(Typical Millennial: “Jerry who?” Just Youtube “jerry lewis typewriter”, kids.)
It all started like this: my friend Jeanette is a writer by trade – and yes, I am terribly jealous – and has a writerly affinity for typewriters. As the weather turned cooler and one could utter the word “Christmas” without being pelted by tomatoes, I started searching about for a suitable gift. I had two criteria: it shouldn’t be too grand, so as to not embarrass the recipient or strain my budget; and it should be easily and inexpensively shipped internationally.
My first thought had been a Christmas ornament of some sort, but a quick search revealed that most available were either overpriced or underwhelming, or both. Also, while a hard clay ornament might have been okay to ship internationally had an appropriate one been found, the thought of a blown glass one made me nervous. I did see a cute necklace online, but that seemed just a little personal. Could I make something instead?
Thank heavens for Urban Threads. I found a simple hand embroidery pattern on their site, and a charcoal-gray tea towel in my stash. And all households need at least one hand-embroidered kitchen linen, right?
The picture makes the towel look lighter than it really is. I chose the colours I did to really pop against the gray, with just a hint of silver metallic on what I believe are called the typebars, plus the little doohickey on the right hand side. It came out looking really great, but my stars, the 39 little keys just about killed me! Also, for any embroiderers or aspiring embroiderers out there: watch the surface you choose. This particular towel has ribbing (or cabling?), and although it adds to the tactile appeal, those darned keys came out a little wobbly looking if they happened to fall on a cable.
And now, for a little comic relief:
The Witty Child 