Shoe-in

The "action" end; the threading action
is very familiar

I'm making progress on my shoe, and every session am feeling more confident with the machine. A word about it: it is a 1925 Singer, purchased by his father the year my maestro was born. The bobbin is a vertical-inset construction with the bobbin holder thingy that has to be inserted with major wrist contortions (most seamstresses will know the kind I mean). Interestingly, and amazingly, the aperture in the metal bobbin holder thingy has enlarged through years of friction with the thread. Who would have expected that?

On the shoe itself, we added stiffening in the front section (the leather is too delicate to withstand wear), and we're starting to put it on the form! While totally wrinkly in the photo, it stretches out nicely and doesn't look TOO wonky when put on the form. Hurray!

Interestingly, the machine has the "reverse" orientation from
today's sewing machines

To wind the bobbin, you place it vertically on the
horizontal screw to the left (with the white part that touches
the action wheel) and use some hand movements to ensure
an even wind. The screw in the middle of the photo
is the stitch length: lower = shorter stitches.

Stiffener inside the front part of the shoe

Not looking good quite yet, but...on its way!

Sr. Zoppini is holding this really nifty tool:
the pliers end is used to stretch the leather over the form,
but the little knobby thing towards the tip makes a
small hammer for placing nails into the form.

I've started the cutting out for the next upper!

Love,

Alexandra

Driving more to reduce global warming

Ah, October, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness...and time to get the cars checked out for emissions and roadworthiness. This is the first time that the Panda (our dual-fuel gas/methane “big” car) needed to be checked, as it is just now four years old.

My helpful inspector told me that the methane tank requires a separate “inspection”, performed by a mechanic in town. I went to the mechanic to book my spot, and was told that actually, the “inspection” = “complete replacement with a certified tank” and my tank would then be sent for testing and certification, then to be placed in someone else’s vehicle. Huh.

The thing is, though, that they aren’t equipped to do methane recovery at the mechanic’s. So all methane in our (full!) tank would be released into the atmosphere. Since methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and water vapor (the byproducts of its combustion), it actually made more sense from the environmental standpoint to empty the gas tank.

Making the best of the situation, Michael and I both had the brainwave of driving to Montefalco to have lunch at the best restaurant in Umbria (seriously: it won that award this summer! Yay for them!) which would allow for good eating and fuel burning.

The leaves on the vines were just turning, and looked stunning against a backdrop of silvery green olives, green wheat (? Grass?), and brown fields. We had a somewhat hazy drive, with lovely, soft light.

And we made it back home just in time for dinner, which none of us is ready for.

Love,

Alexandra

An old craft, new to me

The middle section, blue

We have two shoemakers in town, one of whom is expert and rather pricy (but makes outstanding shoes), and the other of whom is more of a “workhorse” shoemaker...less emphasis on elegance and style and more on “get it done, now, and don’t charge too much” type of artisan. I’ve used him for several of my beloved pairs of shoes, but must confess that (I suspect due to his advancing age), they are getting rather less expert with time.

The toe cap, grey

However, I have always wanted to learn how to make shoes, and I know how to sew garments. I had a brilliant idea: ask Signor Zoppini if he would teach me how to make shoes! I figured my younger eyesight and steady hands combined with his experience could be a good combination. The good news? He agreed! The bad news? Not much...he’s clearly never taught anyone before, and would really rather do it himself than let me learn by making mistakes. But he’s an absolute darling, and I’m having a great time.

The paper pattern

He’s now 93 years old, still goes to work every day (six days a week), despite the fact that his wife’s increasing infirmity means he now has to do the shopping, cooking, etc. He told me today that they eloped to Rome 72 years ago because her family thought she was too young (at 21). He confessed that married life was way more fun in the beginning, especially at night; now, it’s all complaints about being too hot or too cold! But we could agree that long-term companionship was a wonderful thing.

Yes, we sniff glue together

I’ve only gone three times so far, and I have done (or watched Sr. Zoppini do) the leather selection, form tracing, and cutting out of one shoe (the one-at-a-time approach might also explain some of the vagaries of his work). I’ve also sewn together the back portion with the lining, the toe cap to the middle and the back portion to the middle. Essentially, at this point I have the upper nearly done, but not so soon! I still have to do the toe reinforcement, the lining of the front, and I’m sure more before we can connect the upper to the sole.

The pattern for the back and lacing section, black

My maestro

Ribbon for reinforcement of the edge

You glue a tiny selvedge underneath

The back seam plus the blue heel reinforcement

Signor Zoppini really wants me to come every day, “That way they’re done more quickly!” Unfortunately, my time really only permits twice a week. Plus, I feel bad taking him away from his other work. In any case, I hope that perhaps my second shoe will require a minimum of intervention from him and he’ll be able to do his own thing while I’m in the workshop.

Love,

Alexandra

Disfida di San Fortunato, 2018 version

 The annual festival of Todi's patron saint just gets better and better each year. They started combining the feast day with an archery competition about four years ago, and have turned this into one of Umbria's top archery events due to the interest of the targets, the beautiful surroundings, and the fun of having the targets scattered throughout the town.

My friend Elisa Picchiotti is a tour guide here, and has been absolutely instrumental in the event's success. She's cajoled numerous artisans to come and display their wares for the weekend, she's organized costumes, events, and more. And it has certainly paid off!

We had the longest procession to date with people in Medieval/Renaissance attire, numerous drumming bands, a great archery competition, and a wonderful set of merchants!

We started the day seeing apparent corpses dragged around

The "corpses" held targets for the local Todi "rione" competition

Representatives of each rione (district)
stood on their rione's block and tried to hit the target

The Todi eagle in the background!

"Little Mauro," one of Florence's teammates

The raptor show is always amazing

Part of an early procession of archers

"Big Mauro" is towards the right in this photo

A target

These are dense foam targets

Because there wasn't enough going on, it was also a weekend for a Vespa rally

These rotated and you had to hit the maroon sections squarely

This also rotated quickly

If you were on the left, you had to shoot the white side.
On the right, the side with the red triangle

They used some different alleyways this year!

This target consisted of dense foam balls on chains

Representatives of our chapter of the Knights Templar

Giuliana and Matteo

The procession ended on the steps of San Fortunato this year!

During the procession, there was the usual craziness of cars trying to get through.
The street was crammed with people.

A different troupe of flag wavers from our usual!

Enzo's bows! Enzo was the one who taught Florence how to make her bow.

All in all, a delightful day.

Love,

Alexandra