Final Pictures from Malta

Here are a final few photographs from my trip to the Maltese Islands and then normal, stitching, service will be resumed.
I've been making some fabric postcards today which I'll be able to share once they are delivered and I did some sewing while I was in Malta which I'm going to work on tomorrow.
It's been so lovely to see the sunshine even though it's not been very warm.  I've ventured into the garden and was delighted to see how many flowers were braving the chill:  snowdrops (which have been wonderful this year), crocii, daffodils, lots of different blossom and lots of lush green shoots pushing up through the soil promising wonderful things to come.

These buses are a feature of Malta's roads, used by locals and tourists alike and held together with faith and string.  Sadly they are being replaced this summer when Arriva take over the bus system.

More Maltese Craft

Here's another photo heavy post about my recent holiday in Malta. 
We visited a lovely little folklore museum on the island of Gozo and I took a lot of photos of the textile-related artefacts (surprise, surprise).  It amazes me that some of these things have survived the years and they were wonderful to see. 
As well as spinning, weaving and lacemaking other crafts were represented in the museum including those of the blacksmith, the carpenter and the potter.  I was fascinated by these fishing baskets, so fragile-looking and beautiful.

Fishing baskets

Winders for cotton and wool

Bobbin winder

Bobbin spinning wheel

Spinning wheel

Scales for cotton

Cotton in the scales' basket

Cotton gin

Weaving loom

Fabric woven on the loom

Lace pillow

Bobbin lace on the pillow

Crafts in Malta

I'm just back from a wonderful holiday in Malta and have just a few photos to share with you over the next few posts.  Although there seems to be no evidence of patchwork and quilting in Malta they do have other talents and traditions in crafts.
Of course I had to track down some real lace (a lot of what is available is machine made, or even imported).  On the island of Gozo I visited Bastion Lace where all the lace is handmade bobbin lace, so beautiful. (Teresa and Carol, this is where your lace pieces came from)

We watched this gentleman patiently gilding, applying the finest gold leaf to pieces for a processional statue in Mdina.

Later we chatted to a jeweller who makes the traditional Maltese filigree work.

 I couldn't resist this beautiful silver thimble he made.  I think it will be to admire rather than use although it does fit me perfectly.

I made a visit to this lovely haberdashery shop in Valletta and spent ages choosing while DH waited very patiently, bless him, although he was more than ready for a coffee by the time I'd finished.  (Teresa and Carol this is where your ribbons and pieces came from).

And I did do some sewing myself, here I am enjoying the sunshine and making a fabric postcard for a Global Piecers swap.

Japanese Malta

I'm just back from a holiday in Malta and managed to have a couple of Japanese experiences while I was there.
DH and I enjoyed two meals in a wonderful Japanese restaurant, one of which was at the teppanyaki table where the chef amazed us with knife juggling, tricks with eggs, onion volcanoes and flambes as well as delicious food.

We had a fantastic selection of foods for our second meal in Hibiki, starting with miso soup (I'm sure I could live on that), continuing with a great selection of sushi, maki and sashimi, then prawns in chilli and coriander and finally green tea ice cream and green tea pannecotta, all very delicious.

We practised our (very limited) Japanese on the waitresses in the restaurant and they were very kind to us!

Spring Green Fabric Postcards

Only Teresa and I took part in the fabric postcard swap but I thought you'd all like to see what we created.
I received a lovely card from Teresa with stitchery, beads and buttons that reflected all the activity going on in the garden as the birds start to get excited about spring coming.

For Teresa I made a card using English paper piecing as I wanted to try out the diamonds pattern with a view to using it in my landscape challenge quilt.  I can tell you it was almost impossible to keep square and so I'll be rethinking the ideas for my landscape quilt.  NB This challenge has been postponed until later in the year as Teresa is off to hospital for an op tomorrow.  Best wishes Teresa.
I added some spring flowers to my postcard from an embroidered hanky that Sal sent me from Australia (they're easier to get downunder than in UK strangely, thanks Sal, I hope you like what I've done with them).  The lace edging was also from the hanky, such lovely workwomanship.

Back Soon

I'm just having a little break, be back soon.

Hari-kuyo

From Susan Fletcher
www.aboutfuroshiki.com
www.sashikostitchers.com
www.alderspringdesign.com
Alderspring Design

              

February 8 is the Festival of Broken Needles (Hari-Kuyo) in Japan.  It is the day when women gather to lay their broken needles to rest in a decorated bed of tofu.

This is a 400 year old tradition, and continues yet. Women will gather to lay their broken needles to rest, and to wish to honor them more by becoming more careful and skilled in their sewing in the year to come.

Why tofu? As far as I can work out it is probably because tofu is soft, so by laying the needles in tofu they are given a gentle resting place after all their hard work.

This festival derives from the cultural respect for the small and everyday objects.  Sometimes the resting place for the needles will be three tiers, the bottom containing other small sewing tools, the middle holding the tofu to receive the broken needles and the top containing sweets or baked goods as offerings.

Another idea I encountered while looking for information about this festival was the idea that as women sew they often think about their secret sorrows and hardships, and these thoughts go into their needles.  As they ceremonially lay the broken needles to rest, they may also lay these sorrows to rest. 

This is an invitation to all of you to join me on Feb 8 in pausing for a little while to honor our broken needles and pins by doing something with them. 

On Feb 8 take a bit of time to pause and reflect on the work and the pleasure all your different needles and pins give you, and join us in honoring these simple hardworking tools.  

Here are some suggestions for how you might do that:

-make your own broken needle resting place with a block of firm tofu and decorations

-make a small applique or stitchery about (broken) needles, or collage with broken needles

-make a new needle case

-collect together and organize you pins and needles

-simply make an artistic photograph of your needles, pins, pincushions, needle cases...

Whatever you choose to do, take a photograph and email it to me. I will be posting the photographs here until the end of February. You can include a short sentence or two to accompany it.  

For links to more about the Festival of Broken Needles go to Sashiko Stitchers and look for the links in the right sidebar. 

I am, of course, hoping you will send me photographs to put on the sashiko stitchers site!  I will post them until the end of February. 

Email them to either address

sue@aboutfuroshiki.com

susan@sashikostitchers.com 

Added 7th February 2011 - 

This is what I have done for hari-kuyo this year:

I lined a small box with a piece of wadding and then laid my needles and pins to rest on it, thanking them for the work they have done and what they have helped me create during the past year.

I made a small quilt for the pins and needles and covered them with it.

Finally I put the lid on the box and tied it with ribbon.

Prayers and Postcards

This is my first mini quilt for Jenny's "Give thanks" BOM wall hanging and today I am giving thanks that the prayers Jenny requested for north Queensland yesterday were answered and that, although there is terrible devastation, there was no loss of life when cyclone Yasi hit.
I haven't felt up to doing any sewing this week but did receive the last of the latest fabric postcards in the current swap I've been doing.  This is with BQLPC and is a lot of fun (and you don't have to do every swap).  The theme was "Inspired by ny favourite music" and these are the cards I was sent:

This is Pauline's beautiful interpretation of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Dragonflies"

and Jacquie loves Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"

Janet's favourite, the Duet from "The Pearl Fishers" by Bizet inspired this delicate design

Two ladies decided to base their cards on a genre of music rather than a specific piece, 

Jan loves jazz

and Annette was moved by hearing her brother sing as a soloist in their church choir

My cards for the swap were inspired by Holst's Planets Suite.  They were all slightly different but this is the one I kept for myself.

It is so exciting to wait for the postman when cards are due and to see how the themes have been interpreted.