Portugal, Summer 2023m ~ Create

I will not hide that one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Portugal was… azulejo tiles! Yes, not pastel de nata pastries, not port wine, not incredible views of the Atlantic or the Douro river valley, but tiles. I am generally obsessed with handicrafts anyway, and when something is elaborate, distinctive and BLUE, I will buy a transatlantic ticket to get up close and personal with it.

Since I don’t have the skills or equipment to go into tile production, I turned to a new embroidery technique I have been dying to try – bargello. This is actually a Florentine tapestry technique, but I found that the visual effect it produces matches the repeat of pattern found in tiling quite well. I am making a soft pillow cover, which is also an opposite of shiny cool tiles, but that’s what inspired crafting is all about – adapting inspiration to new mediums and needs.

The process is quite time consuming, so I will update photos with a finished product when it finally happens.

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