For the record

Pair #24 of Hero Socks are complete.

Pair #25 will be cast on in the morning.

When we were last in Valparaiso

(one way to begin a story!) we came across something fascinating in the Vina del Mar museum

I listened to our guide tell us a little about this polynesian seafarers’ chart as we passed swiftly through the museum, returning to take a closer look and to think about it.  I commented on my blog that day how such non-verbal interpretations really do pique my interest and added a few notes to my journal together with my intention to find out more.  As is the way of things, however, over a period of weeks travelling, the list of subjects to investigate further gets increasingly longer and some things just get overlooked.

Until…

My hero was sitting reading last evening. 

I know.

But turning the page, look what he came across:

An article about those stick charts!

Now one of the challenges in finding out more about them was my inability to read the caption in the museum and the scant information I had at the time.  Now, I could google “Marshall Island Stick Charts” and find out all I wish to know.

There’s a whole new language for me to learn: rilib, kaelib and bungdockerik swells and there are mattang, meddo and rebbelib charts.  I look forward to sitting and reading more, to following up one or two links and extending my knowledge of such things.  I may be inspired to create something along these lines for myself, just to see how it could work.

What gently intrigues me is the description of the concept in one of the many online articles as “lost knowledge”.  Just how much knowledge have we lost along the way?  

Rabbit holes

On an overcast Autumn morning with an hour or so to spare, it’s tempting to begin the day by reading email and allowing myself to get distracted.  I’ve done my Spanish practice (level 10, no less!) and the washing machine is humming.  As my Mum would say, “nothing spoiling”.

I opened up my Feedly blog reader and began at the top.  Books and Journals.

 

The entrance to the rabbit hole is staring me in the face.  As I read about the book art course in Amsterdam, I click on all the links and a succession of Windows tabs opens up on my desktop.  I’ve read about Rachel’s courses before and they always sound so tempting, especially this one in Amsterdam.

Having read the article, I settle back to follow through the links I’ve opened, then.  As I do, I decide how best to store these interesting websites for future reference – after all, we might find ourselves in Amsterdam one of these days and it would be fun to drop into one or two of them.  Normally, I will look on my Pinterest “Places” page these days, but links to sites like this cute set of Amsterdam-related rubber stamps don’t seem to fit there.  I resist the temptation to reorganise my Pinterest catalogue right now and simply bookmark the whole article with a tag “Amsterdam” in the hope that I’ll find it when I go looking for it.

Working my way through a variety of websites, I hit upon a new and rather interesting blog and decide to add it to my Feedly list.  As I click +, the last couple of posts appear and one of them in particular looks fascinating.

The Story Behind the Art – Robin Pickens tempts me to click through straight away and reveals a great story of career development.  I enjoy reading about how people end up doing what they do, especially when the story involves skill, energy, tenacity and sheer hard work. 

You’ve already guessed where I went next and yes, Robin’s blog is immediately added to my Feedly list as well.

In particular, I’m interested in her post about designing fabric on the theme of pie! 

I mean, who couldn’t be tempted by this?  What an interesting recipe…

especially as, out in the garden right now, the ingredients are hanging from the tree.  I think I need to spend the morning baking, don’t you?

What’s not to like about a rabbit hole with an apple pie at the bottom?

Not yet mitten weather

Did I say I bought a pair of Latvian mittens in Riga?  I had gone prepared with a couple of addresses up my sleeve, having read Bemused’s blog post on the subject a while back.  We’d booked a walking tour of Riga, though, and were none too sure where it would take us.  Still, I kept my eyes peeled throughout!

I was thrilled that our route took us past one address on my list and might just have snapped a photo as we passed by, in case we were set free sometime along the way   Be prepared, eh?

And guess what?  About ten minutes later, we had half an hour to get a coffee…or?

Run!  Back the way we came.  How lucky I am to have a hero with a sense of direction (and a sense of humour) at times like this!

Making a choice was difficult, but limited time meant I needed to be decisive.

I chose a traditional design in colours that I will wear.  I love them!

The cuffs are beautifully worked in a diagonal stitch and fit like…well of course they do!

There’s a good depth of cuff too, ideal for keeping out the winter chill.

Though the cuff is snug, there’s plenty of room for finger wiggling in the top.

I’m very pleased with my souvenir from Riga, knitted by “Latvians Grandmothers”

I think the price was remarkable for a hand made product using quality ingredients, too.

So thank you, Baiba, for your lovely work.  I shall wear them with pleasure.

The icing on the cake

Just when I thought I had really done enough for one day, I spotted that sign.

I thought about it for five minutes and then declared that, however tired I was, I really wanted to go and see that exhibition.  In no time, our friend had bought tickets and we were finding our way through a secret gateway with a passcode, upstairs.

Up my alley?  100%.  This was an exhibit of Isabelle de Borchgrave’s work, based on paintings of the Medici family.

Each costume was made from paper, scrunched up and crumpled to create a soft, pliable material and then painted, glued and formed into realistic costume.

The detail was remarkable.

As was the likeness to the original inspiration.

I felt some costumes worked more successfully than others, but overall, the effect was stunning.

Even if it was obvious that these were painted embellishments, it didn’t matter – that was the point, after all.

It was the lace trimmings which were particularly interesting, I thought.

Some were finely cut and curled, to give the impression of lace.

Others appeared quite finely cut but on closer inspection…

were simply painted onto grey paper and cut out.

The whole thing was quite theatrical, with that same tromp d’oeil effect of a stage set.

I was so pleased I’d not only spotted the poster in time, but been determined to see the exhibition as well.

Especially when I recognised the poster shot.

I bought a copy of the book to bring home and to share with my m-i-l Bettine, who would have loved to have seen it herself.  I’d not heard of Isabelle de Borchgrave’s work before, but I’ll look out for it again now I have.