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. 

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.

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

Take the Road Less Travelled: Cats & Romans

Montenegro

26^th July 2015

Warning...  This post has nothing to do with textiles.  But I had such a fun day in Kotor!!

While the lads set off on a very hot day to climb the heights of Kotor’s fortified perimeter, I slunk off to shadier streets of the old town to find the Cat Museum.  I don’t know what I was expecting but it turned out to be a quirky and surprising collection of cat related memorabilia with a soft-hearted (cat loving) owner and staff.  One should put cat/dog prejudices aside and enjoy this curious collection for what it is – a satisfying glimpse of history through a body of work we might never have otherwise seen or even considered. To me, this is what makes us human (& humane).  

View from above Kotor

Across from the Cat Museum and located off a delightfully quiet square, is the Lapidary Museum.  Of course to me, lapidary means rocks & gems, in which I have little interest, but I was intrigued by the little church and went in anyway.  What a great decision.  

The building turned out to be the church of St Mikhail; a very historic 13^th c Gothic shell built over a 7^th c Benedictine Monastery and more.  Following an earthquake in 1979, its underground treasures were “released” from under its floors and now the Museum is loaded with frescoes, stone carvings and relics dating back to early-history and Roman times.  

I know this because the most engaging lady at the front desk took the time and trouble to point out items of significance and interest.  How nice is that?

Narrow streets, too narrow for most vehicles...

By the way, in Roman times until 1918, Kotor was known as Cattaro ; )  Miaow!

A Rainbow on Every Corner

Venice, Italy

4-17^th July 2015

Bird's Eye View from the Campanile di San Marco

Riding the Grand Canal in a Vaporetto

Beguiling Venice!  It’s so easy to be overwhelmed in Venice, especially in July – the heat intensified by huge crowds, many in holiday mode.  It’s a frenetic pace, and an island repository of visually stunning beauty housing amazing art & history in every corner, not to mention wondrous structures, old and new.  So, I quite forgot my textile challenge and, as nothing especially reminded me until we stepped off the vaporetto on Burano, I felt quite chastened.

Of course, when I say few textiles, I’m not counting rows of Italian designer boutiques, mansions crammed with all things evocative of wealth and power, religious vestments or art festivals aplenty.  It’s just that it fits in, a hand and glove story if you will, becoming part of Venice’s bold statement about itself, and you don’t want to unravel the strands.

Luxurious Velvet & Textiles on Ceremonial Gondola_Naval Museum

Only the Best Furnishings_Querini Stampalia Museum & Gallery

Mansions are full of great tapestries, lush curtains, upholstery and bedding, complimented by the sheen of silk wallpapers.  Soaring cathedrals and modest basilicas alike are adorned with humble cloth transformed into resplendent precious pieces, heavy in embroidered gold and silver threads. Have I mentioned glass?  Famous Murano is just across the lagoon and its Glass Museum (Museo del Vetro) positively drips with crystalline decadence.  I think I’ve found the modern-day home of Odysseus’s Sirens!

 

Another take on a self-guided tour of traditional fabrics of Venice can be found on this VeneziaSi site.  Yet another site (link) has a brief summary of textile history that I really wish I had read when planning my trip.  This way I might have at least discovered Cà Mocenigo and the Museum of Textiles and Costume.  Grrrr!

Punting the Inner Canals in a Gondola

Combing Croatia

July 2015

Croatia was also a too-brief interlude, and although we made stops in a number of places, the most textile-likely were Pula and Dubrovnik.   If you can take your eyes of stunning historic buildings, beautiful blue water and "I want to live here" island communities, that is!!

In Dubrovnik we had four lucky finds:

• the Rupe Ethnographic Museum. The museum was challenging to find but it did take us into the less touristy areas of old Dubrovnik.  Who would have thought the old town to be so steep in places!

• well stocked craft stores (especially the Korkula Art & Craft Store brimming with locally made products including some lovely embroideries),

• more than one craftswoman stitching in the street (in costume & selling her hand-made wares), and

• an open air market near the Cathedral (in the shade of its west wall) featuring textiles, crafts and jewellery. 

I later discovered that Croatia also has a significant lace-making community (bobbin lace from Lepoglavia; aloe lace from Hvar; needle lace from Pag) and a once highly productive silk manufacturing area in Konvale dating back to the 15th c.  Production of rick rack braid is also mentioned but I never managed to find any.

A couple of interesting sites to check out for more detail (than I managed to cover in this post) are textile blogs and reliable pinterest communities for information and eye candy. I am also drawn to a fabulous book on historic costume - with a very hefty price-tag...  (These links have since broken or are out of date!)

Still, Mothers Day is coming up.  I wonder if I could swing it?

Glory Days

Moving on from Santorini, our next stop was Crete - the main object of course, being Knossos.  A limited schedule dictated firstly a visit to the wonderful & enlightening Archaeological Museum in Heraklion; and I’m very pleased we did.  The museum exhibits are the “icing” on the cake of Knossos and thus prepared, we were better able to envisage the city as it might have once been in the Minoan (2600-1450 BCE) glory days, when we finally made it to this historic and most magic of sites.

Delightful wall paintings and sensitive artwork on pottery, statues, religious and funerary objects gives insight into the Minoan love of elaborate textiles.  Men and women wear carefully fitted garments, some for rather athletic pursuits (bull leaping) and clearly prefer bright colours.  We understand that craftsmen and women were highly skilled in the art of spinning, weaving, dyeing and sewing/millinery, which was not accomplished in isolation.  The Minoans also had a reputation for being experienced sailors and traders – quite obviously with an eye for acquiring tasteful style; in design as well as expertise. 

We managed to visit a couple of other towns, mostly awash with tourist tat (made cheaply in China), with little success in uncovering locally produced modern textiles.  Time sadly was against us to be more thorough.  I did read later (on the ferry out, no less) of the inspiring Penelope Ghandi Mission on Crete.  It has been established to revive the fine art of weaving.  Local craftswomen make traditional and unique Cretan weavings & embroideries.  I’ll just have to go back then…some day!

(Whilst searching for some informative links on the topic of Minoan textiles, I came across these: an interesting blog (textileranger) and a short article (unl) that helps in understanding Minoan life & times.  By now, you’ve probably realised that curiosity forms my cornerstone rather than a solid learning base.  Anyhow, I doubt that I’d live long enough to study textiles in sufficient depth to parallel the extent of our excursions, so skimpy my notes will remain…  )

Ever so Briefly, Santorini

Santorini, Greece: 7 May 2015 

To begin at the beginning of the season, we made a short detour via ferry to Santorini, allowing ourselves only a few days to enjoy the delights of this scenic island.

View over the Caldera (looking south towards Oia)

Textiles don't survive time well, especially not after catastrophic eruptions.  So at best in Fira's museums, we discovered a few more robust examples of how Thira locals (mostly the wealthy ones who could leave something for posterity) lived out their daily lives.   

We know the Ancient Greeks wove extraordinarily well; legend has it that Penelope, wife of Odysseus, wove a shroud of fine linen for her father-in-law, Laertes.  And we know that they had used linen for quality clothing since 2800BC. 

Luckily we have some extraordinary examples of pottery and murals that allow us to reflect on these skills. (Although I seem to have gotten carried away with marine rather than textile references!) 

This deserves a closer look to see that amazing detail. 
I'm wondering too, if this was our hero, Hercules...

Reminiscing

Corfu
12^th August 2014

Various pot-shots are seen on the façade to the right

While exploring the narrow cobbled streets of Corfu Town, we walked into an exhibition of Asian artefacts in the Palace of SS Michael & George. It was a stunning collection with a huge photo of my favourite building, the Taj Mahal. This was also an instant reminder of how much we were missing home. 

We moved through the exhibition halls and watched a young local lad absorbed in photographing everything in the museum, curtains and fireplaces included.  He’s either a budding Nat Geo photographer or a very cool cat burglar!.  Included in the display were a couple of very fine Uzbeki silk ikat coats and some small, hand-woven carpets.

Another hall held some delightful drawings of Corfu from the 1800’s.  Particularly interesting were the drawn versions of today’s panoramic photographs.  The artists' take on perspective was inspiring to say the least.  (Sadly, no photos were allowed.)  The building itself is being restored and the grandeur, both internally and externally of the Venetian building is evident.  At the front though, it is possible to see the damage done from cannon and rifle fire during turbulent times.   Its setting between the fort and town with a wonderful green park to the front allow us some understanding of how life must have been for those fortunate to be Corfu nobility.

Soothsaying in Delphi

Delphi
26^th July 2014

 

 Delphi is without doubt an experience not to be missed.  It underscores not only the principle of good real estate (location, location, location) but the value of dramatic effect.  In its time, Delphi was most certainly stage managed well; the result being its reputation and wealth celebrated widely.  It was considered the centre of the (Ancient Greek) world.

 

 As with many ancient sites, items of value are maintained properly in a museum and Delphi’s is a small gem.  Textiles of course, have not survived but we were able to grasp something of the splendour and glamour, of wealthy citizens from the exhibits.  Diaphanous gowns, robust body armour and exquisite gold jewellery.