Hotel Pendini, Florence, Italy

It is midnight. From the fourth floor of my room at the Hotel Pendini, I am watching a store display window being changed for a high-end retail store. The window is hinged to open out onto the sidewalk. Workers are busy cleaning the glass and installing electrical fittings, as the new window display components sit on the cobblestone street, wrapped and cushioned for shipping. It is an elaborate and shiny display!

Changing a window display in Florence, Italy

I am in Florence, Italy, on a textile tour arranged by The Tour Studio. It is a workshop for textile designers, weavers, fibre and craft lovers, which includes visits to handwoven textile studios and exclusive fabric houses in Florence, Umbria, and Perugia. In addition, we will visit Antico Setificio Fiorentino and have a five-day workshop at the Lisio Foundation on Jacquard weaving. There was some homework to do to prepare for the Jacquard weaving

workshop. I immersed myself in learning about tessellating designs. My Jacquard sampler is woven below with a Lampas technique. I also tackled weaving on the velvet loom, which was wonderful, too. It has been a privilege to have this experience, and it will stimulate some new ideas this year.

There hasn't been much time for gelato. There is so much to see. Like this exquisite velvet pillow woven at the Lisio Foundation.

Fabric woven at the Lisio Foundation on a Jacquard loom