The Saturday Market in Viterbo, with tables and tables of used clothes for 1 euro, has oddly become one of my favorites places. I used to be puzzled by it...and somewhat disgusted. But then an embroidered handkerchief caught my eye. I looked a little more in the plastic bin and found all sorts of beautiful hand-embroidered linens -- from napkins to pillowcases, kleenex holders to aprons. So I started buying them (at .50 each), washing and then lovingly putting them away at home where they waited to one day become a tablecloth, bedspread, shower curtain, or something. But out of sight wasn't out of mind (to throw another expression into the mix). I started googling embroidery patterns and books and finally pulled the trigger and ordered a starter kit which arrived at my mom's house right before she came here for Christmas.
I have to say, I really enjoy it. I ironed the pattern onto a nice, plain tea towel (hand towel, dish cloth??) I had picked up at the market and got to work. It's just the alphabet, but I'm trying to test out a different stitch on each letter.
The other project, sweater felting, is still going strong, although now that Christmas is over, I've slowed down a bit. I started by buying wools sweaters at the mercatino for 1 euro and shrinking them down into a nice, thick felt by throwing them into the washing machine. Then the best part -- cutting! Because the sweaters have shrunk and felted, there is no longer a concern about stitches unraveling when you cut the sweater. In most cases, the stitches have practically become invisible.
My first project was an eyeglass case. Since I don't have my sewing machine here, I decided to go rustic with a blanket stitch. I like keeping some original part of the item -- a rolled sleeve, button, zipper or belt loop. I also like color and a mix of patterns/textures, so soon I had to creep over from sweaters into tweed skirts, flannel pants, etc...Even with that, I'm having a lot of trouble getting some of my favorite colors. Brown, grey, pea green and orange seem to be the most commonly-available colors. Finding fuchsia or purple is like winning a prize.
For my colleagues, I made several "up-cycled" (common expression on the net when referring to sweater felting...love it!) sweater ornaments. I printed basic images (coloring book outlines, for example) as templates, and away I went. Again, each one was a bit of an experiment.
I also made: two foxes for Max (they were supposed to be fox ornaments -- head only -- but he asked me to add a body and try to make them into "stuffies." An ipod cover for Rick (I love the intact back pocket from a man's pair of flannel pants!) I also made my first hot water bottle cover for my mom, who like my cousin and his wife after her, came to know the joy of sleeping with a hot water bottle (try it, you'll love it!). And, of course, at around midnight on Christmas Eve, I was able to throw together a quick stocking for Max (the rest of us got shopping bags with our names on them...there was no way I was making 4!) I turned a Rice Krispies box into the template, traced, cut & sewed. I asked my mom to work on "decorating" it, using my ornament templates, because I was also trying to finish the foxes...
(Now do you understand why I said I was taking a little break?)
I'm having a ball. The stacks of "fabrics" piling up in the house are a bit alarming, but with no Michael's in Italy, they are basically my only craft expense. And at 1 euro a sweater, that's not bad!
Next project? I saw a cute pet bed online. The person took a large, felted sweater, sewed across the chest (under armpits), stuffed the top, bottom and sleeves of sweater, sealed up the neck and bottom, curled the arms around the "base" (bottom 2/3 of sweater) to form the sides, and stitched everything together. Voila! Of course, we all know that if I make one, the cats will never use it, but it's worth a try...at the very least I can give them something to sit on in Max's closet (where I often find them curled up together on a shelf) other than his clothes which are now covered in fur.
If you have any ideas for me, let me know. I would hate to be accused of having idle hands :)
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