Travel, Textiles & Costumes: Blogs of Interest

As you can see, I'm slowly catching up on my backlog of textile posts.  My research leads me to some lovely and most inspiring sites.  

Whilst searching for some textile blogs, I found these that I think are worthy of sharing.  Great eye candy for sure and so wonderful to see recognition for fibres still produced in the traditional way.  It also made me think that I need to tart up my blog posts a bit – I’m feeling a little pedestrian really…

Anyway, it goes without saying that if you want detailed, learned textile sources then John Gillow’s “World Textiles” would be a handy reference (check Book Depository's excellent selection of craft books) and a good place to start.  Otherwise, here is the link list:

Where Traveler 

Matador Network

Cloth Roads

CN Traveller

Arena Travel

Trendtablet

World 4 EU

TRC Leiden

Now, for some colour and 18th century style, lets visit Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, United States.  First, the Dye Shop and then the Ladies Dress Shop.

Springwood Quilt Show 2019

Blue Mountains: May 2019

Just before I left town in 2019, I decided to take in the Springwood Quilt Show (2019).  It was a lovely day, a pleasant drive up into the Blue Mountains and of course, some pretty amazing quilts.  The vendors were fantastic and lined the hall with VERY tempting wares.  I even got to meet a few famous names.  Margaret Sampson George was there with her very special applique style, Rachaeldaisy’s students showed just how innovative her work is, and Chris Jurd tempted me with some fantastic modern pieces, with patterns available.  All this and the local quilters offered an enticing assortment of goodies for morning/afternoon tea if you wanted to sip tea (refreshment and contemplation) and stay close to the action.

We had time to stop at Post Office Patchwork at Glenbrook – never enough fabric, right?  Just needed to keep the stash buoyant, as one must. 

Obviously, I did not make it home empty-handed.  All I need do now, aside from live till I’m 150 (at least), is to make all these quilts up!!

Some photos from the show.  The first is definitely Margaret Sampson George and the third down, Susan Lenehan, but the others escape me as I didn't take note of their makers. Enjoy!

Chasing Rainbows

Quilt Show: Darling Harbour 2018

I am pleased to say that we made it home in time to make the June 2018 Sydney Quilt Show at Darling Harbour.  That's now two years in a row I've made it – WOW, how exciting!!  So, with some of the quilters from Dangar, off we set for a day immersed in the wonderful world of textiles.

A single day is simply not enough, with so many inspiring exhibits and of course, so many vendor stalls, all beautifully presented and well resourced.  I had ideas for future quilts spinning in my head for many daze after the show.  

Although the 2018 Quilt Show is certainly old news by now, I felt the need to share some of my favourites. 

Catherine Moseley: Red Glitter

Barbara Gower: Kyoto by Night

Emma Kemmis: Bejewelled (Close-up) 

The unmistakable hand stitchery of Carolyn Sullivan

Well done to everyone who participated and inspiring work.  Let's hope for another fine gathering in 2022.   Now, I really must go and find my stash of Japanese fabrics.  I've found the perfect Jen Kingwell pattern for them.

Quilts at Last

Atlantic ICW #2

Georgetown, SC 22-25 Apr 2018

Moving north lead us to Georgetown, South Carolina and the informative Gullah Museum.  Pride of place in the exhibits goes to Gullah artist Vermelle "Bunny" Smith Rodrigues’ amazing quilts.  The quilts are folk art story quilts telling the history of the Gullah people and are used to inform visitors at the Museum.  Centre place however is reserved for her famous Michelle Obama Quilt that tells of Mrs Obama’s ancestral connections to the area.  

I was granted permission to photograph these quilts when we visited the Gullah Museum, which is well worth the effort, especially if you sit a while with very friendly and informed docents to really appreciate Gullah history.  Not in Georgetown?  Then read a little about the history here on Wiki.

My understanding, simplistically, is that the whole plantation system revolved around the use of slave labour and many slaves were brought in from West Africa to cultivate crops of rice, tobacco, indigo and sea island cotton.  African people brought into the Low Country during colonial times developed their own creole language and maintained a culture rich with African influences. I found this interesting Pinterest site with lots of exciting examples of Gullah art; not quilting but very inspirational anyway.  

Stop by the Museum in Georgetown to discover the joy of story-telling and quilts.

Many Layers of Blue

Atlantic ICW #1

Beaufort, SC 18-20 Apr 2018

From the Bahamas, we hit the US East coast running, with a plan to “do” the complete ICW (Intra-coastal Waterway) between Lake Worth (Florida) and Chesapeake Bay (Virginia).  Our other challenge was to stop over in places we’d not visited before.  The textile search was on again, however, if there’s one thing I’ve learned is that many small communities don’t have/can’t sustain patchwork suppliers.  I can see why mail order is such a big deal in the US.  That said, I discovered a few interesting textile facts along the way.  So, all was not lost.

A well-kept Townhouse in historic Beaufort, SC...nice blue (just not indigo)

Let’s start in Beaufort, South Carolina.  Located on Port Royal Island, it dates from 1512 and was once a busy hub for Low Country produce.  Its delightful riverside setting drew many plantation owners who built townhouses, leaving for us today an inspiring collection of antebellum mansions. 

Did you know that the State Colour of South Carolina is indigo?  

Flag of South Carolina; public domain image on Wikipedia.

The Beaufort History Museum is located at the historic Arsenal (1798) and it's brimming over with informative exhibits.  Whilst rice was the colony’s economic mainstay building great personal fortunes, indigo is considered the crop that grew the colony in terms of land and population.  Eliza Lucas in 1742 (at the age of 16) is credited with successfully cultivating indigo.  Woad, as it was also known, was well established and growing commercially between 1747-1800.  Indigo production was greatly enhanced by indigo slaves who understood the complex task of processing the dye. 

Facts all learned from our friendly guide at the Beaufort History Museum.  Time well spent!

Indigo dyed fabrics

Spinning Wheel at the Beaufort History Museum

Little Pink Dress

Caribbean & Bahamas

Georgetown 8-10 March 2018

I knew from a previous visit to George Town, Bahamas (in the Exumas) of locally produced batik fabrics.  I was fortunate enough to find at Marilyn's Gift shop a gorgeous little pink cotton dress in Andros Batik and some dotty sandals to match – a nice summery gift for little Miss P.  They also stocked a nice selection of other clothes and decorator products in Bahama's batiks.  The fabric prints and colours just seemed to shout “clear blue waters and sunny skies!” 

The staff were very friendly and explained the story of Andros Batik; it may well be the only locally produced (handmade) dyed fabric range in the Bahamas.  Enjoy their story.  I, as always, am looking for fabric lengths rather than pre-made items.  Why sew a dress when you can make a quilt…right?  Just couldn’t resist a little pink dress though… 

Andros Batik: Bahama Pink Dress

George Town, Exumas, Bahamas

Warderick Wells Land & Sea Park, Exumas, Bahamas

Wax On Wax Off...

Cape Verde Islands

Mindelo 5-13 January 2018

Of course, I had dreams of finding lots of cotton wax batiks available in Mindelo but not to be.  The shop stocking those exuberant Ghanaian textiles in Mindelo (Sao Vicente) I had read about was long since gone (hopefully relocated) and the market was full of cheap polyester substitutes. 

We had a day trip planned on neighbouring Santo Antao and I had hoped to see fabrics in markets as we drove around the island.  The demand though is for ready-mades (for tourists & locals) and I may have missed noticing any cottage industry in textiles.  There appears not to be a huge demand for them either.  Driving across Santo Antao however, is a delight, with pockets of green tucked into steep sided hills, so the day was rewarding in many other ways as I have already noted in this post.  African cottons…well, I guess it’s back to the drawing board and lots more time on the computer researching.  Or perhaps even planning an African textile adventure.  Now there's a happy thought!

For now, here's a start with a few links to Wiki:  African wax prints and Kente cloth but my photos I'm afraid, are only of the wonderful Santo Antao scenery.

A small fisherman's harbour Santo Antao
 - only for very brave fisherman ; )

Santo Antao interior

Santo Antao's steep and rugged coastline.  

Included this one of Mindelo's busy waterfront with the main market square over to the right
(behind the buildings) 

Canaries & Rastas

Canary Islands

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 17-30 December 2017

Having not had to check in to Madeira (we left from Lagos, Portugal), this "Completing Clearances" process led us to some interesting areas in Las Palmas; probably not ones frequented by most tourists, although not far from the seemingly endless cruise ship dock and the vast behemoths strung to it.  Luckily, we had our trusty bicycles so attending to such chores and indeed prepping up for an on-board Christmas Celebration, was easy.  Bike paths have been well planned through the city enabling us easy access, so we were soon were done with domestic duties and were able to consider time for a little light entertainment too!

Decoration on outside of  buildings in Vegueta. 
Adam & Eve clearly enjoyed draperies of the day too?

The weather was sunny or .... not!  This was not a December beach day, nor the anchorage
the place to be.  Unless you were Christmas cruzin' and dock-side on one of those enormous ships 

The Canaries, or at least that part we saw, are vastly different to Madeira – opposing planets almost.  We felt a car was essential to escape the city surrounds, but neither of us wanted to drive in the Christmas traffic, so stuck to pedal power, back roads and shops within easy reach. 

My guide book and an interesting web site described a walking tour that included the Casa de Colón (Columbus House) and, given we were following in this explorer’s wake, we rode along the grand cornishe to a small museum in nearby Vegueta dedicated to his achievements.  This building was a stately home for the first governors of the island and it is believed that Columbus stayed here in 1492.  It's not hard to imagine these Islands as an essential stop along the voyage to the New World, remembering that Columbus’ wife came from the small island of Porto Santo near Madeira.  Though the Museum is not really a textile find as such, it was interesting to see a reconstruction of Columbus’ cabin on La Niña, admire a collection of really old charts and maps and of course, do a little "snooping" through one of the area’s grand homes to appreciate how life must have been in the 1500's.  

Casa de Colón (Columbus House) main entrance

Reconstruction of Columbus’ cabin on La Niña

Breathtaking timber detail in Casa de Colón (Columbus House)

Life was not all about battles and trading ships.  Ladies of the time would certainly have appreciated silks and an abundance of natural dyes for those glamorous dresses. The Canaries once supported these industries, with a production history that goes back to the 16^th century.  Now however, the Silk Museum in El Paso is (so I’m told) the only place to find a working silk weaving studio.  Cochineal natural dye is another matter and is commercially grown on Lanzarote.  Sadly, there wasn't time to visit either venue due to Christmas closures and our hectic schedule. Well, maybe next time.

Only the best silk for this dress?

Great views from the Cathedral

Watching the dinghy fleet from the Cathedral Bell Tower