Cochineal Red

Last summer I wandered into a book shop in the Metro Centre while visiting with my mother before heading off up to Scotland.  I was looking for something non-fiction to read that wouldn’t tax my brain but would be interesting at the same time.  Since I was off on my travels a travelog of some sort seemed appropriate.

So imagine my delight at finding a book with this title!  Yes, yes, yes I know how shallow it is of me to buy a book based on it’s title (let alone it’s cover) so would you like me to put a little effort into making it sound like I had more lofty reasons?

Oh ok then…  Well I read the blurb on the back which mentioned the Nasca Lines and Machu Picchu and how this was an ‘immensely personal and accessible guide’.  The little review quotes were all glowing, but then if you’re publishing a book you’re hardly going to include excerpts from unflattering reviews.

I’ll admit I stood at the shelves for quite a while debating between this book and one about a guy walking across Afghanistan.  Then I remembered my one and only foray into the South American area of the British Museum.  It did not end well.  In fact it ended rather badly with me high tailing it out of the museum and refusing to go back inside the building.  Instead I found a little cafe and sat there for the rest of the afternoon.  What happened is a bit of a mystery even to me.  The only way I can describe it is I suddenly came over all funny and every fibre of my being wanted to be elsewhere.  The desire to ‘not be there’ was so strong my legs moved without any conscious decision that I can remember.

When all this came flooding back I quickly decided that the Afghanistan book was the one to get, made my way to the till, paid, and left for some more shopping with my mother.  So I was more than a little perplexed when I opened my bag later that evening to discover the Peru book, not the one I thought I’d bought.

All that said, I’m glad I ended up with this book as I’ve really enjoyed it.  Thomson doesn’t just explain the current theories on the development of Andean cultures but carrys you along with himself on a personal journey of discovery.  The book has many facts and explanations but most of all he approaches them from a very pragmatic view point.  He looks at how views have changed and evolved, even talking about how his own ideas have shifted in ways he never expected.

I warmed to the subject and peoples he described, and, by the end I felt a fondness for the book that had nothing to do with it’s title.  So would I recommend this book?  Yes.  Am I going to go back to the British Museum? No.  But this book has earned itself a permanent slot on my bookcase.

Going to the Fair…..

Today I went to the Essex Bead Fair in Tiptree with a friend.  We were a little later arriving than expected as some helpful Road Repair people had put ‘Road Closed’ signs up and a diversion.  Thing is the diversion just took you round in circles, and to get to the venue you had to ignore the signs and go down the ‘closed’ road.  So what should have been a short journey from her home became a magical mystery tour of north Essex with an increasingly grumpy driver.  (The grumpy driver would be me by the way)

Anyway, once there we fortified ourselves with tea (always a good way to calm me down) and headed off to see what we could find.  One of the ‘stalls’ was a display stand of some amazing pieces created out of beads where I took I these photos.  (Sorry about the quality – I only had the camera on my mobile)

Don’t these chocolates look good enough to eat!

Or a drink which definitely looks alcoholic…

Tinny anyone?

These beautiful cuddly looking toys weren’t so cuddly when you realised that they were made completely out of tiny beads.

I have mixed feelings about beading.  On the one hand you get amazing pieces like these where the artistry is plain to see.  There were some stunning beads you could easily imagine forming part of jewellery in a select little boutique.  Gorgeous semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls and cut crystal.  Unfortunately, alongside all this beauty was stuff that looked like it had been found inside a really cheap Christmas cracker.  Of course I guess it’s the same for any craft.  Does beading have it’s own version of a ‘yarn snob’ I wonder?

That said, I didn’t come home empty handed as I bought a couple of pendants, but I’ll blog about them another time.  In part because one is a fossil my inner geek wants to research more, but also because I’m feeling the urge for another cup of tea… Hmm… Time to put the kettle on again.

A Place on the Web

After a lot of encouragement (and a bit of arm twisting), Fantasia Yarns now has it’s own website.

I’ve also uploaded some new yarns to the Folksy shop.  However, since I’m uncomfortable with self promotion, I’m going to end this post with some photos of a few yarns in the shop update before my cheeks go completely red, and simply ask you all to forgive me the shameless plugging….

Those cushions again

Remember those patchwork quilted cushion covers?  Well the project has kind of grown a bit… But more of that later. 

 

I’m really rather pleased with them even though I know that they are far from perfect.  I have to say that the patchwork was by far the easiest bit.  Quilting the ‘pads’ to form the fronts was ahem ‘interesting’.  But attaching the cushion backs was a nightmare!

If I was to do them again I would choose a different wadding – this one was definitely to thick for the job.  Also investing in a ‘walking foot’ for my sewing machine would be a good move.  I’ve never used a walking foot before but I know that they are designed to help compensate for problems with differential feed.  This is when different layers of fabric move through your sewing machine at different rates which leads to all sorts of problems.  Everyone I’ve spoken to who has one has raved about it, so onto the shopping list it goes.

Now remember I mentioned that the project has sort of grown a bit?  Well the cushion covers were made from some charm squares I bought off the internet.  The seller only had squares of this particular fabric so it was only ever going to be cushions.  At least that’s what I thought.  Then I walked into one of my local fabric shops (one which I don’t go to much because I don’t like the atmosphere) and there sitting on the shelf were two rolls of fat quarters, one in the white and one in the cream.  You know what happened next don’t you.

Yup they are now at home in my fabric stash.  I’d like to say at this point that my fabric stash is tiny compared to my yarn stash so the addition of two rolls of fat quarters is a major thing.  I’m now imagining the cushions on my bed with a matching runner across the bottom.  Hmm……

Woooooooosssshhhhhh……

I’ve got a shiny new swift!  Ok ok it’s not shiny, and it’s not new, but you get the idea.  A swift, for those non-yarn obsessed among us, is a sort of spinning thing that you can use to help you wind yarn into balls or cakes ready for use.

If you don’t have one you end up draping the yarn over the back of a chair, using a friend to hold it, or in my case wrapping it over your knees which then have to be held an at unnatural angle so it doesn’t fall off.  Not an activity to be done in a skirt or in front of people (unless you don’t mind looking more than a little stupid).

Anyway after using a beautiful wooden swift belonging to a friend, I was sold and wanted my own.  However, a quick internet search revealed that unless I wanted a metal one, (my heart was set on wood), I might have to part with a little bit more money that I’d anticipated.  Enter the ebay stalking.

Eventually this one came up for sale.  It was listed as ‘vintage’ but the photos made it look remarkably new.  The price was right and so I clicked on the ‘bid now’ button.  Soon it was winging it’s way to my eager hands.

I’m still not sure about the ‘vintage’ bit as the wood looks remarkably clean and unused, but, I don’t care.  It’s pretty and I love it.  No doubt the next few days will involve lots of yarn winding hehe…

A New Experience

As I mentioned in my last post I’ve been thinking about giving patchwork quilting a go.  Nothing ambitious to start with, just something small for the cottage.  However, two things kept putting me off.  My sewing machine was stuck underneath a pile of stuff (that’s sorted now and I have a sewing table again), and cutting out the pieces.

Speaking to a couple of friends who quilt I was advised this is usually done with a cutting mat and a rotary cutter.  I own neither of these and since I had no idea if I would enjoy this new adventure, was reluctant to purchase them.  Then while browsing online I wandered onto some sites that sell pre-cut fabric ready for patchwork sewing.  Hmmm so perhaps here was a way I could try it out without a large financial outlay.  I had no idea you could buy the fabric pre-cut as my friends always seemed to buy it off the roll.

So out came the graph paper and measuring tape.  I decided to make two cushion covers for my bedroom in a cream/white scheme.  I don’t own any books on quilting but in true Top Gear style I decided ‘How hard can it be?’ and got stuck in.

 

I quickly had some squares winging their way to me through the post, and when they arrived spent a little while playing with different orders.  Then there was pinning and sewing…

And before long I had the patchwork bit of two cushions done.  Now I’m sure experienced quilters will be able to point out numerous mistakes I made and places I could have improved.  Miss C also sent me numerous tutorial links for the internet, which I ignored because I was two busy playing with the fabric, pins and my machine!

This bit hadn’t been pressed when I took this photo (I really should learn patience with my camera) but you get the idea.  I’m rather proud of my first attempts, and most of all – I had a huge amount of fun…

The Calico Dragon

I’ve recently been thinking about doing some patchwork quilting.  This is something I’ve not done before and unlike knitting, sewing or crochet, isn’t anything I’m aware of anyone in my family doing when I was little.

However it did trigger a memory of my father who sadly is no longer with us.  While growing up I would often go and hide under the table in his den while he messed about with his cine projectors.  When he died and we finally managed to do an inventory (including the ones he hid in the garage) he had almost 200.  To go with these was a large collection of films, the majority of which were early animations, Warner Bros, Disney, Hanna Barbera, MGM, Walton and many others.

Many happy evenings of my childhood were spent cross legged under that desk watching these cartoons.  One of his favourites (which took him quite a while to find) was called The Calico Dragon.

It’s about a little girl with a patchwork quilt who reads a fairy tale about a dragon to her toys at bed time.  Then, when she falls asleep, the toys come alive.  The Knight, his horse and dog decide to go off into the land of Calico to fight the Calico Dragon.

This memory took me by surprise and led to a flood of others, all based around my father.  By the time of his death he was very ill with both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  If fact for the last few years of his life it was hard to believe that the increasingly incoherent shell of a man actually was my father.  Even after all these years those memories quickly reduce me to tears.

But the memories of those cartoons are associated with him as a younger healthier man.  So I decided to go online and look up The Calico Dragon.  I even found a copy of the film which, (if I’ve done this correctly) should be embedded below.  I hope you like it.  For me this will forever symbolise some of the happiest memories of my childhood.

The Calico dragon, par Rudolf Ising
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