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Sewing Machines a Hit with Olympic Visitors (February 20)
One popular feature of the Olympic Village, where over 2,000 athletes and officials live during the Nagano Games, is the sewing center set up by one of the companies sponsoring the Olympics. Athletes and other residents of the Village are using the sewing machines there to do needlework and embroidery; it's not unusual to see a huge Olympic star hunched over one of the small machines!The computerized sewing machines can be programmed to make items like purses or to embroider Olympic symbols onto commemorative patches. According to the person running the sewing center, "We are seeing a lot more male athletes than we had expected. Some days more than half the people using the machines are men."
Andrew Murtha, the coach of the Australian speed-skating squad who won a bronze medal himself in the sport at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, was seated at one of the machines. "I don't usually use a sewing machine, but I'm making a present for my nephew." It took him about an hour to sew a skating "Snoopy" onto his patch. (Shinano Mainichi Shimbun)
Sewing machines are a surprisingly popular attraction in the Olympic Village.