On any tour, 4 nights in the same hotel is a
luxury. But now we leave our hotel in Florence and make our way to Stia,
home of the Museum
of the Art of Wool Making.
Because of our background in working with wool, many of us had a certain knowledge of the information on display, but in a way it was a lovely experience to be able to reaffirm the bond that connects fibre crafters and artists from different cultures and languages.
This wonderful picture shows the hands of experience caressing the woolen fleece into strands using a drop spindle, the most ancient technology for spinning fibres. The museum opened to the public just 2 years ago and isobviously a work of of great passion for the ladies who work there, sharing their ancient traditions of working with wool and fibre. I got toincrease my minute Italian vocabulary and learned that ago is a needle, and even more specifically a felting needle as we sell back home, and feltro is the felted fabric that it creates.
I finally got to see real silk cocoons. Like oval shaped ping pong balls, hard and hollow.
The actual Woolen Mill in Stia, closed due to the downturn in demand for its product, was famous for Casentino Wool Coats, made of a particular brilliantly coloured wool fabric that is brushed after weaving to create an uneven surface that repels rain. It came to the attention of the rest of the world when Audrey Hepburn wore a coat of this fabric in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
We all got to try our hand at weaving, but we were more interested in watching the practiced hand of June, pictured far left, the weaving guru of our group, when she got on the loom to demonstrate some of her beautiful patterns and techniques. Also in the picture, seated at the loom, is Angelica, our weaving instructor, who along with Sophia, our guide, was so generous with time and knowledge.
Later we had lunch in a Trattoria in the centre
square of the town. This is a picture of one of the two waitresses who must have
felt that they had been hit by a tidal wave of customers as the outdoor patio
was filled to capacity. I took this picture to show her lovely earrings, wound
with wool and felted, as if she were a walking advertisement for many facets of
the beauty of wool in her region.The food was lovely but as we walked around the
square there was an eerie feeling of abandonment. It was the midday siesta time
that the locals were enjoying and consequently the square was deserted by all
but us tourists.
After lunch we traveled on to the Siena region,
to Borgo San Luigi. This
picture only begins to hint as the beauty of the villa where we stayed. More
about that later.
Because of our background in working with wool, many of us had a certain knowledge of the information on display, but in a way it was a lovely experience to be able to reaffirm the bond that connects fibre crafters and artists from different cultures and languages.
This wonderful picture shows the hands of experience caressing the woolen fleece into strands using a drop spindle, the most ancient technology for spinning fibres. The museum opened to the public just 2 years ago and isobviously a work of of great passion for the ladies who work there, sharing their ancient traditions of working with wool and fibre. I got toincrease my minute Italian vocabulary and learned that ago is a needle, and even more specifically a felting needle as we sell back home, and feltro is the felted fabric that it creates.
I finally got to see real silk cocoons. Like oval shaped ping pong balls, hard and hollow.
The actual Woolen Mill in Stia, closed due to the downturn in demand for its product, was famous for Casentino Wool Coats, made of a particular brilliantly coloured wool fabric that is brushed after weaving to create an uneven surface that repels rain. It came to the attention of the rest of the world when Audrey Hepburn wore a coat of this fabric in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
We all got to try our hand at weaving, but we were more interested in watching the practiced hand of June, pictured far left, the weaving guru of our group, when she got on the loom to demonstrate some of her beautiful patterns and techniques. Also in the picture, seated at the loom, is Angelica, our weaving instructor, who along with Sophia, our guide, was so generous with time and knowledge.
And here we are, in that deserted square. It really was the perfect time and place for a group shot.
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