where I share some of what I’ve been making each week, and invite you to do the same…
This week I fixed up a(nother) favorite old sweater. A sweater so warm and comforting that just thinking about putting it on creates a bodily ease. Do you have a sweater like that?
Well the elbows were becoming threadbare (I am hard on elbows, apparently), there was a hole in one arm, and it still needs a thorough pill picking, but I love it more than ever now.
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I also fixed up a classic studio mess. I make a lot of lists, and write all manner of important notes and reminders onto scraps of paper. I love to reuse, I do not like waste, and there tends to be a trickle of misprinted and half printed sheets of paper I keep around for using again. These papers pile up around my work tables and can create a low grade frustration, always in the way and disorganized.
So I made a book out of them! A couple holes punched and some loops of leather later and my migrant scrap pile is now bound and neatly hung. I can add to it or subtract from it, reuse scraps to my heart’s content, and it’s easy to locate and leaf through. So simple. Satisfied.
Deb
Hey, Abby. Your sweater looks gorgeous! I have considered doing the leather patch elbows, but I wondered about laundering. Any ideas besides the dry cleaner? (dislike the chemicals there!)
Abby
Thank you! Many types of leather, particularly smooth and suede leather, can actually be laundered (and don’t actually do well with dry cleaning) on the gentle cycle in cold water and then air dried. The trick is to make sure the leather gets evenly saturated and then evenly dried, without the addition of heat or direct sun. I wouldn’t necessarily throw an expensive leather jacket or delicate leathers in the wash, but I have washed things with leather parts with great success.