Making A Life

I make one pair of shoes (from a kit no less) and I think that I am a famous shoemaker! I am killing myself over here laughing, who am I kidding….Ferragamo. But seriously, I made myself a pair of shoes how cool is that. Like real shoes that can be worn outside, not slippers, and I did not just bedazzle a pair of flip-flops (not that there is anything wrong with that).

When we were in Florida in February, I bought the soles, outer fabric and yarn from Hobby Lobby. I had never been to a Hobby Lobby because we do not have then in Canada. It was an experience in itself. Hobby Lobby sells all of the supplies that you need prepackaged, and pre-measured to make a pair of espadrilles, but honestly I didn’t buy most of the prescribed supplies because I didn’t want my handmade espadrilles to cost the same as a pair of Ferragamo’s. I purchased the soles, outer fabric and the yarn but the rest of the supplies I either got from my craft closet or purchased in Canada. In reality, I could have just bought the soles from Hobby Lobby and still made the project work.

It makes me laugh when I read that you need an “Espadrille Point Turner” in the supplies.  In craft speak, that means that you need a pointy object to push out the corners of a sewn object, scissors or a knitting needle work just the same, save the money. I also opted to use regular pins and not the “Espadrille Glass head pins” to pin the fabric to the soles. I have no idea why I would need fancy pins, (unless of course I was decorating my house with unfinished projects, then why not use pretty pins). Anyway, the lesson here is you can use a little creative license when crafting. Just because the recipe calls for eggs, sometimes bananas work just as well.

I also now have a much greater appreciation for makers. Making these wasn’t difficult, per se, but I did end up taking the first one apart. It took me three shoes to get two to fit the same. Still I consider that a win and they are so comfortable! Through the process of making, you really do gain an appreciation for the time, effort and skill of those that make. I will as a result take much better care of these shoes than any other shoes I own. My kids have taken to calling them my Rainbow Shoes, perhaps now I will be able to find a pot of gold.