I'm here but sometimes I wish I could be in the UK or somewhere else- it still amazes me (and always will) how people all over the world sharing the same interests can meet up and have a 'conversation' or exchange ideas on their blogs - even more so because I know how precious the company of like-minded people can be . There are not many handweavers here in Italy - and less than the national average in the region where I live!
Today I've been to the depository of my local museum -where a kind lady showed me some textile fragments of damask and velvet from the XVIII and XIX century. The idea is to draw inspiration from the shapes and colours of these fragments - and of course have a chance to peek around! Some other textiles I found really inspiring: mezzeri - lightweight cotton fabric printed with flora and fauna motifs, with the most common the 'Tree of Life'. The name derives from the Arab word for "cover": women originally used them to cover their heads, but they were used also as shawls and bedcovers. They were particularly common in the XIX century in Liguria. Mezzeri are still used today as covers for bed/sofa but the modern versions have lost some of their appeal, as colour combinations are decidedly ugly and the patterns too big.
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