Letters
Iam a 14-year-old avid artist and computer enthusiast (my favorite operating system is Linux).
I recently created my own penguin figure based on a
drawing I did. I was really encouraged by my drawing
to try and create my very own version of Pangwi
(that’s what I call it). I hand-sewed the figure and
added a string of battery-powered LEDs to light up
her body gem. I’ve also created a matching uniform
that I like to wear when I carry around my Pangwi.
Hope you like it! —Marielle Riley, Naperville, Ill.
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Recently, while visiting with my mother in
Illinois, we went to the Lawrence Arthur Salon
in Winnetka. There I met Elsa Cohn, who runs a
boutique at the salon. Elsa (above, at right) was
busily working with two other women, all silently
engrossed in their handiwork. They were crocheting a little white handbag out of plastic twine. As
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Craft: Volume 10
her friend crocheted, Elsa kept her supplied with
the plastic twine she was cutting from a rolled-up
plastic bag. She used a special technique of cutting
the bag to create one long, continuous strand.
Elsa talked about how she’s been creating things
all her life, without any patterns, even raising her
own Shetland sheep and learning how to dye yarns
and spin. What’s really interesting about her is that
she’s not getting her ideas from other people, but
just coming up with them on her own, looking at the
potential that different materials have. Elsa even
said, “I always try to see what else you can do with
something. For instance, if a dress can’t sell, it’s a
lamp.” Trendy without trying to be!
—Nancy Dougherty, Sebastopol, Calif.
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My daughter and I subscribe to both MAKE and
CRAFT. Recently, I was inspired by the article
in CRAF T, Volume 07, by Tom Wyatt, about revamping
old Converse All Star shoes [page 49, “The All Star
Fabric Swap”]. I am actually a shoemaker by trade
( fernandfootwear.com) and specialize in leather
footwear.
Attached are pictures of my BlackSun Chucks.
I used 6oz oil-tanned leather and a pair of old soles
that I’d been kicking around for nearly 20 years.
They require regular glue maintenance but are more
comfortable than the originals for sure. My friends
are begging for a pair of their own; I have to keep
them tied tight for fear that they’ll be stolen right
off my feet! —Tim McKay, Benzonia, Mich.
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