Once in a Blue Moon

Shades of Moon, 2024

The Hunter Moon, (October 17^th), found us still in St Lucia; Its size and brightness over 3 nights was just amazing to see.  I learned that the Hunter Moon traditionally announces the last opportunity for a night hunt as the depths of winter draws in.  Its bright light, usually sustained over 3 nights, allows hunters a last chance to fill larders before cold winter months. 

Of course, having lived mostly in the southern hemisphere where the full moon in October announces that summer is close (Dec to Feb), full moons have no names as far as I know.  And yes, I know it’s the one moon we are looking at regardless of location!  The closest we might come to full moon references is If someone tells you that you are “barking at the moon“.  Generally, that means you’re as mad as a hatter!  Anyway, back to the Hunter Moon.  Having discovered one named moon, I got to wondering if the other months had named moons too.  And they surely do, and have done, for a very, very long time!

Research on full moon names led me to my first “list” dilemma, naming choice.  Yes, there’s more than one set of names!  The difficulty was deciding between, essentially, agrarian or nomadic collections.  Currently popular is the North American Indian naming system, however, my interest lies more in the Celtic/Anlgo-Saxon names given family heritage and farming connections.  The Anglo Saxons in essence, based moon names on seasons and farming.  Fascinating reading in all and I’ll add some links below so that you can read up on it too! 

A (not-so-pink) Pink Moon, Trinidad 22 April 2024

As I read, I better understood the importance of the moon in life long ago. Stonehenge has a connection with seasons.  This made me think too, of church bells, tolling the time of day across village communities.  Also, shades of Jane Austin!  Mr Knightly announced to the community, his intention to marry Emma, at the end of Harvest Feast held in his ancestral pile.  If you’re curious too, the “English” moons are named:

o   January: Moon following Yule (Pre-Christian not Christmas)

o   February: Snow

o   March: Lenten

o   April: Egg

o   May: Milk

o   June: Flower

o   July: Hay

o   August: Grain

o   September: Harvest

o   October: Hunter

o   November: Blood

o   December: Moon before Yule

o   13^th Moon: Blue Moon (named where a moon appears twice in a month and the second moon is so named).

We've never yet seen the famous "Green Flash".  Setting sun, Grenada.
A Mead Moon was due, 10 days later, on 23 June 2024.

Now just what has this to do with textiles and quilting?  I’m sure there must be loads of traditional blocks that feature moons in some form or other.  Of course, quilting may not date back to Celtic times but certainly, the UK has a long history of textile production.  Making textiles for clothing, stitching quite humble bed coverings, fashioning artfully stitched quilts; it was a very real process of survival and making do.  I can image the women under candlelight, spinning, weaving and stitching by the fire, while the men were out hunting - by the light and good guidance of a Hunter moon.

Further Reading (by the light of the Moon!)

Perhaps the best reading is from Time and Date, with most bases covered.

Otherwise, Time Meddler has a clear & concise English Version as does the Maine Farmers’ Almanac.

Then, there is always reliable Wikipedia with lots of links and further sources.

So, what sparks your creativity?  Try developing a few full moon ideas, here's another.  I know I will be...  And Have Fun!!

Just take a look at this wonderful Sindhi applique quilt.
Use traditional art to inspire you!  (Wiki Attribution)  Wiki Quilts

Good Wishes

All Graphics courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Yes, it’s that time of the year again.  Amazing how quickly it sneaks up on you!  Rather than sending out newsletters this year, our adventures have been mostly covered over our 7 months of Windjammer3 travels anyway.  Link to the WJ3 blog, here.  Surely guaranteed to get you snoozing!

It has been a slow year in the textile travels department, largely due I think, to quilts not being an essential item for the tropics.  Fabrics though are another matter.  I am looking forward to finding fabric stores in Trinidad when we return with hopes of locating wonderful waxies (African prints) and colourful designs that make life Carnival every day of the year.   

We trust Santa brings joy to you and your family this festive season, where-ever you are; under a blanket of snow or basking in tropical sunshine.  Have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and New Years, and allow at least some time to kick back and relax.  After all, you will need to be match fit for a game of cricket (or tennis) and have that barbie fired up, ready for Australia Day.  Lamb chops and lamingtons essential!

Flighty Feathers

 Spicemas Carnival 2023, Grenada

We were so lucky to have timed our arrival in Grenada with the celebration of Carnival this year.  It is a costume makers delight and although this is not my stitching bent, I wanted to see what is without doubt, an exuberant and "over-the-top-is-best" art form.  We did not get to witness the costume judging competition, and as it threatened rain in the evening, some of the grand & very expensive costumes were not display.  Still, it was a spectacular event! 

Rather than repeat myself, here is a link to my previous summary of the 2023 event and photos taken during the 4 hour parade.  And here are a few more just to tempt you.

Quilters in the Caribbean

Happiness is finding a Quilt Store

On the off chance of finding African wax fabrics (fabric lengths rather than clothes) in St Martin, I went in search of textile shops.  Well, there aren’t many, but one big surprise was finding a quilt shop, A Stitch at a Time, located in Cole Bay, Sint Maarten, which fortunately, was within easy walking distance for me.

Owner Lyseth Olaria, keeps a very tidy and inspiring quilt store offering a neat selection of colourful (and very tempting) patchwork fabrics, including trays of fat quarters.  Aside from a huge display of sewing gadgets (and who ever has enough of those?), there was a nice selection of machines, wadding, bag making supplies & more – in all, an Aladdin’s cave for any quilter!  We bonded over our love of Bernina machines…

A peek at what's inside A Stitch at a Time

Lyseth was very friendly and most helpful, making suggestions and showing bolts of colours that could make suitable matches for my own small bag of scraps.  She also gave me plenty of browsing time given my need to explore and select just the right fabrics.  Lyseth clearly knows quilters and how we love to touch the cloth!  I had an absolutely wonderful time given my 3 months of quilt making deprivation, though I’m not so sure about the Cap’n!

You can tell, the Cap'n was enraptured !

A Stitch at a Time is in a group of shops in Orange Grove Plaza, Unit 3C, Orange Grove Road, Colebay, Philipsburg, St. Maarten.  It is open on weekdays from 9am to 6pm.  Phone: +1 721 - 544- 3224 & Email: info@stitchatatime.com.  Lyseth’s blog can be found at http://www.stitchatatime.com.

When you visit St Martin, Lyseth’s quilt shop is an easy run (by taxi or mini bus) from Marigot or Phillipsburg to Cole Bay along Union Road.  A Stitch at a Time is on the corner of Union Rd and Orange Grove Road, but I doubt you will find any street signs.  (Use Google Maps on your phone.)  In the next block is your nearest landmark, the vast ACE Hardware store, more like a Department Store than a Hardware!!  No fabric though.

My selection of blue & whites (very Dutch, yes? & a great find!)

A Quilt of Belonging…

This is not exactly what I had planned for today.  Really!  I was making a “things to do list” with hopes of doing a bit of blog tidying up.  Somehow though, I fell into a rabbit hole and ended up searching for information about Caribbean textiles.  All is not lost however, as I discovered a spectacular quilt called “A Quilt of Belonging”. 

Photo of the Quilt of belonging at the Inaugural exhibition at the wikipedia:Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Photographer: Nick Wolochatiuk.

The concept is amazing, the result even better.  Although finished in November 1998, I can’t say that I’d heard about this quilt and I must have been dozing in my garden shed when/if it came to Australia.  The block for Australia is one of embroidered wildflowers, beautifully done by Lyn Prichard.  The write up by the Australian High Commission leaves a lot to be desired.  Perhaps it would have been better to have assigned that task to our famous Quilt Historian & Collector, Dr Annette Gero.  The craft of quiltmaking came to Sydney’s colony (NSW) with British female convicts.  The Rajah Quilt was made in 1841 during the women’s transportation.  

If you are interested in a brief overview of Australia’s quiltmaking history then a good place to start is The History Blog.  Otherwise, seek out one of Annette Gero’s excellent books.  They are guaranteed to keep you away from your sewing machine for weeks.  Of course, you can always count this as research and inspiration!  Time well spent, I’d say…

So, getting back to the Caribbean, here are the colourful blocks provided by these tropical island countries to A Quilt of Belonging. 

Forever Blowing Bubbles…

You all know the way that old tune goes.  My song, if ever I have one, goes…I’m forever sorting photos, tra la la la.

In late 2019, I decided that my current photo sorting system (if indeed, it was a system) was not working.  My plan to stick to location as the guiding principle did not work as well as I had hoped and I began to lose track of exactly where I was in this maze of a collection.  So, the realisation that it would be far gentler on the brain cells if it was sorted by year, slowly began to take shape. 

First of course, were many, many sessions at the altar of YouTubers, many of whom had excellent ideas and helped me to picture what my work-around would mean and how it would look.  I did have a few setbacks though, one of which was to try renaming photos (not a good idea for me, it turned out!) and another was to eliminate all those dreadful photos.  Fine if you’re a professional, not so good for me making travel memories.  To know yourself and have goals is important.

Northern New South Wales coast to deliver a birthday quilt

I began sorting with the earliest backups I had (something else I wasn’t good at) from photos taken in 2004 when I went digital (sort of).  I had managed to lose some from trips away that could now sadly, never be recovered.  There were also successes.  This deep dive into old collections allowed me to find photos missing from a London visit with my cousin and his family.  The biggest problem I had was not fully understanding how Picasa stored original files when edits were made.  So, losses of these originals were many and I’m not sure that all have been found, but at least I’ve tried.  What did really help me sort my photos was to keep original file numbers, if I could.  Order (numerical) in chaos, thankfully.

After the demise of Picasa, I moved on to Lightroom – that’s a whole new level of learning experience for you!  I actually do like its capabilities, enabling me to sort by date and time at a minimum.  And of course, another round of YouTubers to help me become familiar with it.  A special mention should go to the whole Covid experience that ensured, during lockdowns, that I moved forward with this project of 48,000 photos.  Last year, I managed easily to assemble all Year 2022 photos and back them up on multiple hard drives that are set aside just for my photo inventory. 

Adelaide's Art Gallery showcased Textiles
including those by Sera Waters

Of course, I’m still not done yet.  There are many files of photos that need double checking, just to be sure I’ve not missed any.  And one should not forget the boxes and albums of old-school photos and slides awaiting my attention. 

One question though, that I have yet to resolve for myself, is whether to shoot raw.  I’m perfectly happy with JPG for now, and my plan is to eventually make travel photo books for my family.  Another task that awaits is to start editing; selecting the very best from each year and to add family detail that will help future family learn how we lived in the 21^st century (if indeed they can access our digital archives!).  So, for now, I guess it’s back to YouTube then!

Loving a visit to Adelaide to break the photo sorting monotony

A Less Adventurous Life

Can it have been so long since my last post?  Well, yes and we all know why.  I did find my way to Adelaide earlier this year, so I have no real excuses for not writing up my textile finds.  I have however, recently done a review of sorts, looking for the gaps in my humble textile observations, so there is hope for a few photos and notes in the offing – most likely after the Christmas Rush.  School holidays are about to start soon too and it’s a long summer break.  So, the lethargy may continue for a little while longer and it might be time to sit under a shady tree and read a book or three. 

I will say that I’ve also done a bit of a make-over on this blog's inner workings (design), so hopefully it’s easier to read and the photos a better size.  Also, I’ve been sorting and organising my photos, a job that was desperately needed.  I’ll write a bit about that soon – it promises to be a bit of a moan anyway, as the learning curve was steep and the youtube videos to watch rather numerous. 

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a prosperous New Year and time for lots and lots of stitching/researching textiles.

Graphic courtesy Graphics Fairy