Janet knits & stitches a creative life

A LONG day by bus to Calicut

2012-02-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

After a relaxing breakfast on the terrace overlooking themisty mountains, we packed our bags and headed off to the bus to leave ourmountain paradise. We so enjoyed ourstay at Royal Mist. I felt like I wasleaving friends and wished that I was staying a little longer to get to know Anil,Jeeva and their children better. We havestayed in a lot of guesthouses in Europe, North America, and Asia—this ranks upin our top 5. The beds and pillows werecomfortable, the shower was great, the room was spotless, the food and tea wonderful,the location spectacular, and the hospitality and service extremely generous. Speaking of food, we asked Jeeva what herrecipe is for Garam Masala, and she says she uses equal weights of aniseed(fennel), cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and star anise. She leaves them out for a day in the sunbefore grinding. This is her grandmother’srecipe. She also likes to use chili withmore heat and so mixes regular chili powder with the milder Kashmiri one-to-one.

We didn’t have far to go to catch the bus—there’s a stop justabout a hundred metres from their front gate. Our hosts came along with us tomake sure we got on the right bus (even though there’s one every 15 minutes,they don’t all have the same destination). Within about 5 minutes the right bus came along, so we hopped on,pulling our bags on after us, with a final hug for Jeeva and a hearty handshakewith Anil. We were away by about 9:40 AM,swinging down yet another narrow and twisting mountain road. Those drivers know exactly how fast to takethe curves—with inches to spare at times.

We rattled our way to our first transfer point (Perumbavoor)and arrived just after noon. The fellowsitting beside Lloyd (once again we were sitting three abreast, with me upagainst the open window) asked where we were going, and he made sure that wegot the right bus—we only had to wait about 10 minutes. And almost 2 hours later we were in Thrissur,and yet another fellow passenger helped us to locate the next bus. Lloyd went off to buy some food, and in themeantime the driver started up the engine! I hollered out the window, and he quickly paid for everything and cameback at a run. Off we went at anotherbrisk clip, arriving at our final destination of Kozhikode (old name Calicut)around 6:15 PM, just over 8 ½ hours transit time and a distance of about 350km. I was feeling VERY weary especiallyin the neck and shoulders because it takes a lot of effort to sit in a bouncingbus. Plus the windblown hair—charming…

Along the way today, besides fabulous mountainscapes,cascading water, and scary traffic we were treated to the view of fourelephants dressed in their temple finery walking along the edge of the highway,accompanied by lots of young men with horns and percussion instruments.

We’re staying one night at the Hyson Heritage hotel, a basicbusiness-type hotel, not too far from the bus station (although we hired atuk-tuk to get us here because we weren’t exactly sure where to go.) The first order of business was to have a bitof a wash, and wow, the grit and grime on our hands and faces from the roadpollution… We found some dinner at a “Veg,Non-veg” restaurant, sharing a chicken biryani and a bottle of mango juice, butno beer—that is only available it seems in a bar, which we never did find—for acost of 122 rupees, about $2.50. Back tothe hotel to shower and write to you. Itfeels good to be clean again.

Tomorrow morning we’ll catch yet another bus for a 3 ½ hourjourney into the Wayanad Nature Preserve. Apparently this is a beautiful area with the best chance of seeingelephants in the wild, and not many visitors. I don’t know about internet connections so this might be the lastposting for a while.

Munnar--a mountain paradise

2012-02-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

We have just had another splendid day in paradise, this time in the mountains of Munnar. Our hosts suggested that we visit the Srishti Tea Plantation where there is a sheltered craft workshop. We are situated about 10 km out of the town so our host drove us to Shristi, and on the way he very kindly stopped to orient us to a wonderful walk through the jungle and tea plantations, suggesting that we do this hike on our return. (We are being so well-looked after here!)

We arrived at Srishti:

The entrance to Srishti--isn't "differently disabled" an interesting term...

I was mostly interested in Aranya, the workshop that specializes in natural dyes, and I was not disappointed. It's a lovely workspace. We were greeted by one of the supervisors who explained the variety of dyes they use (pomegranate, madder, indigo, tea waste, etc.) and showed us samples of the colours on different fabrics (silk, cotton, tussah silk) using different mordants. She then showed us the work in progress--arashi shibori and block-printed batik with indigo. There is also an area where they are experimenting with flower and leaf pounding on cotton treated with alum. We also enjoyed the visit to the paper-making workshop next door where they are making paper from waste paper, cotton fabric, elephant dung, and many other fibres. This is where the sheltered workshop got its start with the support of the TATA company (TATA is huge in India, from hotels to cars, trucks, and buses, to tea and other beverages and probably MANY other goods and services). On site is also a school for "differently abled" children of the local TATA employees. The teacher-student ratio is enviable, even by Canadian standards, about 1-4. The children are blind, deaf, or otherwise physically and/or mentally challenged. When we visited the school they were just finishing lunch so we weren't able to observe a lesson. Graduates from the school are employed in the workshops, whether that is paper-making, natural-dyeing, kitchen work (we enjoyed a veggie burger in the deli for lunch), and jam-making (they grow their own fruit there, e.g. guava, strawberry, orange..) And finally, of course, we visited the store where I bought some batik block-printed indigo-dyed linen. Three metres... maybe a shirt for Lloyd...he thinks...

We walked back into Munnar, about 4 km along a mostly shaded road with very little traffic (most unusual by Indian standards) so very enjoyable. We reached the mayhem of town, and decided that we needed to buy a bottle of white wine (Lloyd likes to keep madam happy...) and asked a tuk-tuk driver to take us to a wine shop. In Kerala, the sale of alcohol is tightly controlled by the gov't--shades of British Columbia under WAC Bennett... and he took us the store which typically is enclosed in a cage with a line of men waiting to be served. (I wait outside while Lloyd goes in--I don't feel comfortable in that crush of men.) As I type this, I am sipping on Sula Sauvignon Blanc, an Indian white wine which is quite acceptable.

And then we caught the bus to the dam about 2 -3 km south of town and walked to the view point...enjoyed a cup of cardamom tea (me) and masala tea (Lloyd) before continuing along the road into the jungle... Our host had warned us that the tea plantation owners had been putting up "no trespassing" signs and that we could be chased out--while this didn't happen to us, it did to some young French women at the tea stall which is why we opted to take the long road around...and then by about 4 PM we'd had enough and Lloyd hailed a tuk-tuk to take us the rest of the way. Where else in the world can you finish a hike but in India by hailing a tuk-tuk??? The road was EXTREMELY BUMPY--every bone and internal organ got a good shaking up.

But he took us past the waterfall which had been our destination (not much water because it's the dry season) and then all the way back to our guest house. He earned his 200 rupees for sure--Lloyd had said 150 at the outset and then when we finally arrived at Royal Mist Lloyd gave him another 50 which is probably overly generous but that bumpy road probably played havoc with his tires and suspension. We're getting used to this tipping game...

It's now a beautiful sunset and we're about to enjoy an aubergine curry dinner because we told our host that eggplant is Lloyd's favourite vegetable. So, that's a bit of life in paradise!

Lloyd says he will blog next about the spice plants for your edification... Stay tuned...

By Bus from Kumily to Munnar

2012-02-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

We took our first bus trip in India today and survived 106 km of narrow twisting mountain roads! We were warned that the road from Kumily to Munnar was dreadful, but that speaker obviously hasn't been to Sri Lanka where they're far worse. This was a very reasonable road indeed. It was only the last 30 km where it became considerably narrow, and thus a little hair-raising at times. We left Kumily more or less on time (9:50 AM) and arrived as expected at 2:30 PM with one 20 minute break (for a clean toilet, and well worth the 5 rupee charge) and another 10 minute break. So a journey of 106 km that took 4 hours+ meant that we were travelling at about 25 km per hour, thus able to enjoy the sights out our window. And it cost only 81 rupees each (about $1.60). We could have hired a private car and driver for about $40 but the journey would probably have still been at least 3 hours.

Looking out the window--no glass, just aluminum shutters that were rolled up.

I thrust my camera out the window to take this view of us. Note that we had seats because we arrived at the bus station well in advance of departure.

These sweet young women, one sitting beside Lloyd and her friend standing were happy to have me take their picture.

This cutie-pie in her pretty dress would only sit next to Lloyd if her father sat down too.

The little boy in the seat ahead of us.

When the road became much narrower, I had a perfect view of on-coming traffic. It was a tight squeeze for this truck.

The bus had stopped for the truck to continue.

And a successful pass.

Some of the spectacular scenery enroute.

We are now happily ensconced at Royal Mist homestay and it's everything that their website promises and more. Our hosts have been wonderfully welcoming, from meeting us in our tuk-tuk at a rendezvous point (thank goodness everyone else carries mobile phones--they're happy to make calls for us...), providing a great cup of tea at 4 PM and then a wonderful Keralan dinner at 7:30, and inviting us on a pre-dinner stroll where they gave us an introduction to the botany of the area (spices, tea, coffee, fruit...more about that in another post tomorrow.)

So, until then, we're now off to bed! It's 10:43 PM.

Letter from Kumily

2012-02-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

We left our backwaters paradise by canoe about 9:15 Fridaymorning—it cost us 5 rupees each plus 5 rupees for our luggage (about 35₵)—andit was a wonderfully graceful way to leave. As I typed that word “graceful”, I meant that the brief 5 minute journeywas peaceful and calm, however when getting in and out of the canoe I feltanything but graceful!

Our taxi was waiting for us—our packs were stowed on the cartop rack and off we went. We werequickly on a main road and into the traffic that we had heard very faintly inthe distance from Green Palm. Thescenery was still familiar—rice paddies and canals, and one canal in particularwas carpeted with the beautiful purple water hyacinth. We had learned on the evening walk at Green Palm that this plant was importedto Africa from Brazil, and then to India because of its beautiful flowers,however it sadly has become very invasive, choking up the waterways. The only proven control is to open thebarriers at the ocean and let in the sea water once a year because it is notsalt-tolerant; however enough survives to propagate anew.

The trip to Kumily was about four hours. We made one stop for Lloyd to buy some juice,and I did some clothes shopping! Whileon the island I had noticed that the women working around their homes(including doing dishes, laundry and ablutions in the river or canal) usuallywore long and very comfortable looking simple dresses. I saw some of these hanging outside a shop,and so I had a closer look. I wasgreeted very graciously by an older gentleman and (I presume) his wife and theyshowed me a vast selection of these dresses. Some had collars, some had scoop necks, some had elastic at the sleevehems—there were no duplicates. All werecotton, and none have any seam finishes (easily rectified when I gethome). I broke my vow to only buy onething in a store, and chose two dresses for a whopping amount of about $3each. My purchases were carefully foldedand put first into a paper bag and then into a plastic bag. When Lloyd showed up just in time to pay (Ididn’t have any money on me!) the gentleman gave him a gift of ahandkerchief. All-in-all, a verypleasurable experience. This is what alocal shopping experience can be like which is vastly different from a touristhandicraft emporium where the pressure to buy is relentless along with theexpectation of haggling.

Within a couple of hours, our elevation was increasingrapidly, and the road became very twisty. There was also less humidity further away from the sea, and a littlecooler as well making the journey quite tolerable with the windows down. Our driver was cautious and didn’t take therisks that we saw other drivers taking such as passing on curves! The trees became larger—more broadleaf andfewer palms. We started to see a lot ofrubber plantations (rubber trees are tall and thin) as well as coffee and tea plantations.

Lloyd had booked Chrissie's Hotel from Green Palm on the basis of arecommendation from another guest, and we are very happy here. It’s clean and comfortable, and therestaurant bakes its own good bread. Asmuch as we’ve enjoyed the local cuisine all along the way, it’s good to havefood close to what we’re used to on occasion. I had a margarita pizza and Lloyd had pasta with tomato cheese sauce ourfirst night here.

There is still a significant Christian population in thispart of Kerala, and Friday night we saw a procession that we think was to honorSaint Sebastian—we saw similar banners in Sri Lanka. Everyone seemed to be dressed in their bestclothes and carrying flowers. And againSaturday night there were huge crowds at the Catholic church—standing roomonly, with people standing at the doors looking in—after a similar processionaccompanied with traditional drums and cymbals. Our hotel is also located between two mosques, each with competing loudspeakers for the call to prayer—it’s interesting that they’re off by about 30seconds. We hear one call start, andthen the 2^nd begins but on a slightly different note. The tune and metre aren’t the same either,hence my use of the adjective “competing”. And perhaps they’re different Muslim sects.

Kumily is on the edge of a popular wildlife sanctuary calledPeriyar, known for its elephant and tiger population. We were too late to get onto a guided walk,so we walked in ourselves—rather unpleasant and hot because we had to walk onthe asphalt road, there being no alternate walking trail—to the head of thelake. We didn’t see any tigers, but wesaw an elephant grazing contentedly across the lake.

I’ve had some good knitting time in both Kumily and at GreenPalm. I’ve started another shawl withthe yarn I bought in Singapore. It’sgoing to be a simple triangle this time—I’m increasing with a yarn over at thebeginning of every row.

Our balcony and the view

We took in a Kathakali performance Saturday night. Based on Hindu epics, actors tell the storywith elaborate hand and facial gestures rather than words, and are accompaniedby a singer (in this case a wonderful baritone) and drums and cymbals. We arrived in time to observe some of thepreparations (make-up and costume) however in spite of the excellentdemonstration and explanation in advance I didn’t really follow the story,being too distracted by the visuals!

We finished off Saturday with a so-so meal where we had towait well over an hour for our food, but fortunately we were there with newfriends from Quebec, folks we had met at Green Palm. The conversation made up for the poor serviceand lack lustre meal. Next time I’m surethe food will be much better, and we’ll enjoy a bottle of good wine too!

In the backwaters of Kerala

2012-02-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Green Palm Homestay early Sunday afternoon. We had booked for 4 nights, and stayed for afifth!

The rhythm of the place:

5:30 AM—the dawn chorus begins. One lusty bird was on a wire about 6 metresfrom our open window most mornings. Ifinally got up and found my ear plugs.

6:30—dawn. Voices from the riverside path (about 10 maway) of people waiting for the canoe trip to cross the river.

The view of the river and the "canoe man" from our bedroom window. He has a load of school kids in their pink shirts plus someone's bicycle.

7:00—coffee or tea available for the early risers andwalkers on the verandah.

7:30—the morning guided walk departs. This includes a Keralan breakfast at an 85year old farmhouse, one of the few homes that still has a coconut palm thatchedroof.

8:00—breakfast for those who didn’t go on the walk—it wassomething different every day, e.g. some kind of starch like rice noodles andcoconut or a sweet pancake with a vegetable curry or hard boiled eggs in anonion curry.

11:00—guided walkers return by river ferry

11:30—cooking class on some days—Anna, the matriarch andchief cook, likes to use Kashmiri chili powder because it’s flavourful and mild. She measures her spices in proportion to thechili, e.g. 2 large spoons of chili powder, 1 large spoon of ground coriander,2 heaped tsp of garam masala, ½ tsp turmeric, 2 tsp of salt (or to taste). The garam masala is her own mix of 25 g. cinnamon, 10 g. cloves, 100 g. aniseed (fennel), and 10 g. cardamom—all of which areplaced out in the sun to dry for 6 – 7 hours before grinding. Coconut oil is the preferred fat—it’s abeautiful golden colour with the aroma of coconut. Indeed coconut is a big feature of Keralancookery.

1:00—lunch. Themain meal of the day with rice, meat or fish, a couple of vegetable curries, achutney, and a salad. Dessert is bananaand yogurt flavoured with vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg and sugar or freshpineapple.

4:00—tea—black or masala—and biscuits (cookies).

5:00—the evening walk departs (sometimes by canoe to theother island across the river)

6:30—sun sets over the river

7:30 PM—evening walkers return by canoe, serenaded withKeralan folksongs by the paddlers—quite magical in the dark.

8:00—dinner—a lighter meal with a bread (chapatti), avegetable and a meat curry. Dessert is asmall banana, sweet with a hint of lemon.

In between is time for relaxing on the veranda under afan—very necessary in this heat (30+ degrees) and humidity—doing a littleknitting and reading…

…walking along the dikes and then inland along the ricepaddies:

Lloyd walking on a main pathway through the fields.

Could have rented bicycles or canoes if felt reallyambitious—Lloyd decided he didn’t want to risk dumping into the murky water.

The sounds that surround us:

· Conversations in many languages—our hosts andtheir children speak Malayalam, the local language, and are also fluent inEnglish. Over the past four days, guestswere from Australia, USA (California and Nebraska), Canada (Quebec), England,Denmark (a lovely family with two daughters), Germany, Austria and France.

· Boats on the river—the diesel motors of theferries and houseboats. We feel happy to be here in this place, and not in oneof those noisy boats! The ferries alsosound their horns to warn other craft to get out of their way.

· The bus horns in the distance, reminding us thatthere is a road across the river that would connect us to the cities and townsif we chose to go there…

· Cocks crowing next door, and a chicken cluckingas she herds her peeping chicks a few metres away from us

· “Thwack, thwack, thwack” of someone doinglaundry on the river bank—scrub, beat, rinse, repeat until clean…

· Birds of all kinds—song birds, orioles,kingfishers, crows, woodpeckers, sparrows, swallows, egrets, herons…

The walks have been an opportunity to learn about thesocial and natural history of the area. The islands are reclaimed land, and have been constantly added to bydredging the rivers and canals over the last millennium. One of our hosts told us that thefarmers are planning to increase the height of the dikes by two feet this yearand will start work on this when the rice crop is harvested in April. We stopped to watch a dredging project onemorning:

There was a big dredger anchored off shore, scooping up buckets of mud which were then dumped onto the land. There was a crew of men then scooping the mud with shovels specially designed for the purpose and flinging it further inland. They were preparing the foundation for a new house.

The residents are mainly Christian, their ancestorshaving been converted by Eastern Orthodox traders and missionaries in the late900s, and then forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism by the Portuguese in the1600s. The Syrian Orthodox church hasslowly re-established congregations in the area over the last 100 years—there’sone across the river from us with 100 families and a Catholic church a 5 minutewalk away with 500 families.

Many people are still earning a living by farmingrice—the paddies are located inland and the houses are all along the river andcanal banks.

Farm workers are weeding out the alien grasses. The rice is starting to change colour--it will be golden by April and ready to harvest.

There are two crops of rice each year, with the fieldslying fallow for two months in between when the cattle and goats are allowedout to glean. The land is soft and thus continues tosink—the paddies are actually a few metres below sea level. Other families still practice theirtraditional occupations such as canoe builder/repairer, toddy tappers, coconut harvesters, canal/river dredgers, and so on. There is a concern in the community about itslong term viability—young adults are not automatically doing what their parentsand grandparents did before them, preferring to move to the cities.

Coconuts are the mainstay for every family because eachtree produces a crop of nuts every 45 days.

An obviously foreign woman in her Tilley hat and socks (very few people wear hats and socks here) standing on the dike between two newly planted coconut trees.

All parts of the coconut are used, e.g. the liquid from the youngcoconuts is a refreshing drink, the meat of mature nuts is chopped or ground touse in cooking or pressed for oil, the fibre is spun into yarn for rope,carpets, and boat building, the shells are carved into beautiful objects (frombuttons and bangles to souvenirs for tourists) or converted into activatedcharcoal, the dead fronds are used as firewood (they used to be used forroofing and fencing). The sap from theflower shoots is collected and fermented into toddy, the local spiritby the toddy tappers. And whena tree is cut down (they can live to over a hundred years), the soft wood canbe impregnated with a chemical to make it suitable for building furniture. Coconuttrees also help stabilize the river and canal dikes.

This wonderful path led to a home in the middle of the paddy fields. It's lined with coconut and banana trees.

Every home has afew banana trees too. This soil is sofertile that the plants grow to maturity in 10 months producing one big stem ofbananas. The tree is then cut down to make way for others. And we’ve seen mango and papapa, yam and tapioca…

Sounds like paradise, doesn’t it?!

A Full Day in Kochi

2012-02-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

We're back on line!

I wrote this in the backwaters of Kerala not knowing whenI’d be posting. We left Kochi Sundaymorning in a taxi for Allepey and caught the public ferry (a noisy diesel boatwith bench seats) for a trip up river to Green Palm Homestay. There was no internet access in thebackwaters so I didn’t think too much about the computer. So some catching up…

Saturday February 4: We spent a full day exploring Kochi. Our hotel was right in the middle of Fort Kochi and about 200 metresfrom the harbour of the Chinese fishing nets.

The net is being raised

The net is being lowered...note the 2 men out front walking along the poles to help the net down, and the stone weights that have come out of the water on the left.

And another fisherman was standing on the shore andcasting a net:

We walked along the harbour, enjoying the colonialPortuguese and Dutch warehouses which are still used to sort, dry and storespices and rice, the big agricultural products of this area:

Ginger--in the foreground it's coated in clay to preserve it, and the stuff in the background is not coated.

Men carrying sacks of ginger

Women measuring out black pepper corns

The many different kinds of rice available

One fortuitous sight was a short street of Hindu houses,where the women had painted designs in front of their steps. We were told by a passerby that February isan auspicious month, and these designs are painted every Friday using a whitepaste made from rice that is soaked in water for one hour then ground.

At the entrance to the street--no cars or tuk tuks allowed.

The artists

We bought some bananas as a snack, and then didn’t knowwhat to do with the peel…we couldn’t bring ourselves to just throw it on theground like everyone else does! And thenalong came a goat…

Note that the goat is surrounded by litter!

Later in the afternoon, we asked a tuk tuk driver to takeus to the elephant festival at the Shiva Temple. We could hear the drums, cymbals, and hornsbefore we arrived.

The band

The elephants weredressed up with brass face plates and garlands of flowers around their necksand shackles around their ankles. They seemed to be mostly focussed on eatingthe vegetation at their feet than the singing and drumming that was going on infront of them. Meanwhile, on eachelephant were three young men dressed in traditional attire and at certainpoints in the music (when the horns were played particularly) would stand upand wave their fans, pompoms and umbrellas.

Quite frankly it was all very loud and mysterious, and the longer westayed the more uncomfortable I felt about the elephants being shackled.

The driver then showed us the central laundry for thecity—established over a hundred years ago.

Preparing to wash a load of sheets

The drying area--long stretches of coconut fibre ropes

The final stages--ironing and bagging for return to customers.

Adventures and Observations from the Road…

2012-02-03T06:54:00.001-08:00

...One day in Galle, January 30th
(Janet's note: Lloyd asked for some space in this blog--here is his first posting.)

What a blast of impressions wash over us each day we aretravelling. Just today we were awakenedat about 5:10 by a Muslim call to pray… broadcast from several loud speakerssituated around this small community inside Galle Fort… We both happily gotback to sleep to awake some hours later to hear kids heading off to school atabout 7:30… including one wailing youngster who obviously did not want to go.We also heard the workers on the street below begin their daily tasks...shoveling, mixing and hauling cement, more digging, scraping and banging…allfrom the comfort of our bed in a concrete room painted bright white with awonderful ceiling fan churning away at 100 kmh…no AC rooms available so we mustmake do… it was quite tolerable. Tuktuks, the small three wheeled vehicles thatare everywhere here begin to buzz along our street… some are dropping workersoff, others are picking up travellers to take them to the bus station and stillothers are set up as delivery trucks that haul all types of equipment andbuilding materials.

Breakfast was at 8am in the guesthouse kitchen where we metseveral other guests around the enormous table… An older fellow from northernGermany who has been coming here since 1979 and a transplanted Brit who livesin southern Spain for most of the year but is here in Sri Lanka for four monthsthis year…all the fellow travelers we meet have interesting stories and are awealth of practical information and background stories. Breakfast is heapingplates of fresh fruit, Papaya, Pineapple and finger sized bananas….yum… rotipancakes, toast, jam and of course a strong pot of Sri Lankan tea…the scrambledeggs were marvelous! The cook is a woman in her forties and very kind… always offeringmore… there is another older couple who are around the house cleaning andsweeping and tending…the level of staffing is about 1 to 1 for the 11 rooms…

After brekky off to explore the Old Fort with an excellentmap provided by our new Brit friend… takes about 5 minutes to walk to the maingate and begin our poking along small alleyways and climbing the battlements…wonderful views of the sea and port… along the way we come to an old DutchReform Church that is about 200 years old… we were welcomed by the oldcaretaker…he provided us with a loving tour and tidbits of congregationalhistory… wanting nothing in return other than a small donation for hischurch…the floor of the church was paved with old tombstones some dating to thelate 1700s… they were gathered in this church when the British redeveloped severalold Dutch graveyards when they took over here in the early 1800s…some of thestones carried sad reminders of how short life was in those colonial times fornew arrivals…one young girl died at 17 just months after arriving from Holland…

We wandered by the courthouse and saw the crowds of petitionersgathered about in groups and clutches of lawyers all decked out in their blacksuits and robes in the tropical heat waiting for their turn before a judge. TheGalle Fort Library was our next stop… overseen by a kindly old retired civilservant who was so proud of the 175 year old local institution… his assistantwas quite happy to show us their oldest volume (it is a bit worm eaten aroundthe edges) … published in 1803… it follows the journeys of a young Englishmanas he explores the interior regions of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) before foreigndomination was finally complete…

Lunch was had at the same restaurant we had been to thenight before … run by several young men

who had just started it as a family investment… they worklong days and during the week deliver meals to local business owners or lawyers’offices within the fort… while waiting for our food we could hear all the kitchen sounds wafting out over thecounter…chop, chop chop, sizzle of the wok, whir of the blender… then poof afresh delicious lunch appears on our tiny plastic table on the frontstoop…tasty!

Another adventure began as we were finishing lunch… theowner of the building we were lunching at wandered by carrying his grandson… aMuslim man in his sixties, he struck up a conversation and filled us in on someof the history of the community and his business background… when he found outwe were Canadian he praised one of his Canadian business associates up anddown… we couldn’t take credit but that’s ok. As it turned he was a semi-retiredgem merchant dealing in precious and semi-precious stones from Sri Lanka…heinvited us into his home (next door to the café) to explain the differencesbetween the various stones that were being offered in the dozens of Gem shopsaround the fort… uh oh we thought… sales pitch???... but no, we spent the nexthour and a half learning all sorts of fascinating details about the differentstones, colours, lustre, hardness etc… we were greeted by family members asthey came and went and could hear the daily sounds of the house as our hosttook repeated phone calls. Our host showed us several of the lots of stones hehad gathered and was holding for his clients… at no time did he try to push usto buy … we left happy to have learned a whole bunch and felt good about thechance encounter… we got a glimpse of the inside of a private home and made aconnection to someone from a totally different culture…

Later that afternoon as we returned to our guesthouse we raninto our Muslim friend again… he had been sent out to walk with his grandsonagain and to pick up some bread for dinner… ah the role of husbands everywhere…as we chatted, his friend from the vacant home next door came by and said helloand we were then offered a quick peek a boo tour of the very large andluxurious home next door to our guesthouse… it is owned by a wealthy family whoonly visits a few times a year… the house was huge and quite opulent by localstandards… high ceilings, stone floors, large fans, all facing onto a largeenclosed garden… nice place… again a peek into local lives that we wouldnormally never get… ah the art of smoozing which eases almost all travel…

We fell asleep a few hours later listening to the streetsettling in … the evening call to prayer, people sweeping their verandas,couples shuffling by on an evening walk… the crash of the surf a few blocksaway … and the whir of the fan…

Cheers from the Road

Lloyd

Farewell to Sri Lanka, Hello India!

2012-02-02T23:23:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Kerala this morning (Friday) after a 1 hour flight from Colombo. While travelling by taxi from the airport to Hotel Rossita Wood Castle (the taxi took longer than the flight) I couldn't help but reflect on the similarities and differences between Sri Lanka and Kerala, or at least Kochi where we're staying. In Sri Lanka, drivers toot their horns to let the driver in front know he's about to overtake, e.g. "Please let me pass!" Here they seem to lean on their horns more aggressively and frequently as if to say "Get out of my way! Here I come!" I've noticed more women here dressed in gorgeous saris and salwar kameez (the pants, tunic and scarf ensemble); in Sri Lanka, the women tended to dress in blouses and full calf-length skirts. There are more men in shirts and pants in Kochi--we got very used to seeing men in sarongs (from beautiful batiks to plain solid colours and white). (How on earth do they keep them tied up? Answer--they have to keep tying and re-tying...) There's a greater variation in skin colour here too, from very pale to very dark. In Sri Lanka, the dark skin prevails, along with beautiful jet-black curly hair. And there's way more garbage here too... Not that SL was pristine, but people tend not to litter.

We had a bit of an adventure yesterday getting to Colombo from Galle. We lined up for the luxury express bus, and discovered once we were on the way that it terminated in a suburb of Colombo, rather than the central bus station. A local woman took us under her wing to find the right city bus for us to take...even to the extent of getting on the bus with us, and then off at the next light. To find this bus, we followed her in a mad dash along and across a very busy street. I waved good-bye to her out the window, and she reached up and squeezed my hand in farewell. It was a lovely encounter.

As we got further into the city proper, the bus got more and more crowded, particularly with school boys in their neat white shirts and blue shorts. One young lad of about 11 years sat down beside me, and pulled out his geography book. I looked over at the map of the world, and pointed, saying "That's where I live." He looked up at me with big brown eyes, saying "Canada!" We then proceeded to have a pretty decent conversation about world and Sri Lankan geography as we looked through his book together, and he told me that he is studying in three languages at school--Sinhala, Tamil, and English. He gave me a ball-point pen as a gift, and Lloyd produced a maple leaf pin from the bottom of his pack in return. We ended up getting off the bus sooner than the school boys, and as the bus left the curb the kids all leaned out the windows hollering "Good bye!" It was a lovely send off.

We arrived back at the Dephanie Beach Guest house in Negombo where we had started our Sri Lankan adventure on January 19th. After a quick beer in the restaurant, we put on our bathing suits and played in the giant waves out front--wow, some of that surf had a lot of power--and wonderfully refreshing after travelling by a variety of means (tuk tuk, coach, bus, van...) all day. For dinner, I had my last Sri Lankan rice and curry meal--yum, it included eggplant this time.

So, we've checked into our room, and now we'll go off and explore the area a bit. We're here for two nights before moving on to Alleppy.

Spending some more time at the beach...

2012-02-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

...and Lloyd gets a new shirt!
Every beach has touts selling all manner of souvenirs. We have usually waved them away with a "no thanks" and they go. Yesterday, however, Lloyd decided he needed to replace his black silk shirt which is wearing thin on the back. So, yesterday when this woman approached he asked if she had any big shirts. She dug through her bag, and the largest one was too small. "Just a moment, please...I'll be back in five minutes!" and she was...with a couple of large rayon shirts, one with elephants. Lloyd joked about how he needed an elephant-sized shirt and we all laughed. I'm sure this vendor will have repeated the story for the rest of the day. She had enough command of English to get a real charge out of this!

Lloyd trying on an elephant shirt. The vendor is the little woman with the big smile.

Maybe a little small in the shoulders.

He ended up buying the one that's on the chaise longue.

So with that, the bargaining commenced. Her asking price was 800 rupees, said with a great big smile. Lloyd pretended that that was way too much (800 rupees is about $7), and asked for her "best price", and after a bit of back and forth, they settled on 700 rupees. I think she will enjoy telling this story of an encounter with an elephant-sized foreigner on Unawatuna Beach (5 km southeast of Galle).

Our favourite cafe in Galle Fort

2012-02-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight we said good-bye to the young men at the Eatmore Cafe on Church Street and thanked them for feeding us so well these past four days.

Bobbin Lace--a humbling experience!

2012-02-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

I spent the day yesterday in the company of some very fine women--bobbin lace makers extraordinaire! This one-on-one workshop gave me an appreciation for the skill involved and the necessary practice to make it perfect. I also was reminded of what it's like to be a beginner, and have a new-found respect for the beginners I've taught to knit.

My teacher who is about 4'8"--I was sitting on her stool and she's standing.

We were right beside her colleague, another extraordinarily skilled lace maker who was working on a very intricate pattern.

My completed sampler--started with the simplest stitch, called a chain stitch, and then two variations on this stitch. This took me about 4 hours and I was exhausted.

I was set up with another sampler, and after a couple of hours I begged off and asked my teacher to finish it for me. I now have a lot more sympathy for beginning knitters who want me to finish their projects for them!

My teacher's hands were flying. She finished this sampler in about 1/2 an hour.

Here's the completed project which I started and teacher finished--a bracelet that is buttoned onto my wrist.

The workshop took place at Shoba which means "beauty that is created by love, peace and happiness". The makers describe the process as meditative, much like my contemplative knitting.

I'm going to stick to knitting! Speaking of which, the shawl is finished and needs to be blocked. That will have to wait until I get home.

The shawl spread out on the bed.

Detail view.

Rice and Curry, the Quintessential Food of Sri Lanka

2012-01-30T02:48:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Galle late yesterday afternoon, and were able to walk around the Fort a bit before dark. (Being near the equator, the sun sets around 6:15 and then rises again about 12 hours later.) We were looking for a restaurant to have dinner, and found that the vast majority cater to westerners, and only offer western food. We came across a very small cafe with only three tables and a limited menu but with Sri Lankan food and very inexpensive. Last night I had Kottu Rotty which is basically a stir-fry of sliced up roti (flat bread) and vegetables and spices--delicious! We had a chat with one of the two young men who run it--a year ago he took a leave from teacher's college to open the business, and since then he has become fluent in English as a result of the number of foreign patrons. I enjoyed the meal so much that I persuaded Lloyd to return for lunch today and I had Rice and Curry Vegetables.

About to enjoy a delicious lunch after a hot and sweaty morning walking around the fort!

Rice surrounded by dahl, lotus, beans and salad, and presented with a fork and spoon so that I don't have to use my hand!

I have had Rice and Curry at many places--all different. One of the challenges is that it's usually way too much food for one person, but this little cafe was different. This was a much more reasonable size.

An added bonus was that at the end of the meal, we had a pleasant chat with the owner of the building who was on the verandah with his grandson. He says he has been very happy to see this little cafe do so well, especially because it's the only place within the Galle Fort walls for Sri Lankans to eat their preferred food at good prices. Before this, they had to leave the Fort and go into the "new town" if they wanted a meal out. And then he invited us into his home to have a lesson on precious gems. He is a gem wholesaler, and loves to talk about his stones. And because he's a wholesaler, he's not interested in selling to the public. We have been invited back to view his jewelry collection.

We're enjoying Beach Haven Guest House so much so that we've decided to stay an extra 2 days and bypass Colombo. The WiFi connection is good here too hence this posting so soon after the last one.

Tomorrow I'm taking a bobbin lace workshop all day! We came across a shop called Shoba that is an artisan collective, and they offer one-on-one workshops.

And now we're relaxing in our room under the fan in the heat of the day...

Some 4800 steps up and then back down…

2012-01-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

We’ve emerged from a WiFi vacuum and are now in Galle onthe south coast at the Beach Haven Guest House for a couple of days. On Friday (January 27) we climbed Sri Pada,also known as Adam’s Peak, in the hill country of Sri Lanka. This is a triangular shaped mountain thatrises sharply out of hills covered in tea plantations, and has been ofreligious significance for over 2000 years. At the top there is a depression which Buddhists have long claimed to bea footprint of Buddha. Muslims laterclaimed that this was the footprint of Adam when he had been cast out of heaven,and while the name “Adam’s Peak” has stuck in English due to the Britishcolonial influence, it’s definitely a very special place for Buddhist pilgrimsespecially between December and March. As a result, the small village (Dalhousie, pronounced Del-house) at thebase of the mountain teems with pilgrims. There were plenty of tourists too, but we were outnumbered by Sri Lankanfamilies, many dressed in white—the women in white saris or white blouses andgathered skirts, and the men in white shirts and sarongs. There were people of all ages, from the veryelderly being helped along the path to babes in arms and kids on shoulders.

The most auspicious time to be at the summit is atsunrise. This means leaving the villagearound 2 AM for the 7 km hike to the summit. Talking to other tourists at the guest house we discovered that somewere planning an earlier departure so as to take their time, and others figuredthey would be moving more quickly so were planning a 3 AM start. We decided to split the difference, and setthe alarm for 2. Meanwhile, this being a place of pilgrimage, drumming andchanting started over a PA system at 7:30 PM. It was still going on while we were settling into bed at 8:30 (yes,Lloyd too!) so in went the ear plugs.

After a somewhat fitful sleep (Would we hear the alarm? What were we thinking!) we were on the pathby 2:20, and were surprised that it seemed to be only tourists at that hour—wherewere all the pilgrims? As we walked, werealized that the pilgrims were coming towards us—did they walk up there oncethe evening service was over?? We’llnever know.

The path was well lit the entire way. In fact, the path at the beginning is linedwith stalls selling all manner of goods—fake and real flowers, sweets, tea,food, fleece jackets and hats.

The path lined with stalls

There were lots of Sri Lankans bundled up in towels orsheets and wearing thick fleece hats but still either barefoot or in flip-flops. It was certainly cool to start, and we werealso wearing a couple of layers (it actually felt wonderful to be in the coolmountain air) but as we climbed, we shed the top layer. The temperature was about 15 degrees Celsius whichour driver says is cold. (If you’re usedto 30 – 40 degrees, then yes that’s cold.) The path is quite lovely at the beginning—gently undulating pavement andoccasional steps down. The stairs upstart in earnest within a couple of kilometres, and of course they’re noteven. There are tea and food stallsalong the path, probably about 500 metres or so apart, and we stopped at onejust as the path was getting steep. Weenjoyed a cup of black sweetened tea.

The tea vendor, all bundled up, and Lloyd.

As we climbed, we greeted the people coming down, “GoodMorning!” and they responded in kind. One delightful encounter was with an elderly woman, very petite anddressed in a white sari who grasped my hands, and said “Happy?”, and I said“Yes!” and she laughed, “Good!”

Happy Janet and Lloyd, about half way up.

Just as the stairs were becoming VERY steep, we stoppedfor tea again to get ready for the final push, and the price was four times asmuch as the first—understandably because all of the vendor’s supplies have tobe carted up the mountain. Indeed whenwe were nearing the village at the end of our hike, we encountered barefoot menof all ages with bundles on their heads starting up the path. The final set ofsteep stairs (with handrails that I used to pull myself up) was GRUELING.

Looking up, up, up...

We arrived at the top at 6 AM, but the clouds had rolledin. So not much sunrise…oh well… The “footprint” itself is covered by apavilion and surrounded by concrete—we didn’t bother to take our shoes off andclimb this final set of stairs to see it because by all accounts it’sdisappointingly unimpressive for the non-believer. We did arrive in time for a ceremony thatstarted at dawn, a procession of men drumming and chanting. A couple of them were carrying specialcontainers and entered the shrine. Wecouldn’t see what they were doing, possibly washing the footprint?? There were lots of pilgrims at the top—theymust have climbed up the night before and had slept in one of two shelters. The devotion of these people was touching.

Once we realized that the clouds were not going to lift,we set off back down those awful steep stairs.

Looking down, down, down...in the daylight.

The handrails proved useful once again, and Iside-stepped a lot of the way to save my knees. It took us much less time of course (2 ½ hours) but our legs were likejelly by the end. Those stairs seemed togo on for ever… The only saving gracewas that it was now daylight and we could see the surrounding countryside. We stopped again at the first tea stall to betreated like old friends.

Returning to the village through a tea plantation--looks like a nice stroll doesn't it!

Back at the guest house, after a welcome breakfast oftoast, eggs and tea, we climbed up to our room (which was a bungalow set up onthe hillside above the guest house, so about another 40 very unwelcome steps!)to shower, rest and pack before moving on.

The view of Sri Pada from the veranda of our bungalow--that's where we were just a few hours before!

Even today (Sunday) we’re still feeling the effects of theclimb—sore calves, glutes and quads.

We left Dalhousie around noon Friday and drove ontwisting roads through the hill country. The steep hillsides are covered withtea bushes.

Pickers on the hillside. Only the bud and top two leaves are plucked.

We stayed a couple of nights in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka’shighest town established by the British in the 19^th C. The colonial influences are still present—ourhotel was The Grosvener which has an English country house feel. Saturday we had a lazy day. We visited a tea factory and had the best cupof tea ever, so I bought a couple of boxes. Unfortunately being a Saturday, there were no workers in the factory soit was very quiet. The guide did a goodjob of explaining the process however. And then we visited the Hakgala Botanical gardens, again established bythe British in the 19^th C. and very different from the one at Kandy. Today (Sunday) we drove to Galle on the south coast where we will stay for a fewdays before venturing north towards Colombo and then on to India February 3rd. Wewill be on our own—we said farewell to our driver this afternoon. He’s provided us with an excellentintroduction to Sri Lanka—we have only just skimmed the surface.

Our driver, Mr. Bandara, and me in front of his Nissan

As for my knitting, I’m now casting off the shawl with apicot edging. I started to knit a leafedging, but realized I don’t have enough yarn left. This will have to do for the moment! Maybe I’ll do something different to the edgeonce I get home.

Just about done.

Sri Lanka Adventures Continued

2012-01-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we climbed Siguriya, a very tall bit of rock that was an elaborate palace and gardens about a thousand years ago. Our pictures don't do it justice!

The walk starts off with a very pleasant stroll through the "pleasure gardens" which are under restoration. The original fountains still work if there's enough water in the pools above.

This one's for you Dad! Except you would never build stairs this high!

The climb is about to start with the passage between two boulders.

Almost there! Just the last set of stairs.

At the top. The royal pool has been restored and has filled with rain water which the workers were using to wet down their bricks--they were restoring some of the walls.

On the way back down--can you see the lion's feet at the bottom?

Looking at the staircase with the lion's feet either side.

Continuing down...

Today we spent part of the morning in Kandy at the Temple of the Tooth Relic--one of the Buddha's teeth was saved from cremation fire and somehow made it to Sri Lanka over 2000 years ago. It's been housed in several places, and has been in a special temple in Kandy for the last several hundred years. The casket holding the tooth comes out for a special festival and procession once a year, but otherwise stays behind locked doors in the temple. It's a very special place for extremely devout pilgrims. But full of tourists as well.

And then our driver helped find a barber shop for Lloyd to have his beard trimmed!

Lloyd says it was probably the best barbering experience ever--complete with scalp massage.

We spent a good part of the afternoon at the Botanical Garden--a wonderful place--some very unusual trees like a "cannon ball" tree, precocious monkeys who came running over when we started eating our lunch, and a HUGE flock of fruit bats that had been disturbed from their roost by the lawn mowing. I'll sort through those images and post some tomorrow.

When we arrived back at the hotel, the laundry was still drying on the front lawn. This was the view from our 2nd floor room:

Sheets and towels from guest who had checked out this morning.

As I type this post at 10:30 PM Wednesday, many of the drivers, hotel staff and some guests are out on this lawn drumming and singing (I assume) Sri Lankan songs. While it's quite pleasant at the moment, I will have to put in my ear plugs shortly in order to get to sleep!

Greetings from the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka

2012-01-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

We've been without internet for the last three days and nights hence no posting. I'll make up for it now!

Our driver, Mr. B., is driving us at a very sedate pace through the tumultuous roads of Sri Lanka. I use that descriptor to refer both to the traffic and the state of the roads. There are lots of bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, cars, vans, trucks (small and large), and buses on the road, and along with pedestrians...well, there have been a few hair-raising experiences but we feel we're in good hands. Some of the roads are full of potholes and he slows right down to a snail's pace to protect his precious car, a Nissan station wagon. It's amazing to us to see the risks that some drivers take, especially bus drivers--they don't always come to a full stop to take on or let off passengers, and we've seen them overtake others (and us) on corners at what seem to be break-neck speeds. We haven't witnessed any accidents however.

I'll now insert a selection of images from the last couple of days when we explored the ancient ruined Sri Lankan capital cities and monestaries (from 1000 - 2000 years ago).

The Cave Temples of Dambulla were cut out of an enormous granite outcrop about 160 metres above the surrounding countryside (a very steep 10 minute stair climb). These were first established about 2100 years ago, and later embellished and restored around 1200 AD and then 500 or so years later, and right up into the 20th century.

The protective entrances to the caves

A small shrine next to Cave 1. Note the rock beneath the wall--this is the same rock out of which a reclining buddha is carved in the first cave temple.

The reclining buddha's highly decorated feet. This figure is carved out of the rock.

Anuradhapura, the royal capital and Buddhist centre of Sri Lanka for over 1000 years, until laid waste by Indian invaders in 993 AD. The city was finally abandoned in 1073 in favour of Polonnaruwa (which we visited the following day) and fell into ruin, being reclaimed by the jungle but still inhabited by reclusive monks. The British "discovered" it in the 19th C. Restoration and archeological explorations have been on-going since the 1950's and with some vigour since it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980.

Abhayagiri Dagoba, still under scaffolding. You can just make out some vegetation near the top which hasn't yet been removed. This restoration has been going on for the last 5 years or so. Note the pilgrims dressed in white--this is a holy Buddhist site.

Carved staircase and balustrades at the entrance to monk's living quarters, Jetavana Monastery.

The carved dwarves

A moonstone at the base of the stairs for rubbing your feet clean. Some of these were very elaborately carved. This is a simple one.

Jetavana Dagoba, restored. About 70 m tall.

A carved Gana or obese dwarf which were all over the site.

Entrance to the Royal Palace

The Twin Ponds, restored, and home to lots of little fish and turtles. We stopped to watch a brilliantly coloured Kingfisher catch a fish and kill it by repeatedly dropping it on the deck.

Visiting Anuradhapura was a day of continually taking off shoes and socks and walking on scorching hot paving stones. When entering any of these sacred Buddhist dagobas, temples or shrines, we had to leave our shoes at the entrance and take off our hats--a bit of a challenge in the heat of the day! ("Mad dogs and Englishmen....")

The Ruvanvalisaya Dagoba, completely restored and painted a gleaming white. A major pilgrimage site--many people dressed in white particularly older women in white saris. We decided not to enter, because we weren't pilgrims, and contented ourselves with a view from the outside. I also decided I wanted to keep my shoes and socks on! Note the elephant heads--most are modern replacements--on the outer face of the terrace.

Elephants supporting the platform of the dagoba just as in Buddhist cosmology they hold up the earth itself. Or, as the Rough Guide points out, they also helped in the construction of the stupa by stamping down the foundations.

The next day (no pictures--they're still in the camera) we spent at Polonnaruwa which was where the Sinhalese retreated to when Anuradhpura fell. This is a more compact site, and we were able to hire bicycles to explore at our leisure. This place too was abandoned to the jungle for about 7 centuries until restoration began about 50 or 60 years ago.

These last four days have been an intense exploration of ancient and medieval Sri Lankan culture. While Europe was in the dark ages, the Sinhalese kings oversaw huge engineering projects notably dams for irrigation. Their buildings, like those of the Romans, incorporated lavatories and urinals to keep waste water away from drinking water. They must have employed a tremendous number of skilled craftsmen such as stone carvers, incorporating beautiful features into all their buildings, whether on stair cases or supporting pillars or the many images of Buddha and other deities.

We've had some interesting meals, and some disappointing ones too which is to be expected. Some of the surprises have been meals at cafes known as "Bakers". Walk into the shop and you think you're in a bakery, faced with glass cases of baked goods. And then walk a little further into the seating area, and there will be a steam table full of "Rice and Curry". We just point and ask for single bowls of whatever looks interesting...green beans seem to be available all the time as well as dahl, plus rice. The staff are a little nonplussed that this is all we want, rather than taking one of everything, but we insist, "Yes, this is what we want". The Sri Lankans all eat with their right hands, scooping a bit of rice and vegetable or meat together and then into their mouths, all without the aid of a roti or chapati as the Indians do. We are always offered spoons! Thankfully. We're pretty sure our driver would prefer to take us to more tourist-oriented restaurants as he did on our first day (to a lovely open air building with a buffet, but there was way too much food and it was very expensive even by Canadian standards...) We have had to be firm that we prefer to eat less and more simply.

Our hotel here in Kandy has WiFi so I'll post again tomorrow. Thanks for all your notes.

Sri Lanka...first few days

2012-01-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

We've spent a wonderful couple of days unwinding in Negombo, just north of Colombo, at the Dephani Guest House. We're right on the beach and have been serenaded with the breaking surf on the beach about 50 metres away--mind you, the sound competes with the whirring of the fan or air conditioner too...

Sunset from our verandah! The sun dropped below the horizon within 2 minutes at 6:15 PM. Note the shower head on the left side--very welcome after swimming in the salt water.

I was so stimulated by our Singapore experience that I didn't want to do much besides knit and stroll along the beach.

An inshore fisherman heading out to set his nets

A catamaran waiting for customers! This is where the word "catamaran" came from: the Tamil word is ketti-maran.

One day of that was just what I needed, and today we had a more active day. We hired a tuk-tuk this afternoon and travelled due north about 20 kilometres to visit a tile factory (where they were making roof tiles) and a batik workshop.

The batik workshop

Filling in the spaces with the resist wax

The tile factory--these are roofing tiles. All women, except for two men. Lots of heavy lifting! These people worked in a marvelous rhythm--as each woman finished a task, the next tile was put in front of her. The clay was extruded in another machine, cut into blocks, and then each block placed on the press. The women in the foreground were the expert trimmers.

And of course there was a wonderful shop attached to the batik workshop. We bought a couple of sarongs from which I'll make a shirt for Lloyd, and I bought a simple short sleeved dress. All-in-all, a very satisfying day!

Tomorrow we move on to the interior. We've booked a car and driver through this guest house. We'll be back here overnight before flying to India on February 3rd.

Singapore Vignettes

2012-01-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

An amazing two and a half days in Singapore!! We were so busy that I didn't take the time to post. The architecture is overwhelmingly diverse--there were many old buildings similar to the Sino-Portuguese styles that I described in Phuket town.

A street near Little India

This is a concert hall in the Marina Bay area--it reminded us of the Durian fruit!

And then there are incredible skyscrapers towering in the backgrounds...

At the mouth of the Singapore River

The Double Helix bridge--the biologist just had to see this! And another stupendous building complex in the background--three skyscrapers capped with a ship-like penthouse.

Double Helix bridge based on the DNA molecule

Singapore is in a mad frenzy of preparation for Chinese New Year which is this weekend. We are rather pleased to be out of the fray and in a much calmer Sri Lanka.

The highlights were the museums: The Asian Civilizations Museum where I spent a wonderful two hours in the "Patterns of Trade" special exhibition of Indian block-printed and batik textiles that had been traded in the 17th - 19th centuries to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Built by the British in the late 19th Century and housed government offices until about 20 years ago when it was converted into this magnificent museum. Surrounded by a wonderful green space

And then the next day, we went to another museum for a special exhibition on sarongs and were guided by a delightful Singaporean woman who explained the intricacies of all the patterns...and then we went with her to the National Museum where she was also the guide for an exhibition of 140 paintings from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. I was thrilled to see famous works by Millet, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, and others--especially having just completed a 19th Century art history course in December. I could cheerfully have spent another couple of days in these fascinating museums. We took the time only to visit the special exhibitions and so missed out on their permanent displays of local history and art.

Another highlight was successfully navigating the MRT (rapid transit) to a yarn shop where I happily picked out a selection of cottons for my next project, and Lloyd made himself comfortable on a stool.

This is the shop, and they also sell fabrics, dress patterns, notions, and gadgets! I just focused on yarn.

I will probably make another shawl using the same size needles. I had a delightful encounter with one of the sales clerks--I asked her what the difference was between three of the cottons, and she replied that one was finer than the other. After a pause, as if for emphasis, in her thick accent, she said "just like people, some are big and some are small!" And I said, "like me and that guy over there!" referring to Lloyd, and she laughed and laughed...and then went over to him to repeat what I'd said! I'm sure this gave all the staff something to chuckle about for several more hours.

I had expected Singapore to be a sterile city of steel and glass. Well, yes, it's certainly clean and there are signs posted in all the subway cars describing $500 fines for eating, drinking or smoking in the cars or stations. There are lots of staff pushing brooms and carts to keep the platforms tidy. And there are lots of skyscrapers of glass and steel. But there are also lots of green spaces, large and small. Every building seems to have roof top gardens, including our hostel.

The Green Kiwi Hostel on Lavender Street--a very convenient location near two MRT stations. About 30 mins from the airport by MRT.

Behind the hostel on the other side of a park, was a large high rise apartment complex (probably about 10 buildings each 5 - 10 floors) and under each building were open spaces for people to congregate--to get out of the sun or away from the rain.

Lots of places to hang laundry from windows!

Most buildings (old and new) had verandah-like spaces in front of them where we could walk under cover (had to be careful to watch your step however--there were usually small changes in levels between businesses).

Walking under cover.

Another place we enjoyed was the Botanic Gardens--it was wonderful to get away from the ceaseless traffic and be serenaded with cicadas instead!

And finally, we enjoyed the food, especially from Hawker Centres like this one--they're huge food courts located every few city blocks, we assume set up to pool resources and keep the food centralized rather than ad hoc on the street.

How we wound up the day on Tuesday...in the roof-top garden of our hostel.

Not a lot of choice in wine...found this 275 ml bottle in a 7-11 and it cost plenty! Had to drink it from the bottle too...
Note Tilley hat, and damp neckerchief in an attempt to keep cool...

A Day of R, R, and K on Phuket Island

2012-01-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

Otherwise known as rest, relaxation and knitting...But the day began first with breakfast at a small establishment just up the road where we had eaten an excellent omelette the day before. Yesterday we had to point at the eggs and vegetables, and mime the process, but today all we had to do was to say "same" and she with a wonderful smile went to work.

It's a very unassuming place--the one under the blue banner, with the green box on the left and the white box on the right.

Chopping vegetables in her kitchen, facing the street.

A view into the sizzling wok of vegetable oil--one omelette in process.

Here she is--queen of her domain.

And then we caught the Songthaew to the town centre, and from there the songthaew to Surin Beach. Once again we did the sarong dance, and this time Lloyd was able to use the sarong to change into his trunks. Then off into the ocean for a frolic in the waves before retiring to the shade for beer and pineapple! And a little knitting...

The pineapple was delicious.

After another dip in the ocean, we had lunch at one of the vendors just above the beach--there is a large Muslim population in rural Phuket and this young woman was grilling chicken satay and corn.

Lloyd feels positively svelte beside some of these European men!!

Lloyd waiting for his satay to cook. I had the corn--yum!

We returned to the hotel by about 4 PM and I happily continued knitting, and enjoyed a glass of South African white wine.

The Pi shawl so far--this is a view from above, with the centre of the shawl at the bottom of the image and the working stitches at the top. I realize this is a bit of a mystery to non-knitters but all will be revealed when I start to cast off in a week or so. Lloyd is wondering what my next knitting project will be... I am too!!

Tomorrow we fly to Singapore so tonight we're packing up again. From Singapore we fly to Sri Lanka on January 18. The "knitting around the world" adventure continues. Thanks for your feedback both on this site and to my personal e-mail. It's lovely to hear from friends at home.

Knitting at the beach on Phuket Island

2012-01-14T05:43:00.000-08:00

First another picture from the floating market (Lloyd's camera)...

It seemed to be mainly women paddling boats to sell food.

Now for Phuket town, and the interesting Sino-Portuguese architecture...

Soi Rommanee, a former red-light district, now a prosperous residential street with shops. I had a delicious cappucino in this establishment.

A beautiful museum, well-laid out, called Thai Hua Museum. It used to be a Chinese language school. It celebrates the history of the Chinese residents in Phuket, many of whom have become very rich in mining and coconut industries.

Lloyd buying a pommelo at the market--we are really enjoying the fresh fruit!

Pineapples waiting to be unloaded.

Unloading sacks of veggies from the back of a truck--reminded us of the flying fish at the Seattle Pike Place market.

This morning we took the songthaew to Nai Harn beach and found it to be cheek-by-jowl of chaise longues. So we decided to walk up the headland, about 500 metres straight up, to the view point from where I took this picture. This is also the marked "evacuation route" in case of another tsunami.

And this is looking in the opposite direction at a much smaller beach, Ya Nui, so we decided to walk there for a dip.

And after a very welcome beer and lunch at a beach restaurant, we donned our bathing suits. Lloyd kindly held my sarong for me--it's two metres of fabric sewn into a tube which was just large enough for me in which to undress. Lloyd used the toilet--don't think he could have managed in the sarong! We rented these two chairs, umbrella and table for 200 BHT (about $6), and then off to the ocean. The water was wonderfully refreshing, probably about 30 degrees, and very salty. The sand is fine and there's lots of coral.

And then as promised, I pulled out my knitting and happily knit away in the shade while Lloyd strolled the beach--he now looks like a lobster as a result while I'm still quite pale!

Showing off the butterfly lace motif that I've knit into one of the segments.

It was interesting to sit and listen to all the different languages being spoken around me...Russian, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, and more. Hardly any English or Thai. Every woman was in a bikini and there were some topless bathers as well. Everyone looks too well fed however! Definitely a lot of flesh, and not very attractive. And the smoking! We had a second dip just before leaving the beach and then happily walked along a hot road (but in the shade) to Rawai Beach to catch the Songthaew back to Phuket. And here's Lloyd hanging off the back of the bus!

That open shirt is another reason for his lobster colour tonight

A Day in Greater Bangkok

2012-01-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

We spent Wednesday with Mr. Boonya (the same fellow who picked us up at the airport) who took us outside of Bangkok to the southwest. Our first stop was at the market at Maeklong Station in Samut Songkhram, where the vendors display their goods right up against the tracks, and thus move everything forward and back because of the trains 4 times a day.

We arrived just as a train was leaving and so missed the transition. That's Mr. Boonya in the background buying vegetables.

Morning glory vines--yum!

The array of eggplant available--the smallest are the size of large peas.

Some merchants have their goods on tables which can be pulled back and forth quickly on rails.

Next stop was the floating market at Damnoen Saduck, a community that still lives in a network of canals. The commerce is strictly aimed at tourists however--lots of women paddling boats and selling fruit and cooking food on board (it was only 10:30 so we didn't feel like eating), and many canal-side stalls all selling the same cheap and cheerful souvenirs. We think our boat driver was sad that we didn't buy a thing...

Drinking coconut juice straight from the fruit at the roadside.

The tallest stupa in Thailand--at Nakhon Pathom

We finished that day as we do everyday with laundry! We've become adept at washing even our pants and shorts in the sink. This is the kitchen window of the condo. I was able to take this picture by leaning out the window of the elevator hallway.

We spent Thursday rambling around the big sights in central Bangkok (the Grand Palace, etc.) with the hoards of other foreigners, most of whom we think are amazingly inappropriately dressed for both modesty and sun protection!

And then at 7:30 PM we climbed aboard a VIP coach for the overnight trip to Phuket. The seats reclined to about 175 degrees, just enough to get comfortable and then stiffen up because of the inability to shift around too much! For a side-sleeper it's not the best. But oh well, we arrived 12 hours later... There was a stop at 1:30 for a complementary meal at a huge very commercial rest stop. It was a welcome meal of congee and accompaniments.

Our hotel is in the outskirts of Phuket, about 3 km from the town centre. We were able to check in early, had a shower and snooze to revitalize, and then hailed a cab to explore the town for the afternoon. I'll download those pictures later--there's some very interesting architecture here called "Sino-Portuguese" which is a hybrid of Asian and European styles.

We're now off to find some breakfast and catch a local bus to the beach. Might even go to one of smaller islands too. It's now 8:15 AM Saturday and already hot and steamy--close to 30 degrees. My Pi shawl is coming along nicely, and I'll take that to the beach with me.

More from Kanchananburi

2012-01-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted images from Lloyd's camera. I've now downloaded my pictures, and what follows is a random selection.

Our room at Apple's Retreat--a king sized bed on a platform--very comfortable.

Coconut palms

Waiting for the train at Nam Tok Station.

Sugar cane being harvested. We've seen lots of big trucks on the road loaded w

Knitting and surfing in the garden. My pi shawl is coming along beautifully. I now have 576 stitches on the needles so lots of good knitting still to come!

And here's the peace vessel again so you can see the attribution. I was very moved by this bowl--that a man who worked with his hands to build a railroad under extreme duress found his calling in working with clay, and then has his work displayed in a very meaningful way. That it's filled with fresh flowers every day is also special.

Kanchanaburi, Day 2

2012-01-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

We hired a car and driver from our guesthouse for the day, and he drove us north about 60 Km to "Hell Fire Pass". This was part of the "death railway" constructed in WWII by POW (mostly Aussie) and conscripted Asian labour. They had only simple tools such as picks and shovels and hand drills plus dynamite to cut a pass through rock about 25 meters deep and 500 metres long. And they did this in 6 weeks because they were forced to work around the clock on very limited rations of rice and vegetables, using torches for light (hence the name Hell Fire). There is a very good museum at the top of the pass built by the Australian gov't about 20 years ago. There aren't many artifacts because the POWs didn't have much stuff with them, but some very good photographs, models of the railway, diary and sketchbook excerpts, and maps. I found one part of the museum particularly poignant: there is a cantilevered deck out the back of the building overlooking the pass, and at the end is a beautiful blue pottery bowl created by an Australian potter who had been one of the POW laborers. He survived the war, and later studied ceramics in Australia. There is a bamboo frame floating in the bowl to support fresh flowers.

Overlooking the Hell Fire Pass. The Burmese border is on the edge of the distant peaks.

We then walked down the trail to the pass itself, and walked for about 40 minutes on the original rail bed. The rails were lifted about 50 years ago, and the rail bed was restored again with Australian financial support in the last 30 years or so.

Hell Fire Pass

And then for a complete change of pace, we were driven to Sai Yok Noi waterfall where many white tourists were cavorting in the water in their bikinis (and some definitely should have been wearing more clothes...)

And then to Lawa Cave with some spectacular chambers:

Lawa Cave: Hot and humid, not cold!

We were a bit surprised at how warm it was in the cave--not at all like European caves which are cold. And there was not a lot of oxygen--there was a sign at the entrance warning us to "take note of your body condition. Oxygen levels are low."

We finished off the day by being dropped by our driver at the Nam Tok railway station to return to Kanchanaburi by train, a journey that took over 3 hours but very scenic.

A Third Class train meaning hard seats and no air conditioning--windows wide open...

And we've wrapped up the day with another wonderful meal here at our guesthouse (Apple's Retreat). And I enjoyed 2 glasses of Thai white wine--a little weak but wine none-the-less!

We've Arrived in Kanchanaburi

2012-01-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

We caught the bus to Kanchanaburi from the Southern Bus Terminal in Bangkok at 9:45 AM and arrived in this bustling city on the River Kwai around noon. We took a mini bus or "songthaews" (a small pick up truck like our old Toyota with bench seats in the box) for 20 baht (66 cents) each to what we thought was our guest house, only to find that we had booked the sister facility across the river...

Lloyd in the back of the songthaews

Janet up near the front

Relaxing on the patio at Apple's Retreat and Guesthouse, overlooking the River Kwai

We think we'll be happy here! We can hear birds and smell beautiful scents from the tree blossoms. We're waiting for lunch--I've ordered "morning glory vines" which I've had elsewhere, and I've decided this is my favourite vegetable for the moment. Imagine eating morning glory! From what I can tell, it's a totally different plant compared to the weed we pull out of the garden at home.

A Visit to a Silk Village in NE Thailand

2012-01-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

The Mulberry Plantation

A sheet of silk worm eggs--they'll take about 9 days to hatch into worms.

Silk worms feeding on mulberry leaves for 3 - 4 weeks

When the worms are ready to start spinning their cocoons, they're removed from the leaves.

The fat wriggling caterpillars are sprinkled into rattan trays and then covered with netting.

Starting to spin their cocoons

These cocoons are just about ready for the bath...

A full tray of cocoons--this took from 2 - 7 days.

The cocoons are dropped into simmering water, and the seracin (the gummy yellow substance) softens.

The fibres from several cocoons are "reeled" into a single thread.

The moths inside the cocoons were cooked by the boiling water--the women snacked on these. We were offered them as a treat but we declined! I wished I had been brave enough...

This was the only man working in the process--he was creating skeins of "raw silk" from the dry fibre created above.

Skeins of raw silk--still full of seracin...very stiff and coarse.

Our guide in the village--the leader of the silk workers--at work on her loom.

The warp is pink and the weft has been dyed both pink and grey. She adjusts the weft to get the undulating pattern

I bought this scarf--very similar to what she was weaving above.

Our driver's wife was also a weaver in the "Mudmee" tradition which is where the weft threads are tied and dyed.

Her dye studio

At our driver's home--a traditional Thai house on stilts which is nice and breezy. I was using his broadband internet connection.

Happy New Year from Thailand

2012-01-05T01:09:00.000-08:00

The very welcoming sign

We arrived just before midnight Dec. 31 after almost 24hours in transit. As soon as we steppedoff the plane we knew we were in the tropics—hot and steamy! We were met as planned by Mr. Boonya who washolding a lovely sign with our names—very welcoming. He very thoughtfully took us to a 7-Elevenenroute so that we could buy a few groceries for the next day. (7-Elevens seem to be everywhere here.)

Our home base in Bangkok is a studio apartment owned by afriend’s brother and his wife. It’s in a northernsuburb called Nonthaburi which is the terminus for the river boats. The river boat pier is about 2 km from thecondo, a short taxi or bus ride away.

Our home away from home in Bangkok

Mr. Boonya picked us up at 9 AM for a first day of sightseeing on New Year's Day—hedrove us south of Bangkok to “Ancient Siam”, a very large open-air museum oftraditional Thai buildings, both reconstructed and original moved from otherparts of Thailand. This was an excellentintroduction to the variety of architectural styles of houses, temples,palaces, and gardens. One of the bestparts was that admission included a bicycle rental, and we contentedly cycledaround the place on creaky old bikes.

Lloyd's bike is sized for a person half his size!

My bike fit me a bit better but was very rusty

It’s lucky that we arrived when we did, in the midst of afour day holiday for New Year’s. As aresult, the Bangkok traffic has been comparatively light because those peoplewho can get out of the city did so. January4 was the first day back to work for everyone and we could see and hear animmediate difference—rush “hour” lasts at least 12 hours, 7 AM – 7 PM.

Lloyd gazing out over the river from the boat

A long boat on the canal

So far in the three days that we’ve been here, we haveexperienced most forms of transportation in this hectic city and our favouriteis the river boat. Yesterday we caughtthe express boat from Nonthaburi pier and travelled about an hour south to N1or Oriental pier. From there we wanderedthe back lanes and streets before venturing onto the Metro (underground) andthen transferred onto Sky Train (very similar to Vancouver’s). We also took a long boat on a canal—now thatwas quite the ride! The two attendantswore motorcycle helmets with good reason—for protection against the low bridgesjust in case they don’t duck in time! The canopy of the boat was also dropped as we approached thesebridges. We’ve taken a few rides in“tuk-tuks” and that is the most uncomfortable especially for Lloyd. He can’t sit up straight, and even slouchingin the seat has no room for his legs. And coming back from Nonthaburi pier we caught a “hot” bus (meaning notA/C) to the condo.

The setting sun

We enjoyed a beer at a floating restaurant near the pier andwatched the sun set at about 5:45. Easyto tell that we’re not too far from the equator because there is very littletwilight and dawn, and the days are just a little shorter than the nights.

We’ve experienced hectic street markets selling all mannerof things, from household goods and clothing to food. Surprisingly, there seem to be more fish andmeat stalls than fruit and vegetables, however we have been able to buybananas, mandarin oranges, and green mangos. We’ve eaten lunch and dinner “al fresco”, either in little sidewalkstalls where you can see the food being prepared a few feet away or inrestaurants near the condo. I think itmight be difficult to be a vegetarian here—so far the menus are heavy with meat(pork or chicken) or fish and seafood.

On January 4^th we rode in a luxurious expresscoach to Ban Phai in the north-east—comfy seats that recline with foot-rests, auniformed attendant who handed out blankets, water, juice and cookies, andlunch (a cooked—tepid—meal of rice, vegetables and spicy pork).

We have been very well looked after—what we’ve experiencedof Thai hospitality so far has been absolutely wonderful. Our hosts have lent us a cell phone, and keepin touch with us to make sure that all is well. We’ve been equipped with written instructions to show taxi drivers toensure we don’t get lost. We were met yesterday afternoon in Ban Phai by our local guide and driver, Mr. Pao, who phonedus while we were on the coach and talked to the attendant to confirm where andwhen to pick us up. Mr. Pao took us to his own home to use thewashroom and to see his wife’s work—she is one of many women working in thesilk trade—and today we visited more weavers and dyers. I'll save that for the next post!

Preparing to Travel...

2011-12-08T11:37:00.001-08:00

Lloyd and I are getting ready to travel in SE Asia and India January to March, and my big decision has been what knitting project to pack. I normally consider socks the ideal take-along project--small, lots of stitches, and wearable when finished. However that works for a three week trip, but what about 2 1/2 months? A knitting friend suggested E Zimmermann's Pi shawl, and sure enough I have the book on my shelf:

She called it the Pi shawl because it's based on the geometry of a circle--the relationship of the circumference to the radius.

One other restriction is that I want to use only materials in my stash, and to that end I've chosen a yarn purchased in China 5 1/2 years ago plus some handpainted Koigu.

Isn't this a lovely label?

But unfortunately I can't quickly figure out how much yarn I have--apart from seeing that each ball is 125 grams. I could measure off a certain length, knit a swatch and calculate the area to figure out if I'll have enough, but I can't be bothered!

I have knit a swatch to see what size needles I'll use, plus I wanted to see how the combination of Koigu and Chinese yarn would work. Okay I think...

Interesting how *YO, K2tog* slants to the right, and *K2tog, YO* biases to the left...

Maybe I'll find some lovely fine yarn along the way that I can incorporate as well.

The idea is to knit until I run out of yarn--ideally this will make a nice big circular shawl which will be useful at some point during the trip.

A Change of Pace...Finished a sweater!

2011-09-24T13:53:00.001-07:00

When I finished Bob's stole, I decided that rather than start something new, I would finish a sweater that has been in pieces on one of my tables for a while--I had covered it up with a sheet so that I could use the table without disturbing it last spring! Here it is! I took a workshop called "Knit Until it Fits" in Kelowna two years ago with Paulette Lane. The idea is to start with a single stitch and then increase one at the beginning of each row with a yarn over. Knit until you have a triangle with an equal number of yarn overs on each selvedge and it's the width of your shoulders. Use the gauge calculated from this triangle to figure out how many stitches to cast on for other kinds of shapes.

I crocheted all the pieces together with a simple chain stitch (not a single crochet--I wanted the resulting seam to lie flat.) You can see from the back view that I could have made the initial triangle smaller--it's a little wide for my shoulders. This is probably due to the weight of the sleeves. The yarn is heavy with a lot of drape--it's a linen/wool blend.

I joined the sides with panels in which I did some waist shaping with short rows.

I'm happy with it--just need some cooler weather so I can wear it! We are enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures these days--it's been in the high 20's and low 30's in the Okanagan...breaking some long standing weather records.

Photos from Carolyn's ordination

2011-09-20T18:46:00.001-07:00

I received the following e-mail from Carolyn yesterday. I made her stole last spring.

Janet- After a longer process than anticipated, I was ordained and got to wear the stole you created. Here are some pictures of me "in action" in it. So many people were amazed with your artistry and it truly proclaims my theology. Thanks again!

Blessings upon your minstry to those who minister.

Pastor Carolyn

Bob's Ordination Day

2011-09-18T07:02:00.001-07:00

What a happy and delighted guy!

The Abrams family on Bob's ordination day, September 17, 2011.

Back View

Suits him, don't you think?

I love getting pictures of my stoles being worn. They look so much better than on my dressmaker dummy!

A Picture of Kimiko at her Graduation, May 2011

2011-09-12T15:48:00.001-07:00

I was thrilled to open an e-mail from Kimiko this afternoon. Attached was this picture:

And this message from Kimiko:

Hello Janet
I've been holding off to see if I could get a good photo from my graduation with the stole. There isn't really anything that truly shows it off. In the attached photo I am wearing the stole. This is just after the graduation ceremony. This is me with my mom and her sisters who all came to be part of the celebration of ministry ceremony.

The stole really is beautiful. I have had many people ask about it and they are always intrigued at the history from which it is made. I have also pinned my dad's mother's deaconess school pin to it so that she is also part of it.

I have it hanging on the wall of my office when I'm not wearing it. It also looks lovely hanging. I will try to get a photo of me wearing it to send to you so you can add it to your blog. Of course you may post the attached photo if you like.

many blessings
Kimiko

Piping and finishing

2011-09-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

I love to use striped ties as piping. Striped ties are obviously neckties and difficult to use in the main body of the garment--they scream "This stole is made from ties!" I prefer my work to be more subtle in that you have to get up very close before it's obvious that the stole is made from ties. In piping however, striped ties shine. These are the striped ties that came in this collection:

And the jumble of piping I created from the three ties:

Piping is a lovely way to finish the edges.

Once I applied the piping, all that was left was to stitch the lining and presto, the stole is finished!

Back view:

Dove and Flames

2011-08-31T20:40:00.001-07:00

I decided to mount the dove on the gold metallic fabric--here's an image of trying that out, along with the start of some flames made from overlapping organza and tulle.

And then added even more fire...

Tomorrow is piping and lining...

Stitching a dove

2011-08-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

Cathy has asked me to incorporate some of their children's baby clothing somehow. Tucked into a ziplock bag was a baby sock and a couple of remants from baptismal garments--some cotton eyelet and a scrap of rayon jacquard.

I thought the most obvious use for this fabric would be a dove: use the sock or part thereoff for the body and embellish the wings with the lace.

So, starting with the sock--the cuff fans out nicely to form the tail feathers!

And cutting the eyelet into strips meant that I could use it to embellish the wings:

And I used the little fragment of rayon jacquard for the head:

Here's a view of the dove on the back of the stole (it's not attached just yet):

And finally, I started playing around with the background, adding layers of organzas and gold metallic fabric:

I haven't made the final decision about this yet--I need to sleep on it! The layers of fabrics making up the dove are stitched, but the dove itself is not stitched to the stole and neither are the organzas. I find it best to wait a while before making a commitment.

2011-08-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

I finished the piecing today. Here you see the stole in its raw and organic form on my design wall.

The next task was to lay the pieces down on the cutting table and trim off the raw edges using the paper pattern. I over-estimated the shrinkage caused by piecing--I'd far rather be trimming than trying to add fabric at this stage!

I stitched the centre back seam and placed the stole on my mannequin. (I've used my linen table cloth to mimic the alb which Bob will wear under the stole.)

Here's what the back looks like at the stage:

Decisions to come:

(1) What to use for piping. These striped ties are a possibility.

(2) Create a dove which will be appliqued on the centre back.

(3) Decide on any other finishing embellishments.

So, now to take a bit of a break and walk to the library to return some books due today...think about what to make for dinner...and think about these next steps! Deliberate down time is crucial to my creative process. I have the best ideas either while knitting or walking.

Starting to Piece Bob's Stole

2011-08-27T05:50:00.001-07:00

Here's an image of the initial piecing on my pressing board:

It was at this point that I realized I had to be careful not to have all the pieces meet at a central point because the seams will make this area thick and bulky.
There weren't a lot of orange and yellow ties in the collection, however I was able to use several of the tie linings, some of which were beautiful gold satins.
I like to put the work up on my design wall so that I can look at it vertically and from a distance:

The piecing is almost done. I'm going to leave it at this point for the weekend and come back with fresh eyes on Monday.

The Designing continues

2011-08-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

My client commented that the first sketches are beautiful, making her think of a specific stained glass window that is particularly meaningful for the family.
She wondered if a radiating pattern like this stained glass were possible -- those sun bursts that start yellow and gradually fade to red. So, I have created another couple of sketches...

This will be a bit of a departure from my usual linear swirls but I'm looking forward to the technical challenges!
Meanwhile my husband took the ties apart while watching TV and I washed them yesterday...

After a couple of rinses, I spun them in my salad spinner, and then pressed them while damp and leave them hang to dry.

So, today will be spent cutting and stitching!

Beginning Another Stole for Ordination

2011-08-23T16:16:00.001-07:00

A box of red ties arrived today...

I spent a pleasurable hour sorting them...

And thinking about possible designs:

Which one do you like?

I need to start work on this right away--Bob's ordination is September 17!

A Special Birthday Gift

2011-07-02T14:44:00.001-07:00

About 10 years ago, my friend Kathy brought over her Dad's neckties, saying "I'm never going to make anything out of these. Maybe you can sometime..." And so they languished in the closet in my studio...until a few days ago. A celebration was being planned for Kathy, and the idea of contributing cash to a group gift for some reason didn't appeal to me. I noticed the ties hanging in the closet..."that's what I'll do! I'll finally make something out of those!"

Kathy's father graduated from McGill University and he was a pilot in WWII. There were two ties in the collection that I remembered had particular significance: the tie with the crests is his university tie, and the other navy tie has airplanes as the repeating motif.

I decided to try and use the only red tie to piece the big number.

I used up every scrap of red to piece the 60. And I used up every bit of the airplane and McGill ties.

Here's the final outcome--a cushion to commemorate a special birthday. And best of all, when I presented it to her, she didn't notice the 60 at first--it's subtle enough. And it looks great in their living room too!

My final post about our experiences in Spain and France

2011-06-29T12:08:00.001-07:00

We rented this Citroen Picasso at the Barcelona Airport and drove north into the Spanish Pyrenees, then the French Pyrenees, Montpellier and back to Barcelona. Lloyd is mighty pleased with himself in this image--he has just succeeded in parallel parking on the left side of the road.

It seems that every village, town and city in southern France has avenues of plane trees. Apparently many of them were planted in Napoleon's time and so of course now they're very big trees. It wasn't unusual to see memorials attached to some of the trees indicating that there had been MVA deaths--the roads are considerably narrower in these avenues.

This was Lastours and the site of one of the last stands of the Cathars just north east of Carcassonne.

Rooftops in the village of Beget in the Spanish Pyrenees, just north of Oix and Olot.

These fabulous swirling columns are at Parc Guell, in the northern part of Barcelona city. This was designed by Gaudi. Probably a more famous image from this park is the merandering ceramic bench that is on the terrace above this "Hall of Columns". When we were in the park, it seemed like every tourist had flocked there as well, and to the ceramic bench in particular. So we beat a retreat to the less populated areas like this one...and I found it less gaudy as well...

Finally, in Monserrat (a mountain-top monastery just north of Barcelona) this is a wonderful statue of Pau Casals, world famous cellist and composer, who was very proud of his Catalan roots...and who was an inspiration to my cello-playing father. I grew up listening to a lot of his music!

Barcelona Street Scenes

2011-06-26T05:38:00.001-07:00

I was thinking that I should label this post as "Don't you just love jet lag..." or some such thing. I've been awake since 4 AM and finally got out of bed an hour later. I'm on my second cup of tea and feel much better. Speaking of tea, Lloyd has made a note to take tea bags with him next time--the Spanish tea is insipid at best, not the robust and hearty English Breakfast type of tea that we're used to. I enjoyed the coffee however, especially "con leche".

This was one of the more ornate door knockers we came across. We saw this type several times later but never this large nor as brassy.

This is the view from our balcony at the Gat Xino hotel. I never tired of looking at the different ways that people hung their laundry. Note the street sweeper dressed in lime green. There's an army of these folk.

Here's another street sweeper--I was entranced with her "dustpan" which is like a flexible bucket.

Grocery shopping--we saw men and women pulling these carts. This is the little square kitty-corner to the front door of our hotel. There were chairs permanently fixed to the pavement, always with people sitting and visiting.

In our neighbourhood, El Raval, there are many small fruit and vegetable shops that seem to be run by Pakistani or Indian families. According to our guide book, immigrants from North Africa and the Indian sub-continent have concentrated in this area and have opened specialty food stores such as this, "Halal" butchers, and bakeries.

These are two of Barcelona's "gegants" or giants being brought out in preparation for the June 24th holiday of Dia de Sant Joan (St. John the Baptist), a Catalan holiday. You can see that these giants are huge. They're being carried by men who are wearing those belts that weight lifters wear. We were so entranced by these moving statues that we followed them to their destination (city hall) and so saw the men trade off every 100 metres of so. We left just before this holiday which might have been a good thing because it is preceeded by fireworks and firecrackers all night long.

Some memorable meals in Spain and France

2011-06-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

We stayed at the Colours of Pays Cathare B&B in the village of Verzeille, just south of Carcassonne for two nights. Our host recommended a wonderful restaurant, Auberge de Pommayrac, for dinner. This was the "entree" of tarte de champignon or mushroom tart. (Another interesting point of language is that the French use the word "entree" where we would use "appetizer" or "starter".) There was a lovely delicate sauce probably made from Rose wine which complimented the mushrooms nicely.

I persuaded Lloyd (not too difficult a job) to have dessert at this restaurant in Carcassonne. It was billed as "Creme Catalan" and is very similar to Creme Brulee. It was delicious! And a very dramatic entry.

Lloyd and I often enjoyed a meal of tapas, small dishes served in most bars in Barcelona. The Spanish don't eat their last meal of the day until quite late--most restaurants didn't open until at least 8 PM and some even later than that. Fortunately for us, the bars are open all day and most serve tapas. Here we were enjoying a meal of Patatas Bravas (deep fried chunks of potato with a spicy mayonnaise), wild mushroom fritters, tomato bread, and a cheese tortilla (what we call an omelet). Tomato bread quickly became a favourite of ours for both lunch and dinner--simple to prepare, it's usually fresh bread spread with fresh garlic and a squeeze of fresh tomato and olive oil. At one restaurant, I was served all the fixings to do it myself...a slice of bread, a garlic clove, and a whole tomato.

Sorting images from our trip

2011-06-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Lloyd and I arrived home last night about 11:30 Pacific Time, after about 24 hours in transit. I was in bed within about a half hour and slept soundly until 5 AM. It's now about 4 PM and I'm feeling as though I am more or less in this time zone. It's not always this easy, but then I might feel differently tomorrow...

I am determined to sort my photos before the memories fade, and so I have actually managed to "process" all 250 of them into named folders. Interesting use of the word "process"--in this case of course meaning to sort and organize. Fortunately I don't take a lot of photos, preferring not to experience my vacation thru' my camera lens.

Herewith some images from my "yarn" folder:

Knitting after lunch at a local bar around the corner from our Barcelona hotel.

You'd think I'd never seen a yarn shop before! I was so excited to find this place, and it was a lovely shop. This is the one I wrote about previously--the co-owner is a lovely multi-lingual fellow.

And finally--yarn bombing has hit the streets of BCN! Some creative person has used the holes in a garbage can like a needlework canvas. It looks like he/she got interrupted...

Fun with Language, Part 2

2011-06-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

We're now back in Barcelona at the same hotel (Gat Xino) as before--we successfully navigated the maze of highways to get the car back to the agency with 10 minutes to spare. We were also driving on fumes which is how it was supposed to be. For some reason we had to return the car empty. It was all a little nerve-wracking to say the least. The ride into the city on the train was a lot smoother than the first time due to our familiarity--boy, do we feel like old hands on the BCN public transit!

Yesterday was another wonderful day of communication successes. We went to the museum at the Faculty of Pharmacology where our friend teaches. The woman who showed us around did not speak much English, however she spoke slowly and clearly in French and we understood her pretty well. I thanked her at the end "Merci Madame pour a vous parlez lentement" (I am not sure if that is grammatically correct) and she replied that she appreciated not having to use her English because she had learned it while in NYC with her young children watching Sesame Street!

After this visit to the museum we drove north out of Montpellier to the town of Lodeve where there is a fabulous art gallery and a temporary exhibition of Louis Valtat who was a peer of Renoir and Matisse--one of the Fauvres (wild beasts)--the impressionists of the early 20th C. It was a fascinating show of his work in a variety of techniques and mediums, from oils and pastels to wood block prints and ceramics. I loved getting up close to see how deceptively simple brush strokes created impressions of faces, clothing, trees, flowers, rocks and so on. I got a little too close for the security guard's comfort "Ne touche pas--c'est tres risque" I think he said--I replied "Je comprends, je ne touch pas!"

We then capped off the afternoon with a tour of the Societe Roqueforte caves and had an hour long tour of caves that are the equivalent of 11 stories underground--where the famous Roqueforte cheese is made and matured. We tasted some wonderful cheese that paired beautifully with some honey cake.

I am so pleased to get over my initial reluctance to try out my French learned long ago in Miss Graham's classes at Point Grey High School some 40 years ago...and the more I tried, the more the language came back.

We leave Barcelona tomorrow June 23rd just before noon, arriving in Kelowna at 10:30 PM--about 20 hours in transit. Tonight we will take it easy--repack, make lists for customs, and maybe take a stroll thru' this city of balconies, enjoying the narrow streets and the cosmopolitan feeling.

Adios! Au revoir! Ces vacances est terminee!

Fun with language

2011-06-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

While in north east Spain, I had a lot of fun trying to communicate with a Spanish phrase book in hand. We quickly realized that while most people do speak Spanish, their first language was likely to be Catalan. Catalan is yet another romance language and has some similarities with both French and Spanish, but is a distinct oral and written language more closely related to Romanian! While I never really grasped much Catalan, after a few days it became easier to decipher a menu and street signs... I could say Hello, ask for white wine and beer, salad and bread, and ask for the bill, but had a lot of difficulty understanding the replies. Even though I took a year of Spanish in high school, that was 40 years ago without any practice in between!

French on the other hand has been a lot easier for both of us. As soon as we crossed the border, the highway signs became easier to follow and menus are definitely easier to read. My pronunciation is appalling, however the server at our first dinner just outside Foix complemented me on my accent. I think she was just trying to make me feel good (she succeeded!) One of our best experiences was when we were trying to get to the village of Lastours where there are four remnants of Cathar towers on craggy peaks. We had to follow a detour, and the signposts weren't very good. Lloyd stopped the car opposite an old man on a bench (every village has an old guy on a bench...) and said in his best Canadian English accent: "Bonjour, monsieur! Lastours?" The man struggled up to his feet and threw his shoulders back proudly. He said, "Oui monsier! Sur le pont, a gauche, a droit, a les portes verte" or something like that...the important thing is that we knew to go over the bridge, turn left, then right at the green doors. It was so exciting to understand what he said! We think we gave him something to tell his wife too...

All this experience is making me realize how important it is to know another language and to not take English for granted. We are so privileged to travel pretty well anywhere in the world and for English to be the language in common.

From the other side of the Pyrenees...

2011-06-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

It's about time I posted again for those of you who are wondering where we are and what we're doing!
We're staying at a B&B in the village of Verzaille just south of Carcasonne. Last night and this morning we explored Le Cite of Carcasonne, a fortified city restored to its former medieval glory in the 19th C, one of the first French monuments to be preserved. We had an excellent meal last night in the old Cite and this morning enjoyed the museum in the chateau (castle) with an audio guide, and that's about it for Carcassone unless you want to shop! There must be over a 100 shops crammed into a very small space, all vying for the tourist euros. This was one of the last strongholds of the Cathars, a religious sect which the Roman Catholic popes of the 12th and 13th C launched a few crusades against, viewing them as heretics. Well, they were not Roman Catholic but they were Christian. It was a power struggle and land grab--and the Cathars lost. There are some gruesome stories about the ethnic cleansing that ensued--eyeballs being torn out, lips and tongues cut out, and burning alive...all in the name of religion.
This afternoon we spent a couple of hours scrambling around Lastours, another Cathar monument which is actually 4 crumbling towers and castles on lofty peaks. It's a good thing there was a wind because it was 28 degrees and we drank a bottle and half of water during the climb.
This was similar to our experience a couple of days ago at Monsegur, which really was the last stand of the Cathars a few hours south of here. Now that is a lonely place and wonderful actually in that you really have to work to climb up, and there are no explanatory panels or restorations or audio guides--all making it easy to imagine what it might have been like 800 years ago looking out over the plains and seeing the enemy approach. The Cathars held firm under siege for about 10 months and then they capitulated. Anyone who didn't convert to Roman Catholicism was burned alive--and there were 250 of those "Perfects" who chose this route.
We're just about to go out for dinner at a local restaurant...Ah, the life in southern France!

The Knitting Tour of Spain Continues...

2011-06-13T12:04:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Ribes de Freser Sunday afternoon after successfully navigated MANY narrow twisting mountain roads. We deliberately took scenic back roads rather than major highways and it was a bit nerve-wracking to say the least.

Ribes de Freser is about 1 1/2 hours north of Barcelona if we had decided to drive straight here!

Today we took a cog-wheel railway up to Nuria, a popular winter and summer resort, and decided to walk back down.

Here I am at the lookout facing back to Nuria just before we began our descent.

About about the half-way point, the trail crossed the river.

We left Nuria in brilliant sunshine, and about two hours later the heavens opened with lots of thunder and lightening. Fortunately we were near a "refugi", a cave with a stone bench, and I had my knitting with me!

International Knit in Public Day, June 11, 2011

2011-06-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Santa Pau is a medieval (14th C) walled village in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Here I am soaking up the cafe culture in the main square, drinking tea and knitting a sock in honour of International Knit in Public Day. It was quite something to walk up the hill to the town, looking up at very austere stone walls mostly with very narrow windows, and then enter the town to see lots of balconies and larger windows and lots of plants and flowers. The street plan is very irregular with lots of nooks and crannies, and dead ends, and houses that have been built and rebuilt over a few hundred years. And lots of tourists too!

We stopped at the town of Olot later in the day to walk up to the Montsacopa volcanic crater just above town. It's an almost perfect circular depression, now grass filled, that we walked around before descending to the old town. And of course we found the perfect cafe to have a light meal (I had a delicious mixed green salad with warmed goat cheese) all the while watching the townspeople stroll by. There were lots of kids playing in the square while their parents visited in the terrace bars and cafes. In these small towns, it's only tourists out and about in the afternoons and all the shops close around 1 PM, reopening around 5. This early evening time is when families seem to shop and visit, teenagers flock together, and lovers stroll...a good people watching time.

A Fabulous Yarn Shopping Experience

2011-06-09T00:59:00.001-07:00

All You Knit is Love is the name of the shop near the Picasso Museum at Barro de ferro, 8 in Barcelona. The proprietor was speaking on the phone in Spanish when we arrived obviously putting in an order judging from the few words I recognized (numbers), and when he got off the phone he addressed his customer in another language (turned out to be Catalan, the local language), and then spoke French with two other women in the shop, and finally addressed us in English! When I complimented him on his language skills he shrugged and said "that's how we live here"... And hearing that we were from Canada he started speaking French again... The shop is wonderfully browsable and full of Garn Studio yarns. I picked up some sock yarn in colours that I hadn't seen before... (yarn is so packable...) and some ceramic buttons. The business cards for this shop are on very heavy plasticized card stock and are also a needle gauge--how clever is that?! On hearing that our plans are to travel north he opened Google maps to show us where to find the maker of the buttons. Just might pay her a visit in the next few days.

Before we found the yarn shop we paid a visit to the Chocolate Museum where the ticket is a bar of chocolate! I haven't eaten mine yet--saving it for later... The cacao bean was first introduced to Europe by the Spanish explorers over 500 years ago arriving in Barcelona port. It was in Europe that it became the sweet confection we know today. We capped off our visit with a chocolata petita (small hot chocolate which is very thick, almost have to eat it with a spoon) and shared a chocolate dipped croissant...mmmmmmmm good.

I've just heard a muslim call to prayer reminding me of India. Our hotel here in Barcelona is in El Raval which is where a lot of Pakistani immigrants live.

Getting my fibre fix in Barcelona

2011-06-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been difficult to find fabric and yarn shops--and equally not difficult to restrain myself, realizing that the stuff that appeals to me is similar to what I already have. Aren't I lucky!

Yarn shops come in a couple different forms--there are those that are very old-fashioned where all the yarn is behind a counter or under glass with clerks standing at the ready behind the counter--and then there are the self-service type where one can browse and handle the yarn contentedly. The most common brand is Katia which is made here in Barcelona, and I was intrigued by some scarf yarns that are so thick no needles or hooks are required. Sounds weird, but in fact the instructions are to crochet a chain by hand instead. The resulting scarves are very interesting but I think too heavy to wear.

My favourite shop so far is Ribes i Casals, a fabulous fabric store near Placa Urquinaona. I found the bargain basement and for 3.95 Euros/metre bought two metres of a very interesting organza print that just might make a layered skirt...who knows what the end result will be...

Today I enjoyed a visit to a textile museum, the Museu Textil i d'Indumentaria. The permanent exhibition was well laid out showing fashion (mostly female but some male) over the last 600 years or so mainly in Spain. The exhibition highlighted how clothing has either lengthened, reduced, or otherwise enhanced the human form. It was interesting to see how these shapes have been repeated over the years, and how 20th and 21st century designers have looked to the past for inspiration. The exhibition is well laid out with each display case holding mannequins that represent the ideal body shape of that era (e.g. very narrow waist, wide hips, etc.) and then beautiful dresses from the period--as well as a modern dress that had been influenced or inspired by the period.

Lloyd and I finished off the afternoon with a visit to Parc Guell which Gaudi designed...we were amongst MANY others wanting to see the famous meandering ceramic bench. We managed to escape the crowds by climbing to the very top of the park for good views of the city, but then got drenched in a thunder storm on the way down. It's thundering and pouring again as I write this which is a real change from yesterday's sunshine.

And for those of you who are wondering, Lloyd's conference started yesterday and it has surpassed his expectations. He's been excited to hear about issues that he's keen about, e.g. succession planning and mentoring...

Barcelona, cont'd

2011-06-06T00:24:00.000-07:00

Barcelona is a very walkable city, at least in the central part. Most of these narrow streets are restricted to local traffic only, and drivers patiently wait for pedestrians and delivery trucks alike without honking horns. I've read that its density surpasses New Delhi. Children kick soccer balls around in the back streets while adults chat in doorways and from their balconies. Garbage and recycling bins are located in every block and these are cleared daily. The streets are clean--there seems to be an army of city staff dressed in fluorescent yellow and green sweeping up any refuse.

We spent most of the morning in Montjuic Park which is the site of the 1928 international exposition. One of the featured areas is El Poble Espanyol, built to showcase the architecture of each area of Spain, e.g. Catalunya, Aragon, Andalucia, and so on. At first glance, to my untutored North American eyes, it all looked the same...narrow balconies, iron railings, stonework...but as I continued to look more carefully the differences became more obvious in the shapes of the doors and windows, the use of tile or whitewash and so on. Best of all, the buildings are all working artisan studios and I enjoyed one in particular, that of a dressmaker who pieces together unique clothing out of linen, cotton and lace. Most of the fabric is cut and pieced on the bias so the garments all drape beautifully. She dyes the clothing after construction. I tried on several pieces and finally opted for a blue dress with long sleeves and a very wide skirt. I wore it out to dinner last night feeling very grand.

On Saturday we lined up for about an hour to get into Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's most famous life work. It's now known as a basilica and is only about half finished--there are still construction cranes raising four more towers. The main entrance is at the "Passion Facade", a very austere group of sculptures representing the last week of Jesus' life. Inside it's an enormous space, full of light, and feels like being in a huge grove of trees which was Gaudi's intention. The roof was finally completed only a few years ago. The choir loft can seat more than 1000 singers and apparently 8000 people could be seated in the nave. We spent more than 2½ hours exploring this grand space (along with a few thousand other tourists) and it was a relief to get away from the crowds to another delicious lunch of paella at a sidewalk café.

Lloyd is off to his conference this morning feeling very optimistic that the sessions will be interesting based on what he’s read in the abstracts. And I’m just about to set off to some yarn and fabric shops!

Montserrat, a very full day

2011-06-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

Lloyd and I hustled to the Placa d'Espanya to catch the train to Montserrat this morning at 8:36AM and arrived up the mountain via cable car just after 10 AM. We spent a glorious morning in the basilica, bookended with an organ practice at 10:30 and the boys choir at 1 PM. We saw the famous black madonna but more interesting were all the images in the museum inspired by this madonna over the last 400 years. There are a few different theories as to why she's black...(1) she was originally painted with white paint but the lead darkened the paint over the year, and (2) she was carved out of dark wood.

Took one of the funicular trains further up the mountain for some great vistas, unfortunately marred by the low clouds. Lloyd was impressed with the plant life...thyme, rosemary, saxifrage, oak, and so on.

Finished the day with beer, wine and tapas in a local restaurant where we successfully deciphered the menu and ordered croquettes made with wild mushrooms, cheese tortilla, and potatoes with a spicy sauce.

Thus the food tour of Barcelona continues. I have spotted at least one fabric store and a yarn shop to visit in greater detail next week while Lloyd is at his conference...

Hola from Barcelona!

2011-06-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Barcelona about 24 hours ago and have settled in nicely. We're staying at the Gat Xino hotel for the next week, and while the room is small (there's about 2 feet of space around the two single beds pushed together) it's clean and bright. The walls are a bright white, the floor is black, and the curtains are lime green. We have a narrow balcony with full sized shutters. The bathroom is a decent size and painted a bright lime green. We're on the third floor overlooking a back street which is a lively neighbourhood. We had to wear ear plugs to sleep because we could hear a myriad of conversations from the open windows across the way--a distance of about 10 feet. It's interesting to look up and down the street to see the many different ways that laundry is hung to dry. Some people have suspended shower curtains over their balconies presumably to add a little more privacy as well as protection against the elements (probably birds and rain).

It's partly cloudy today and the temperature feels about 20 degrees or so--just right for sightseeing--as it was yesterday. We got to the hotel around 11 AM after a bit of backtracking on the train (we missed our stop and had to get out at the next one and take the next train back) and finally the metro. Once we got our bearings above ground, we walked straight to the hotel which is not too far off Las Ramblas, a major pedestrian thoroughfare in the old city. Our room wasn't ready until 2 PM so we spent the next little while walking around the streets and back alleys of the neighbourhood. We aren't too far from the Sant Antonio Mercado, a market that is frequented more by locals than tourists. Lots of inexpensive clothing and the most popular booths were full of thin Asian cottons and scarves worn in several layers. We stopped for lunch and I had a delicious potato tortilla (omelette) and Lloyd enjoyed a huge "hamburguesa" of ham, egg, bacon, cheese and all the trimmings.

Our room was indeed ready at 2 PM and we thankfully went to bed for a nap, finally rousing at about 6:30 or so feeling much better! Out for another walk and ended up at a tapas bar for supper. The barman spoke no English but motioned us to the back to look at the pots bubbling away on the stove, and I chose a potato/garbanzo stew which was delicious. Lloyd pointed at a variety of tapas and ended up with roasted green peppers, veal cutlets and a veggie tortilla. All washed down with a couple glasses of vino blanco (me) and cerveza (Lloyd) accompanied with delicious bread. While the beer was served as a single bottle, a carafe of white wine was on the table and we were charged for what was consumed. While there are innumerable bars and restaurants--some obviously catering to tourists and others are more neighbourhood affairs--we would go back to this place and see what they have on offer another night.

We've just finished a breakfast of coffee, cereal (museli type), toast, ham and cheese. The bread was delicious. It's wonderful to be in a country that respects its bread! We've noticed lots of bakeries--they seem to be just as plentiful as the bars, restaurants and fruit/veggie stores.

Finally, one of the best discoveries yesterday was a textile artisans fair which is on until June 12th just off the Ramblas. I stopped to chat with a woman who was crocheting jewelry from wire and she very proudly showed me all her work while saying that everyone exhibiting there had made their goods--nothing was a cheap import from Asia! I plan to go back and have a better look at everything.

In my next posting I'll try and post some images and won't talk about food quite so much! But as you can tell, I'm already impressed with the food--it's met my expectations so far. We're going to head out shortly to explore some more of this great city.

Svinda has received her stoles

2011-05-16T20:45:00.001-07:00

I think she looks pretty happy!

This is the stole she'll be wearing on her ordination day at the end of May.

Svinda's Ordination Stole is Finished!

2011-05-01T13:18:00.001-07:00

These are the jazzy ties I selected to use for the piping. I have found that wildly patterned ties with contrasting colours look their best as piping around the edges.

A jumble of completed piping, ready to attach to the stole edges.

The finished stole for Svinda's ordination into the United Church of Canada on Pentecost.

The back of the stole. The flames were created with layers of yellow and red organza on top of gold and copper metallic fabric, and then stitched with red and gold embroidery threads. I'm really pleased with that striped piping!

A closer look at the lower finished edges.

I'm not quite ready to release these to Canada Post just yet--I'm taking them with me to Vancouver to use as visual aids for my talk to the Vancouver Guild of Fibre Arts May 12th. So, I get to live with them for just a bit longer!

The Red Pentecost Stole continued...

2011-04-28T18:17:00.001-07:00

The piecing completed and the first rough cut made.

The stole is being cut out.

I incorporated a third bird from the Chinese embroidery on the upper left shoulder.

The Centre Back seam is stitched and the stole is on the mannequin.

Close-up of the lower left half.

To come:

(1) Piping--there are a couple of wonderful red and gold striped ties to use.

(2) Svinda has requested a flame at centre back. Paulette has suggested that some of the blue embroidered swirls could be incorporated as an edging...Interesting idea and one that was originally suggested by the donor! This has potential, but I haven't worked out the technical process yet.

(3) Lining--cut out and ready to go.

Starting Svinda's Red Stole for Pentecost & Ordination

2011-04-27T16:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a reminder of the collection of reds that Svinda's friends and family have provided. Note the Chinese embroidery in the upper right.

I've cut a bird out of the corner, and have covered it with some tulle to protect it. The embroidery is predominantly satin stitch with some long threads--the tulle (netting) protects it from being snagged.

I've incorporated this bird into the curved piecing.

And did the same with a second bird from the upper right hand corner of the embroidery.

Here's the piecing I've done so far today.

All-in-all, a good day's work!

Svinda's Stole for Ordinary Times is Finished!

2011-04-25T16:08:00.001-07:00

I've just completed Svinda's green stole. A time of intense creativity has come to a close, and I'm going to take a break tomorrow before starting the red stole on Wednesday.

The back detail: I went to bed last night thinking that I would be making these circles out of turned bias strips (like spaghetti straps). I woke up with another idea...I remembered that I have a handy Clover gadget for making fusible bias tape. Within 30 minutes I had cut bias strips from one of the ties and had adhered the fusible. Casting around my studio for a template, I came across a CD--the perfect size! And not only that, it is sturdy enough to press against, forming perfect circles.

I tucked the ends into the centre back seam...

...and used some leftover bits to form the cross.

Then I converted one tie--a beautiful silk tie with "Peace" written on it in a few different languages such as "Shalom" and "Pax"--into piping. There is never quite enough fabric in one tie to make sufficient piping for the entire stole so I used part of a scarf as well.

I outlined the cross in a heavy gold metallic thread to make it stand out a bit more.

A detail view of one of the trees and the finished piping.

So, what will I do tomorrow...hmmmm....maybe I'll go on dandelion patrol. It has been my job for many years to dig up dandelions at this time of year. And I've offered to sew my neighbour a skirt, and maybe I'll do some mending... These activities definitely don't have the intensity of stole-making!

Progress on Svinda's Green Stole

2011-04-24T14:24:00.001-07:00

I started the piecing at the lower edge using strips cut from the deep green ties and scarves. I then split the fabric into the two halves in preparation for inserting the first tree.

One of the tree motifs from a tie has been framed in a log cabin-type of piecing and added to one half.

I joined the two halves again to proceed with the horizontal piecing, this time using mainly the yellow-greens in the collection.

I finished the piecing this morning, having inserted a couple more trees. Here the two halves are pinned to the design wall in my studio.

The next step was to lay the two halves down on my cutting table and use the pattern to trim to the desired dimensions.

And finally, I've stitched the centre back seam and put the stole on my mannequin. The edges are serged.

And the back view.

To come:

(1) piping made from some of the ties and scarves

(2) back detail: three concentric circles with a cross in the intersection. I think I'll probably do this with cording covered with one of the ties.

(3) lining.

And now to join Lloyd in the garden! It's a beautiful spring day here in the Okanagan, and my job is to sweep and mop the front porch in preparation for setting up our outdoor living room. For those readers who know Lloyd, he's already taken his first outdoor shower...

Refining the Design for Svinda's Green Stole

2011-04-21T09:38:00.001-07:00

These are the green materials (ties and scarves) that Svinda collected from her congregation, friends and family. There is a nice range of blue-green, green and yellow-green for me to work with. The tie along the top is something that I think I might be able to work in as a motif, hence the following designs...

Svinda has also asked for the blue-greens to be uppermost because she says as a fair-skinned person yellow green makes her look jaundiced--I can relate to that too...

Close-up of the tree tie.

Ideas for Svinda's red stole

2011-04-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

This red stole is for Pentecost--the flames of the spirit indicated by strong vertical lines--and will be worn by Svinda at her ordination at the end of May (because it will be the season of Pentecost). The back view could be a flame, or I could use a motif found on one of the scarves in Svinda's box (next image).

Here's a close-up of the motif painted on a silk scarf.

And this little treasure of a Chinese embroidery appeared in my mailbox a few weeks ago, sent by a friend of Svinda's from New Brunswick. This will be a challenge to cut into! A challenge from the point of view of where to cut, i.e. what motif to isolate (it's too big to use on its own). I could cut out the embroidered peony (lower middle) or one of the birds in either of the corners. I think the dragon or lion in the middle is a little too fierce to use!

Possiblities for Svinda's Green stole

2011-04-19T19:12:00.001-07:00

Design #1 has been inspired by one of the ties that Svinda collected. (see below)
Svinda suggested the centre back motif of three overlapping circles with a small cross at the intersection.

Designs 3 & 4 use the same colours but in reverse, and the lines are horizontal--a calmer effect.

Here's the tie that inspired the first design.
I will post the red designs separately.

Another couple of stoles...

2011-04-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

My next commission is to create two stoles for Svinda who will be ordained in the United Church of Canada at the end of May. She has collected ties and scarves from members of her congregation and her friends and family. Several of her friends live elsewhere and they sent their ties and scarves separately. What fun it was to receive fat envelopes in the mail!

Svinda's box of materials arrived last Friday, just in time for hockey playoffs--yes, you read that correctly, hockey playoffs.

Here are Svinda's materials spread out on the chesterfield.

And here's my in-house "tie taker-aparter", who masterfully strips out the interfacing and opens the lengthwise seam of every tie using an x-acto knife...all this while watching the hockey playoffs.

How better to use his time while cheering for the Vancouver Canucks?!

Carolyn's finished stole

2011-04-17T11:58:00.001-07:00

I finished Carolyn's ordination stole Friday morning, and finally did the photography today. Click on the image to see an expanded view. The doves at centre back and left shoulder are trimmed with some lace that Carolyn had included in the box of ties and scarves she had collected from her friends and family.

Early on in our discussions about the stole, Carolyn had asked how her friends could literally write their words of support into her stole. So I cut out a white cotton lining according to the desired finished dimensions of the stole, and mailed it to her. Interestingly, both the wrong and right sides of the lining were written on so I had to cut and turn one side. This wasn't a big problem--I simply incorporated my label (printed on my ink-jet printer) at this junction.

I'll be mailing this stole to Carolyn shortly and look forward to see a picture of her wearing it! At this stage of the process I always feel some mixed emotions...happy that my vision has been realized and sad to see it leave my hands, with lots of anticipation of how it will be received on the other end!

I will be starting two stoles (one green, one red) in the upcoming week. The box of ties and scarves arrived Friday from Ontario, and Lloyd (husband and master tie taker-aparter) has taken them all apart while watching the hockey playoffs. Now I need to wash and press them while pondering the designs. Stay tuned!

Carolyn’s Stole, continued...

2011-04-11T19:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I started piecing Carolyn's stole, using the blue ties at the bottom (representing baptism.) I'd made good progress by Sunday afternoon--above shows how I started to incorporate the reds (for Pentacost). This afternoon, I finished the piecing and trimmed both halves of the stole. And here it is on my mannequin. The dove is a paper cut-out...to try out the size and placement. Carolyn wants a dove like this at the centre back and upper left shoulder. These will be appliqued.

Some more designs for Carolyn's stole

2011-04-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

Carolyn has had fun gathering feedback; her ideas have become clearer as a result. She had mentioned a favourite tie...pictured above...that she hoped I could incorporate. This got me thinking...could I start with this tie and let it guide the piecing? Below find a couple more sketches. Carolyn has also asked for an image of a dove with its wings outstretched at her left shoulder and centre back. If you look at the first image again, you'll see some printing on the white lining. Carolyn asked for a way for her friends to write prayers on the lining, so I cut out a lining a few months ago and sent it to her.

A new stole for Carolyn

2011-04-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Carolyn's materials arrived a few days ago. She has collected red and blue ties and scarves from her friends and family for this ordination stole. In the box of ties was a note from a member of her congregation: "My mother always told me that I would find answers to my problems at church. For three years I didn't know what to do with the ties I had removed from the tie rack. Your last Sunday at Trinity solved my problem..." It's a good thing this person didn't throw or give away the ties three years ago! (I have heard that story SO many times). Carolyn is being ordained in the Lutheran church in Pennsylvannia. She has asked for a stole which is predominantly red because she will be ordained during Pentecost. She also wants me to incorporate a little blue to reflect baptism, as well as some images of doves either on the back or on one side. Here are some possible designs for Carolyn to consider: What do you think? Comments welcome! And some other possiblities for depicting a dove:

Finally--some pictures from Anne

2011-03-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

I received a wonderful e-mail from Anne this past week. I made her stole in December 2009 in time for her Unitarian congregation to celebrate the winter solstice.

Hi Janet

A very long time ago, you asked for pics of me in the stole ...
and it took me this long to get them taken and to email them out ...
It wasn't for lack of interest or caring, I promise!
Here they finally are ... and still TOTALLY LOVING the precious stole.
thanks again

Is Kimiko's stole finished?

2011-03-16T15:01:00.001-07:00

The edges are piped and the stole is lined. What next? Still trying to figure out if I want to add the stiff cords. I think they'll be too stiff but think I'll try hand-stitching them on and see what they look like.

Here's a close-up of the back detail. This crane was cut out of the back of the blue kimono.

The stole continued...

2011-03-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

I've finished the piecing of the stole. Here it is displayed on top of one of the kimonos that Kimiko gave me. This is the kimono that had the gold embroidered cranes at the front shoulders and centre back.

I'm at a major decision point now--whether or not to add more embellishments. At this stage, I like to leave the stole on my mannequin while I ponder...

Kimiko's stole is started...

2011-03-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I've been very productive since Tuesday afternoon. As some of you know, I'm taking a Sociology of Aging course at UBCO. My team did a presentation on the youth culture of the 1960s Monday night, and I decided to celebrate the end of that assignment by doing something completely different--getting back to what I love to do, and that's to sew.

But of course, I do have a deadline for this stole--I hope to deliver it to Kimiko in a couple of weeks when I next visit my folks in Vancouver.

Judging by what I've accomplished here, I fully expect to meet that deadline.

One of the kimonos that Kimiko provided had gold embroidered cranes at the shoulders at center back.

I plan to incorporate the large crane at the centre back of the stole.

And another smaller crane is pieced into the lower edge.

Knit a Perfect Fitting Sock

2011-02-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

One of the workshops at the upcoming Okanagan Knitting Retreat is "Knit a Perfect Fitting Sock" with Paulette Lane of Vancouver. Sign up for the retreat at www.janetarmstrong.com

How do your socks fit? Do they bag around the ankles? Do they wrinkle up uncomfortably when you put your shoes on? Do you always cast on the same number of stitches and then wonder why the socks are not quite right?

The goal is a snug fit on the foot without any excess fabric that bunches up in your shoes. Some critical measurements of the foot are key to knitting the ideal socks for YOUR feet. Most sock patterns have you decrease at the heel gusset to the number of stitches cast on. Well, if your arch measurement is smaller (or larger) than your calf, you will need fewer (or more) stitches for the foot. Knitting the right shape of toe for the shape of YOUR toes is also important—are your toes short and angled like a wedge, or are they long? Are they square? Paulette will review some different options for wedge toes and wide toes.

In this workshop, Paulette will guide you through the measuring process, how to knit a quickie flat tension swatch and how to choose the right yarn and needles. By the end of the workshop, you will have the perfect fitting sock, and will be able to adapt any sock pattern so that it will fit you perfectly. And because you’ve now invested all that time and money in perfect socks, Paulette will also review how to keep them from wearing out so that you don’t have to darn them.

Kimiko's Stole...the designing continues

2011-02-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the comments about the stole designs. Kimiko "waffled" between #2 and #4 so I've developed a couple more sketches based on her comments about what she liked about each of the designs. Here are designs # 5 and #6.

I went into my inventory of neckties (I have way too many!) and found some suitable greens, browns and blue-greens to augment Kimiko's collection. Most of the neckties are still from her father, and the brown and blue silk kimonos are from her mother's family. The cords that you see spiralling on top of the materials are from another family member and I think they're the cording--kumihimo--used in tying an obi.

Another design element in this stole will be the crane at centre back. This wonderful piece of metallic thread embroidery is on one of the kimono.
I had hoped to have this stole finished by the time I leave for Vancouver next Tuesday, however I don't want to rush--I have a myriad of other projects and volunteer commitments on my plate.

Okanagan Knitting Retreat...optional Friday workshops

2011-02-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

New this year is a day of workshops prior to the retreat. Paulette Lane (of PLANE Images) will be leading "It's all in the details", a reprise of a workshop from the retreat of 2009. The orange eyelet strip is a photo of an eyelet cast-on
which is a great way of starting a feather and fan pattern

Next is the Punta cast-on which comes to us from Peru. Another great way of casting on!

And finally, a picot cast-off with a garter stitch edge. All of these treatments are applicable to garments, whether it be a sweater, socks, vest or....

It's the details which can catapult a garment from the "home made with loving hands" category to the "designer" category! Simply changing a pattern from a ribbing to one of these edges and you've become a designer. Join us at the 13th annual Okanagan Knitting Retreat--download the brochure on my website at http://www.janetarmstrong.com/

Another Liturgical Stole...

2011-01-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

I've been commissioned by Kimiko Karpoff's family to create a stole celebrating her graduation as a deacon in May 2011. I met with Kimiko and her mother Lily last summer at Naramata to review the materials...a brown silk haori and a blue silk kimono which had both belonged to family members, and a selection of Lily's husband's neckties (reds and blues). I pulled these materials out of the bag last week and sorted them into their colour families.

These colours make me think of earth and water, or fire and water.

Given Kimiko's Japanese heritage it made sense to check Designer's Guide to Japanese Patterns, Book 2 by Jeanne Allen for wave and water patterns:

Getting my coloured pencils out, I then played around with some ideas...

Which one do you prefer? Double click any image to make it bigger!