Needle and thread are simple tools, and darning a hole in a sock or a pair of pants is a simple skill. Yet the knowledge of those tools and skills has prevailed through the ages and transcended national boundaries and cultures.

Gabriella Bortolotti of Ivrea, Italy, is proof of that. She reads the Bangor Daily News By Hand column on the Internet as a way to enhance her English skills. She also practices her English with a group of friends from other European countries during regular meetings at a cafe in Ivrea, a small city in the mountains northeast of Turino.

Bortolotti first e-mailed a few months ago wanting to know more about making sock dolls, a new concept for her. I sent her detailed instructions, and our e-mail friendship grew from there.

After reading a recent By Hand column about my grandfather’s darning, she e-mailed:

“I loved your article. I love your grandfather!” She went on to say that it reminded her of when “my grandmother taught me to mend the white socks I wore to church. I was 9 or 10. [Your column] made me dream about the past. I just love your way of writing. I can’t find another way to say it.”

When it comes to needlework and related skills, Bortolotti is no novice. She enjoys doing decoupage and is working on a table that will be decorated with a beautiful flowering tree.

Recently I introduced a new word into Bortolotti’s English vocabulary: flip-flops – sandals we wear to the beach – like the ones I plan to wear to my son’s wedding beside the lake this summer.

In return for that word, Gabriella gave me the Italian word for flip-flops: infradito. Such an elegant word – a pliant thread to darn kindred spirits together. – Ardeana Hamlin