Fabric Tourism
I missed my Italian travel adventure in 2020 and again in 2021 (you know why), but I did finally make use of these beautiful fabrics from my last trips to Florence and Naples. The blue and green fabric is from a place in Florence, the Casa dei Tessuti – it is worthy of another post, so I’ll have to do that sometime. The others were from a place in Naples. If Casa dei Tessuti is a temple of fabric, the place in Naples was more like a warehouse. My friend/landlady when I visit Sorrento, Anastasia del Vecchio, was kind enough to go exploring with me one day, and we found a treasure trove of fabrics you would see on the runways – they had the catalogues to prove it.
Anyway, months passed and the fabrics seemed to precious to use. Finally, just before quarantine I found #sewanastasia and Kate Van Asten of #wulfka here in Chicago and they taught me how to draft patterns from examples already in my wardrobe and in my imagination so they would fit me. That gave me what I needed to spend some of that inside quiet time finally bringing these fabrics to life.
I don’t know what other people bring home from vacation, but I visit fabric and paper stores, and am happy to see these treasures finally brought to life.
