Komm mit: Walk with us in München

Unfortunately, though, you’re going to need an umbrella because the sunshine we had yesterday afternoon has gone and it’s a rather cold and wet Monday morning here.  Never mind, we have warm coats and comfortable shoes.  We’ll turn right out of the hotel and walk down here past the Hofbräuhaus, towards the market, where we might find some breakfast.

The streets that were buzzing with people yesterday afternoon are pretty empty today, but that might be a good thing!

The good people of the city are going about their business, which means this is Transit van central…be careful as we dodge one or two to cross the road.  The elderly gentleman isn’t too happy with us for doing that, though, and makes a loud comment to that effect!  Ooops!  (but we are in a pedestrian zone….)

Here we are at the entrance to the Viktualienmarkt where we plan to have a mooch around and find something for breakfast.  It’s all very well staying in a posh hotel, but 40 euros (each) for breakfast is extortionate, don’t you think?  Come on, let’s see what’s going on.

Hmmm…those sausages smell heavenly, but perhaps not for breakfast?  I know my hero enjoyed his traditional weisswurst the other day, but I think I’d prefer something a little sweeter.

That bakers looks more like… A stehtisch will do us just fine, won’t it?  We’re not ready to sit down just yet!

One ham and cheese breadstick and a hazelnut pastry later, we’re ready to go!  Sorry, I know all those lovely pastries look yummy, but we’ve had an elegant sufficiency, haven’t we?

The cheese stall looks great, but right now, we’re not quite in a cheesy mood.  How about you?

I think this looks more interesting, doesn’t it?  It might only be October, but those cute hearts and stars could be just the thing for the coming months.  Aren’t they sweet?

Actually, there are more.  There are red/green hangings, with little horses and bells….

and there are some with lavender stars and blue ribbons….

and more, with green, brown and ecru.  Oh my, the German aesthetic really appeals to me.  Do you get it as well?

Having made our selection we venture a little further, past more stalls selling similar things.  The scents of star anise, of cinnamon and cloves attract us a little closer, but none of these stalls are as friendly and inviting as the first.  Shall we move right along?

The next place to catch our eye is a bookshop, specifically, a travel bookshop, because my hero has left his maps at home and if there’s one thing a hero needs, it’s a good map.  Expecially since we’re moving on tomorrow, into the countryside.  We choose a good map of Southern Germany, Switzerland and Western Austria and complete the transaction with a friendly shopkeeper.

That’s when I spot the knitting and beadwork shop opposite!  Wolle Rödel has a good selection of yarns and suchlike, but did you remember the details of that Purl Bee pattern I was going to knit for my hero?  No, I thought not.  They don’t seem to have wifi here either.  Never mind, we’ll look later and come back here.

Following the street round, we suddenly recognise Rindermarkt…where we stood and watched the tail end charlies of the marathon yesterday.  Those stone cows are a clue as to the origin of the name – it’s always fun when suddenly, all the pieces of a new city begin to join up, isn’t it?

Kustermann is here and the shop windows are so appealing, I think we need to go inside, don’t you?  Now, before we do, let’s talk a little about European household stores.  Table setting is very important here and the quality of kitchen implement second to none.  Here, in Kustermann, one can buy every gadget and utensil ever imagined, and then some.

 

For example, the Weisswurst Lifter, because, of course, one needs a special tool to separate the sausage from the pan.  Really.

But, you know, I think it’s a little München joke, don’t you?  We share a smile and move right along, past the beautiful pans, the lovely glassware and crockery, fine table linen and candles until we are back at the doorway.  Kustmann, if ever you decide to open a shop in Cirencester, we will be your best customers!

 

Back on the wet street, we spot a shop window full of slippers.  Do I need slippers?  Not really…but these are slippers of first class quality, of non slip soles and felted wool uppers.  Let’s go in and take a closer look.

Except, this is a German shop.  It’s not a shop to look around but one where we have to sit and wait for an assistant to bring the slippers to us.  The shop walls are covered in boxes of slippers organised according to size and manufacturer.  Do you feel intimidated by all of these boxes and the rather fierce looking shop assistant?  I do….shall we move on?

We reach Marienplatz once again and find everyone standing, looking up.  What’s happening?  Of course, it’s 11 o’clock and the glockenspiel is playing.  The figures are moving around on the town hall clock and suddenly we are in Camberwick Green (or was it Trumpton?!) 

It’s still raining, so shall we stand under our umbrellas along with everyone else and watch the show?  The world and his wife are here, along with all of their children.  How many languages can you hear?

Oh, really?  You’re bored already?  Oh, go on then, let’s go into the wonderfully named Hugendubel bookshop (like a Barnes and Noble or Waterstones) and take a look around.  There’s bound to be a few interesting things in there…I love German craft books.

Well, who’d have thought it….Christmas has arrived here.  That lovely soft green and silver, together with the gentle brown-grey tones look so pretty.  Are you going to persuade me to bring one or two bits home, then?

Half an hour must be enough, isn’t it?  Though finding a way out is a challenge, I agree.  Let’s walk a little further along the Kaufingerstrasse, because I think I can hear music.  Hang on…are those Salvation Army chaps there?

Well, no, not exactly!  They appear to be Russian, members of the Red Army choir and the sound they are making is amazing.  That wonderful Russian bass voice is so deep and low…I could listen forever.

Go on then, put some money in their box and see if they know “Lake Baikal”.  They do?  Oh, let’s stand and listen! 

Filled with nostalgia and a little “heimweh” I think it’s time to move on, don’t you?

What do you reckon to some of these shop windows?  Though the goods on sale are of high quality and contemporary in style, don’t you think they look just a wee bit quaint?

But wait, let’s step aside as these two walk past.  They are trying to catch the eye of people passing by and are wearing very strange, clown like clothes.  Are they your friends?  (They remind me of Mr and Mrs Fang from a book I read recently)  Oh, they’ve caught a small family walking closely behind us – I hope that small child isn’t scared of a man with a large red nose and peculiar hat!

Let’s scuttle down this side street and wait till they’ve passed.  Take a break and relax a little.  There’s plenty more to see and do but for now, I’m ready to put my feet up for a while.

Join us again in the next post, eh?

Patchwork and Zebrafish

I love my work.  I never know what fascinating things I’m going to encounter and what unexpected diversions I’m going to take in a day and yesterday, day 4 of the ongoing project was the perfect example.  This little fish was going to play a starring role.

From time to time, a large parcel will arrive, containing the work of a student taking a creative arts certificate, for me to assess.  I never know what’s inside these parcels, don’t really know the student unless, as happens occasionally, I find myself assessing more than one module of their course.  On this occasion, I opened the box to find two lovely patchwork cushions, inspired by the student’s son’s work in marine biology.  The design was based on the nucleotide sequences of the zebra fish.

What?

Thankfully, K  had explained the foundation for the design in her notes, so I was able to see how clever she’d been in choosing the inspiration for her work.  But having completed my assessment and packed the parcel up again, I wanted to know more.

I also recognised how much I’d learned about genetic sequences of this little fish already and thought I’d use it as the theme for page 4 of my journal, prepared as above.  I mulled over the possibilities and the design potential of the seemingly random lists of letters and thought they’d work well as a background.

I know I’d said that I wasn’t going to use my computer at all in this project, but I can break my own rules!  I went online and found the nucleotide sequence to print out before auditioning it on the page.

Too big.  Too heavy. 

I went back and printed it out on tissue paper instead.  (You know how to do that, don’t you?  Tape a piece of tissue to a normal sheet of printer paper and put it through the printer as usual.  Peel off the printed tissue and you’re done..)

I printed off a sheet of zebrafish at the same time, thinking that the tissue would look good over the piece of pearly card I’d glued on the foundation for this page (thanks, Jordi…that was in one of the lucky bags you’ve shared with me!)  It was finding this picture which sent me off on a whole new path of discovery.

Who knew about the importance of Zebrafish?  Not me!  But reading more, I could see the relevance of studying the genetics of this small fish and I was delighted that my curiosity had led me down this road.

Rather than use a slab of genetic code, I decided to cut it into strips, to align with those two coloured lines I’d zigzagged onto the foundation using my sewing machine.

I even tried to squeeze the strip under the stitches but soon gave up on that!

I stuck them down instead, and carried the lines of type over to the next page, because it seemed odd to cut them off mid sequence.

I mod-podged the tissue paper fish down over the pearly card, feeling cross that I not only managed to stick them upside down but also made a hole in it as well.  Grrrr. 

I auditioned a couple of wavy, watery lines created with a rubber stamp but rejected them, preferring to stick with the limited palette I’d got so far.

But I assembled the word “zebrafish” as the title for the page and tried it in a few places before settling on what I thought was the best position.

Last, I needed a little text block to explain the significance.  I’ve been using sticky labels from a packet of Martha Stewart designs, bought whilst on holiday in Utah.  But though I tried several positions, it just didn’t seem to fit.

My hero offered his opinion (when asked!) and agreed, it wasn’t right.  I quickly punched a circle, stamped a border with the same brick red ink as the title and thought it looked better.

Lastly, I stuck a larger sized fish over the hole in the tissue paper.

Finished.  Done.  Except that word “bra” keeps jumping out at me.  I might do something about that in a minute…

The creative process isn’t easy, is it?  But how pleased I am to learn more about and celebrate this little hero of a fish!

Update on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 3:04PM by Gill Thomas

The action I took to remedy the bra situation is my photo of the day!

On a roll

I met a friend in Cheltenham last Friday and arriving a little early, I couldn’t resist popping into Just Fabrics who often have a great selection of the fabrics I make my useful bags in.

Did I need to make more bags?  Not really.  But it’s always good to have a few on hand and these seaside prints were so fresh and clean, I couldn’t resist.  Yesterday afternoon, whilst the rain was pouring down outside, I cut the fabric and was pleased to get three large and three medium sized bags from two metres of fabric.  (For my record, I bought one metre of the spot and half a metre of each of the co-ordinating seashell colourways).  I had very little fabric left over, but put it to one side, because “you never know”.

I usually make these bags in a batch, finding it easier to complete the same stage on all six bags one after the other.  I completed three yesterday afternoon and ran out of time, so put the finishing touches to the other three this morning.   Before I did, I read a few emails and a couple of favourite blogs.  One of these blogs, Bemused, had a great tutorial for making napkins from fun cotton prints.  I read it through, bookmarked it for future use and considered the many possibilities.

Then I looked across at the left over pieces of fabric.

In no time at all, I’d made a couple of smallish (9” square) mats from the leftover pieces of seaside prints.  How clever is that method!  Just like the construction of my bags, all edges are neatly encased, there’s no obvious joins and without that clear tutorial, I’d never have worked out how to do it!

Most satisfying of all was the small pile of leftover fabric.  I’d used nearly all of it up and there were only a few bits left.

But hang on a minute.  (I’ll bet you’re one step ahead of me here, aren’t you?)

Ta dah!  Two smaller mats, coasters perhaps, from those bits that were leftover from the project that was made from the leftovers of the previous one.

Not a bad result, eh?  Six bags, two 9” mats and two smaller 5” mats from a couple of metres of fabric.  (Bag instructions here, by the way)

Most satisfying of all, just look at the tiny heap of leftovers.

No, I’m not going to make any three inch mats from them ;-)

8.12 am

I heard about the Cultural Olympic event of “ringing in” the start of the Olympics and thought I’d join in the fun.  I had a meeting starting at 9am this morning though, so would likely be getting my things together to set off for Gloucester around that time.  Never mind, I had a clever idea.  I’d set the alarm on my iphone to go off at 8.12am and then, wherever I happened to be, I’d be participating in the whole affair.

I set the alarm to make the bells sound rather than the usual marimba setting which I am used to.  Well, it seemed to be the most appropriate one.

As I manoeuvred my car out of the garage, the bells started to ring.  Yay!  I wound down the window to listen out for any other local campanologists, but heard nothing – but my iphone chiming away, of course.

I drove out of the village and down the hill, thinking that it might have been a good idea to have taken the phone out of my bag before setting off.  Because, you know what happened ten minutes later?

The bells rang again.

Fortunately, by this time, I was in a line of cars waiting to turn right, so I was able to rummage in my bag and find my phone.  But I didn’t have time to hit “snooze” at this point and the bells continued for a while.

From there, every ten minutes, those ******* bells rang out, until I reached Gloucester and was finally able to turn the thing off.

Of course, whilst driving I hadn’t noticed that if I’d simply been able to slide that bottom button across, all would have been peaceful again. 

Pah!

The Organ Grinder

Last night, when on our way to find some supper, we heard the unmistakeable sound of a barrel organ. An elegantly dressed gentleman was there on a street corner with all the traditional characters there with him, right down to the monkey sitting on top, even if it was only a toy!

Next day, enjoying our lunch in the sunshine, we spotted him going off to work again, his three small dogs in tow. We imagined he would set up not far from where we were, there in the old town, where there were tourists a plenty. But shortly after, when we decided to enjoy our dessert at a nearby ice cream parlour, who should arrive and sit at the next table?

During the next couple of hours, as we strolled about the city, he could well have thought we were stalking him, for every time we turned a corner, who should be there but you know who.

It did give us plenty of opportunities to observe the master at work, however!

First of all, he spotted a likely bunch to target. Here's some jolly folks out for the afternoon. Catch their attention by having the monkey doff his hat. If they don't notice, then give them a squirt with a little water pistol!

Having stopped them in their tracks, offer someone a go, turning the handle.

Now they're giggling, dancing even...have the monkey squirt that water pistol again whilst continuing the lovely sound of the barrel organ. It doesn't seem to matter if the guy keeps turning the wheel or not. (Strange, that)

When they are ready to move on, pass the hat round, gather the many euros which come your way and move right along to the next street corner and begin the whole show over again.

It's got to be more fun than this, don't you think?

Can you work that trick out?  Passers by were intrigued enough to wave their hands beneath him, for he really did look as though he was sitting, completely unsupported in mid air…

(my apologies for reformatting this entry but I didn’t want to leave it as it was!)