Remembering The Blue Pearl

Beautiful Sky Blue to remind me of Chefchaouen

Whilst on the subject of handloomed weaving, I wasn’t sure if I’d posted photos of the beautiful, traditional woollen blankets we found in Chefchaouen, Morocco (suitably measuring up to it's nickname, The Blue Pearl).  

Weavers, generally men, sit in bolt-hole shops along the narrow, picturesque streets of Chefchaouen producing blankets, cushions and rugs in the most wonderful colours.  Now, I do use the term ‘woollen’ lightly as I expect there is a scarcity of the real thing in my blanket given how inexpensive acrylic yarns are nowadays.  However, I am only guessing and have no evidence to support such a negative remark.  Further, the pillows I purchased the following year when visiting with friends are standing up well to quite some punishment on our equally well-used settee.  No sign of pilling, on the cushions or the blanket, so I may well have to eat my words. 

And I couldn't leave the cushions behind, right?

A summary of our finds on this tour through Morocco & subsequent stops in Chefchaouen are covered in earlier Textile Tourist posts which can be easily found via the Morocco 2012 link over in the sidebar.  Even more detail can be found on the Windjammer3 site (link here).  I would most happily fill my house with goodies that can be found in any of the souks we visited…but maybe, mostly the Aladdin’s cave that is Fez! 

I've just been re-reading a wonderful travel book by Eric Newby (a Brit), "On the Shores of the Mediterranean", a journey he took in the 1980's with his wife, Wanda.  The whole book is fascinating to read again, now that we've managed to visit some of the many places he's written about.  Without doubt, he captures the essence of Fez; Moroccan to the core and so culturally rich.  Visit if you can, you'll be all the better for doing so...if not a little poorer!!  

I found this photo of an embroidered Horse Cover
from Fez.  Its in Wiki along with other location facts.

By the by, even though it's Autumn here in the Med, it really is Spring (well, only just) at home.  Hence my need to tidy up & refresh the blog a little with a rather sweet, new look.  Even more links to follow when I find them again...

Get Back to Work!

November 2017

Cushion made from a small Portuguese hand-loomed rug

At this stage, it’s been so long since I’ve had the time or energy to put up a post on our wanderings that I’m just going to start with the here and now; and then slowly work back with interesting snippets when I can.  Consider this the equivalent of a cleansing ale at the end of a long and somewhat arduous year or two.

Currently we are in the Algarve; Lagos to be exact.  Our explorations to find supermarkets in Portimao brought us on a collision course with a couple of Chinese shops – positively stuffed to the brim with all sorts of things, especially those you never knew you needed.  I was searching for a yoga mat (impossible to find) to cut up and stuff into my ageing settee cushions for a bit of added ‘oomph’.  What I did find though, was floor mats, hand-loomed (in Portugal, even).  And I’ve found more in Lagos - I'm just so excited!

Blue & White hand-loomed rug

It seems that these mats, made from recycled textiles and woven on looms in villages across the country, are very much part of a Portuguese weaving tradition.  Trying to find any information is difficult due to the fact that they are considered so very utilitarian, but I do seem to recall finding some in a museum in Faro (Museu Etnografico) a few years ago now.  I’ll have to dig out those photos but that’s not going to help me give these woven mats a local name.

Yellow light does not show my blue & white quilt off but you get the drift...

In the meantime, I’ve settled on a rather nice blue & white “shaggy” number to liven up the very dull mat we have now in our bedroom.  It also goes nicely with the small blue quilt I made for the bed this year (just showing off, of course).  Another, smaller red/white & blue mat suited the guest bedroom but I hit on the bright idea of making it into a comfy cushion.  So now I have the perfect opportunity to poke around the shops in old Lagos a little bit more…

And whilst I'm shopping I can admire some
fantastic street art. Did I really find a Banksy?