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) 

On The Move

Back at last, but still busy updating our travel notes.  Not too busy to take a few photos however, especially as we zoomed back through Grafton with jacarandas still a sight to behold!

Enjoy this colourful snap.  Enough to make you want to rat through the fabric collection and start another quilt in these luscious limes & purples!

And down near our local boat ramp, I came across this little fellow - also out for a stroll but I think he had lunch, not posing for photos, in mind!

Blue & White Heaven

Arimatsu Shibori: Heritage Dyes

Our trip to visit Arimatsu of course came with many pleasures.  One was another ride on the Shinkansen to Nagoya (1 hour) before hopping on a local train to Arimatsu, blue & white heaven.

On the road again....

Arimatsu is a small former post town on the Tokaido, the old trade route connecting Tokyo and Kyoto.  Settled as early as 1608 by order of the Owari (a samurai clan), it was the 42^nd station; one of the government sanctioned stops between the two cities.  Hiroshige made a number of prints of this famous town.  Takeda Shokuro pioneered the craft of shibori as way for the small town to make an income from the many travellers. 

The main street of the old quarter has glimpses of its celebrated past.  Lined with dark timber houses typical of its Edo era beginnings, the area is most worthy of its cultural heritage endorsements. Fine preserved merchant houses accommodate a museum, kimono stores and fabric shops, including a Japanese patchwork shop.  We visited as many as we could, starting with the Arimatsu Narumi Shibori Kaikan.

This was a streetscape scene

Arimatsu is celebrated as a centre for shibori, a tie dye (resist) technique perfected to a fine art over many years of practice. Fabrics are folded, wrapped, tied, stitched and twisted to make amazing patterns.  Traditionally indigo (blue) was used but now it is not unusual to see many colours.   The process involves a number of steps, traditionally divided into male and female tasks.  Designs are prepared, templates cut and then carefully printed onto cotton cloth. 

Generally, a kimono piece is a narrow 14” wide
by 13 yards (12m) as shown 

These patterns are then tied – a process that can take up to several months.  Once ready for dyeing, the fabrics are dunked into vats of dye. Then the process of undoing all those knots – another 3 to 4 days of work in some cases, reveals beautiful patterns. Some special pieces are submitted to a number of dye baths to produce subtle yet stunning pieces. 

I found an interesting web site, ohmyhandmade with links that explain the process of shibori and offer tutorials.  Hmm, well, I’ll just add that to the “Things to Do List” for Ron (much later ron!). 

Of course, our obsessive fabric shopping did not stop with Arimatsu.  We backtracked to Nagoya to hit a few contemporary fabric stores.  Sadly our budget had been blown and a tempting large department store would only take cash.  We were nearly out of money!  So, after returning to Kyoto on late train and in order to preserve our dwindling funds for any unexpected treasures in the two tour days we had remaining, we had soup and rolls for dinner.  Very noble indeed!

Persuasion

It’s easy to believe that summer is over. 

First sure signs are a fresh pink camellia on my footpath and the smell of eucalyptus smoke wafting across the island on cool, wet evenings.  

The first for this year....

I'll get back to textiles sooner or later.  The Quilt Album is going along nicely although the time has come to do a bit more research.  Also my photos from Japan are starting to make sense - despite the trip being more than a few years ago.  I've posted them on what was essentially my old Vox blog but one day I might just combine these two to save my sanity...

Go Really Wild for Textiles

Maison Tiskiwin Collection

Embroidery: Traditionally women embroidered their own clothes and household linens.  They preferred to work in silk threads and could incorporate fine metal threads, tassels, fringing and sequins.  Gold thread embroidery (a speciality of Meknes) and leather work was left to men. Distinctive embroidery motifs and techniques varied from town to town.  Some of the better known work comes from Fes, Rabat, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Meknes and Sale.

Weaver at work in his small studio Chefchaouen

Carpets:  Weaving and knotting techniques, designs and symbols vary from region to region.  On the whole, carpets are referred to by their place of origin (city carpets) or tribal area (Berber carpets), such as the Zenmour, Haouz and Beni M’Guild.  Learning about carpets, particularly antique carpets is a demanding study so it would be wise to seek advice before sealing a deal. 

Ingredients & Implements for Dyeing, Berber Museum Ksar El Khorbat 

Natural Dyes:  Vegetables and minerals provide the basis of the process; indigo for blue, madder for red; pomegranate or walnut for black, saffron for yellow.  Synthetic dyes have largely replaced natural dyes despite a growing call for them.  Check with an expert if it’s important to you.

Maison Tiskiwin Collection

Costumes:  Clothing is not usually sumptuously decorated. (So they say in the texts until you see the wild colours & decoration in Maison Tiskiwin!) Thus accessories such as belts, silk buttons, tassels and braiding feature fine embroidery.  Further ornamentation is added with head-dress and jewellery. The Oudaias Museum in Rabat has a very fine and comprehensive display of jewellery by region.

Kasbar Museum, Chefchaouen

Go Wild for Textiles

Embroidery in Chefchaouen Kasbah Museum

Somehow we managed to catch only glimpses of traditional textiles on our recent trip to Morocco.  More than anything we saw though, textiles highlighted the Arab-Berber cultural mix and strongly showcased folk traditions.  It is too easy to underestimate the importance placed on textiles in the lives of Moroccan people and it is inspiring to have resources such as Jardin Marjorelle and Bert Flint’s collection available.

Wool ready for dyeing in the souk Fes

Wool appears to be the most used fibre, particularly in the home-crafted carpet industry, still competing strongly against charmless machine woven rugs.  Carpets, blankets, cushions and clothing are all still woven on domestic looms.  Hearing the clack of looms as you walk through the old medina streets is quite a moving experience.

Weaver at work Kasbar Myriem, Midelt

Traditionally, women produced domestic items whilst those offered for sale were worked by men. That is not to say that women don’t sell but I imagine it must be emotionally difficult to sell family heirlooms in tough times. Aside from usual woollen items, men wove exotic silk fabrics such as the fine brocades produced in Fes.

Try to stop at one!  Moutwatering carpets at Kashar Myriem, Midlet

Information: A quick search revealed a couple of interesting resources.

• Amazigh Textiles in Morocco (which in turn points to a number of interesting references)
• Harris, Jennifer (Ed).  5000 years of Textiles British. London: Museum Press, 1993
• Kasbar Myriem is a woman's cooperative for local Berber women supported by Franciscan Nuns.  The quality of their work is amazing. Some basic info here

Tanneries in Fes

Go Really Wild for Flavours

Ingredients & Couscous Steamer, Ait Benhaddou

Learn to cook with Mr Action. Fresh seasonal vegetables are his secret. Layer them “just so” in the base of a *cooking tagine then cover with chunks of meat. Flavour variety is added with preserved lemons, olives, mint or eggs. Add your blend of 7** secret herbs and spices (better yet the prepared mix of 35 available in the souk) then put over a slow fire until done. Serve with lashings of fresh bread to soak up the flavoursome gravy. Mr Action also serves homemade couscous (semolina), a time consuming process that had us all making “notes to self” that the “instant” supermarket variety would be ok – unless you were preparing dinner for a Moroccan!

*Don’t confuse a cooking tagine with a decorative one. The decorative ones, whilst most attractive, can contain lead (in the glaze).   

** Garlic, saffron, turmeric, coriander, cumin, pepper and salt

Care for a date or two?

Pigeon b’stilla in Fes as guests of Dar Hatim's gourmet chefs.  Pigeon meat, eggs, almonds and raisons mixed then flavoured with lemon, saffron, sugar and cinnamon. All wrapped in a light pastry (warkba) and baked. Rich, crispy and very delicious!

Really fresh sardines, Essaouira

Seafood feast in Essaouira. Grilled lobster, sweet sole, prawns and fresh sea bass.

Mint Tea in an Azib (seasonal shelter)

Mint tea is the beverage of choice, a sweet concoction of green tea, mint and sugar. Alcohol is rarely served but can be found in tourist areas. Bars line streets and in the evening customers, mostly men, face out to“people watch” and gossip. I’d prefer a pomegranate champers to a beer but sometimes that’s all there was on offer. Wine is produced locally and we made the effort to sample a few bottles.

Local camel butcher, Fes

Salads were plentiful, many with a citrus or tomato base were garnished with olives, fresh chillies, green or red capsicum, red onion and coriander just for added oomph! Served with lashings of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Sadly we often looked at, rather than ate, salads due to poor water quality. We always, always drank bottled water....

Bread - always fresh and so, so tempting. Available every day in many varieties.

Baker's shop in Essaouira

Go Wild for Flavours

Grains and other household necessities for sale in Fes

One thing about travelling in Morocco is that you are readily served fresh local foods - not watered down "westernised" versions but real, healthy, hearty foods. Some of our favourite flavoursome experiences were:

No Harira? Then try snail broth at a local street stall perhaps...

Harira is a flavoursome and fragrant soup. We were never served the same twice as it is considered a household speciality. Traditionally, harira is made from a concoction of lamb or goat, fragrant spices (home secrets) and lentils. Chickpeas, tomato, onion, coriander and parsley add further flavour to the base. Served with chunks of bread and eaten with relish.

Camel burgers on the grill in the Meknes souk

Camel Burger. Try this souk snack made with camel meat grilled over open coals, garnished with smoked, roasted tomatoes and onions served on a locally made (and very fresh) bread roll. Add a little harissa (red chillies, capsicum & pepper sauce) if you dare!

Delicious Tagines and Couscous
served in our desert camp, Merzouga

Tagines under Saharan stars. Slow cooked stews of meat and veg looked superb and tasted even better.

Seafood selection for the outdoor grill, Essaouira

Go Wild for Souks

Chefchaouen - of course! Selling dyes and things you didn't know you needed!

Who could forget Beautiful Blue Chefchaouen - the buzz, freshness, aromas, haggling, laughter, music, pursuit and finally "balak!".

And then there were the olives & lemons in Meknes

Yes, in the medina's we met snake oil salesmen and wondered about the prices we really paid.  But we also met some wonderful people who are involved in their crafts, sell the most amazing things, willing to give us advice or help us along the way.

Keep an eye out for donkeys, carts, busy workers and elaborate stalls. Get lost in narrow streets and listen to passing musicians.  Try not to find pick-pockets.  Look out for traditional crafts too and watch dyers working vats of rainbow colours next to metal workers and potters making extraordinary magic with simple implements.  A souk is guaranteed to assault your senses and is such a wonderful experience.  

Henna Hands & Black Soap in Essaouira

Give yourself a real workout.  Shop in an old medina souk... 

Nose to Nose with a donkey - balak!! (lookout) in Fes

Invest in Tradition

Traditional motifs – bright geometric patterns, natural dyes, symbols with meaning

Essaouira

Traditional crafts – pottery, woodcarving (thuya wood), lanterns, carpets, tents, rugs & slippers, medicinal herbs & treatments

Cracking nuts for argan oil

Traditional architecture - Walls, arches, towers, windows, doors, door knobs, signs, mud bricks (pise), shutters

Marrakesh

Casablanca