isn't Willing to con- cede. His first belt combined the buckle oil a horse harness with Lhe strap of an old trunk. He made articles from leather scraps, used the money to buy equip- ment and now has several hundreds of dollars invested. Dave. has made. quivers. [Ur archers' hows. a doctor's hag. moccasins. sanr (leis. key cases. 'purses hair clips sun visors. watch bands. almost anything that can be made from leather he's made. Right now his big interest is font» wear. He has iust finished his first pair of shoes with negative heels. The shoes, done in two shades of leather. are his own design. He has donc harness repair. cut down a bridal to [it a pony and «s with keen to try making a bridal. Dave has mixed thoughts about a shop of his own. There are times he thinks he‘d like to try it but the operation of a 200acrerform in co operation \Vlll’l his father keeps him busy. Where he once spent nearly all his spare time working in leather. he's now dividing his time between the band and refinishing floors and furniture in preparation for his upcoming marriage. While in high school he played in a group called Faint Traces. His mother contends the name was erroneous because they were anything but (amt. He studied piano Rs 3 child but Dave had no formal training on drums. He tried a cousin's set. while visiting in the west in 1965 and took to them like a duck to water. He has been playing with lim Patterson for more than two years. The group plays most weekends and usually one night during the week. Dave's playing has also provided a new form of recreation for his father. Neil. It keeps Mr. Gowan busy dancing with his wife, daughter and future daughterâ€"inlaw.