Travel

…and even though it was a long vacation, it wasn’t long enough.

Las Vegas was HOT.  (How DO you kids in the southwest survive it?)

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon was GORGEOUS.

Zion National Park was SUPER delicious.

Bryce National Park was HAZY.  (A forest fire had half of the park closed.)

The family was FUN.  (I don’t think that frozen t-shirt game will ever get old.)

Arches National Park was SWELTERING for our hike.  (But it was fun anyway.)

And now July has slipped away.  I’ve missed you guys — I would ask what you’ve been doing, but it’s clear you’ve been blogging.  My google reader doesn’t count past 1,000 posts and it took me a few days of clearing to get below 1,000.  I’m trying to catch up with everyone, but I’ve had to do some skipping.  (Guaranteed skippage happened if you’re a blog that makes me click through to read your post.  Sorry. )

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments while I was gone.  I’ve had to call a truce on comment answering and will try to start up again this weekend.  Next time, I’ll be back with a tale of a fantastic blog meet-up that some of you already know about. Have a good weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Hmmm. Vegemite — apparently, you either love it or you hate it. Thanks for all the advice — I’m very anxious to test it out. I’ll give you a full report when it happens. ;-)

In the meantime, remember these pillowcases?

It’s time, once again to bring them out.  The kids and I are leaving in the morning to head “out west”.  WooHoo!  Ah Loves Me A Roadtrip!  SweetiePie has never been west of Colorado Springs and I’m really excited to be able to go out there with her.  We’ll be visiting family, hiking The Narrows in Zion National Park, and visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  (Not to mention the quilt shops and a few other things.)

So, I’m leaving you with pictures of our coneflowers this year.  We had a gorgeous bumper crop (which prompted a banner change, in case you hadn’t noticed).

I want to remember them and I’m hoping they’ll still be here when we get back.

Behave yourselves while I’m gone and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! ;-)

XOXO,
Anna

WARNING: Long Post Ahead.

A little over three years ago, when MeMum, Big Daddy, Aunt Annie and I went to Scotland, we visited the impressive and beautiful Stirling Castle.  As we were touring the castle grounds, we were completely surprised to find a tapestry studio where the famous Unicorn Tapestries are being recreated.  Have you heard of the Unicorn Tapestries?  The Unicorn Tapestries are considered to be the finest surviving set of medieval tapestries in the world.  There are seven tapestries in the collection and they tell the story of a unicorn hunt.  The project to recreate them was begun in 2002 and is expected to last until 2014.  As of last fall, tapestries 1, 6 and 7 had been completed.

When we were there, we were told that there were three main weavers and at least one of them works on the tapestry every day of the year, except for Christmas and one or two other days that I can’t remember.  The studio is fairly small and visitors are expected to be quiet so that the weavers aren’t disturbed.  When we visited, we were the only ones in the studio, and the docent in the room allowed me to take the above picture of the weaver working on tapestry number 6.  (This was pre-digital camera for me, so this is a scanned photo.)

I can’t even begin to describe the amazing weaving process.  Behind all the threads on the loom was a pencil drawn version of the tapestry.  At the far end of the studio, hanging on the wall, is a blown-up picture of the original tapestry.  The level of detail is amazing and it was so fascinating to watch the weaver tuck the threads in and out and then tamp, tamp, tamp them down with her little stylus.  I was also fascinated by the fact that they weave the tapestry sideways — the right side of the tapestry as pictured on the wall, is running along the floor.

We learned that the original tapestries are hanging at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in The Cloisters in New York City.  And the whole reason I’m telling you this story is because when I went to NJ last week, I managed a quick trip to the Cloisters before my plane left on Friday.

Tapestry #1: original on left, reproduction on right.

I was so excited to see the tapestries, I think I almost cried.  They are so amazing and the colors are still so vivid.  The tapestries are believed to have been created in the Netherlands, between 1495 and 1515.  The first known record of their existence is from 1680 when they were part of the inventory of the belongings of a French Duke.

Original tapestry #2 on left, Original tapestry #3 on right.

Because of the differences in style of some of the tapestries, it is believed that the tapestries have been created as part of three different sets, The Three Hunts of the Unicorn. Tapestries #1 and #7 are part of The Hunt of the Unicorn as a Lover, tapestry #5 is part of The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn and tapestries 2, 3, 4, and 6 are part of The Hunt of the Unicorn as an Allegory of The Passion. It is also believed that there could be other tapestries that are missing, particularly from the first two hunt series.

It is unknown who the original tapestries were created for, but they all have the letter A with a reversed E that appears frequently on the tapestries, which leads to the theory that they were all created for the same person. Sometimes the letters are in corners, sometimes in the middle, and as you can see below, they even appear in the dogs’ collars.

It is also believed that symbols of aristocracy were contained in the blue skies of the tapestries and that they were cut out in order for the entire tapestries to escape destruction during the Reign of Terror (1793-94) of the French Revolution. If you click on the picture below, you can see applique stitches where the people of the castle (from tapestry #6) have been stitched to a new sky.

During the Revolution, populist mobs looted the chateau and took the tapestries where they remained out of sight for several generations. It was rumored that they were used to cover espaliered trees and protect potatoes. In the early 1850’s a peasant’s wife came forward with news of some “old curtains” that were covering vegetables in the barn. Can you imagine? It’s amazing that they have managed to retain their pretty, bright colors.

Original tapestry #4 on left, Original tapestry #5 on right.

Perhaps their life in a barn would explain the huge missing sections in tapestry #5. The pictures are misleading as to the size of tapestry #5 — the fragments are actually much smaller than any of the other tapestries.  I can’t wait until the weavers get to tapestry #5.  Will they recreate the sections just as they are, or will they make assumptions and create the missing parts of the tapestry?

Tapestry #6: original on left, reproduction on right.

When TheManoftheHouse and I went to Scotland last year, I really enjoyed seeing the progress that had been made on the new tapestries in 3 years. Tapestry #6 that had been on the loom, was now finished (it took 4 years to weave) and hanging in the Chapel Royal at the castle.

Tapestry #7: original on left, reproduction on right.

Tapestry #7 is the most famous of the tapestries. You can definitely see that it shares a similar style to Tapestry #1 with the floral background, which is different from the woodland backgrounds of the other tapestries.  If you’ve seen any of these tapestries in pictures, you probably would have seen this one.  I even remember seeing a quilt of a unicorn in a fence years ago at a quilt show.
Oh well, I could ramble on for many more blog posts about these stunning tapestries (and if you’re still with me, you rock!)  The artistry and the detail are amazing to me.  After seeing the weavers in Stirling, I just can’t help but wonder how on earth the original tapestries were ever created.  Our conveniences now surely make it a much easier job.  If you can call it easier.  Can you imagine the patience required to sit at a loom all day, every day, year in and year out?  If you’re ever in Stirling, Scotland, or NYC I sure hope you’ll take the opportunity to visit these breathtaking tapestries.

XOXO,
Anna

Ooops!  I sort of fell off of the blog wagon this week.  Earlier in the week I received an e-mail that detailed some reduced air fares, which, when combined with the boredom of a very gray late February, made me start to think of potential summer vacations.  Unfortunately, I mis-read the rates and thought they were a much better deal than they actually were, so I guess I won’t be flying anywhere this summer.  ;-(

I had to console myself by looking through some pictures from our last trip to Scotland.  And, just in case you’re a knitter and you happen to be planning a trip to Scotland this summer (the dollar is doing much better against the GBP now than it was last fall!) I thought you might like to see a fun knitterly place to visit.

This is Shilasdair on the Isle of Skye.  Shilasdair is a small yarn studio known for their yarn dying.  The shop is in a pretty little rock building, in a very small village with spectacular views of the water, off of the northern end of the Isle of Skye.  We were greeted by the owner, Eva.  (Oops, I didn’t get a picture, but there’s one on her website.)

Above, you can see the gorgeous view just beyond the shop.

Just to the left of the shop is the dye garden where Eva grows plants that make the dyes.  All of the dyes are natural but surprisingly, the yarn does not come from the Isle of Skye (despite all the grazing sheep!)  Eva said that Isle of Skye wool is very coarse and 95% of it is shipped to I-can’t-remember-where in central Europe to be used in things like mattresses.

Most of my pictures from the dye room didn’t turn out very well.  It’s a pretty small room, but there are giant dye vats and places to hang the yarn to dry.  Eva said that all of their dye colors come from 3 plants and 1 insect and combinations of those 4 items.  Bowls containing the three plant samples are in the bottom left-hand corner of the above picture with the dye vats.  The insect, cochineal, is shown in the right-hand picture, above.  (As always, all pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.)  Eva explained the process to us and it was very interesting.  I think TheManoftheHouse even had a good time.

Some pictures of the pretty yarn.  I bought some blue yarn and I spent a long time debating whether to get wool or cotton.  I got cotton and after we drove away, I wanted to slap myself upside the head — who goes to Scotland to buy cotton yarn?  In my defense, I think I was overcome by visual stimulation and couldn’t think straight.  The colors were sooooo beautiful.  And to make matters worse, I’m thinking the yarn I ended up with wasn’t even dyed by Eva.  She does sell some yarns that are dyed elsewhere.  So, I struck out on two counts!  (But don’t tell TheManoftheHouse — I’m sure he was wondering why it was so hard for me to figure out what yarn I wanted.  There was a gorgeous red yarn that almost sucked me in too.)

These were some sweaters for sale hanging on the wall.  Some were for sale and some were available in kits.  You could also have a sweater made in a different size than the samples shown.

This is a picture of the shop while standing with my back to the front door, shown in the first picture of this post. This one room is it…the whole shop. In the middle of the wall on the right (just in front of that blue-green sweater hanging up so high) is the door that leads to the dying room.

The shop may be small, but it was very inspiring and well worth the trip.  (The only way it could have been better would have been if there were quilts.  Oh, and maybe some guy in a kilt!)  And besides, the drive to get there and the scenery are spectacular.  Lots of little one lane roads and sheepies everywhere!  I hope you get to go there someday!

We’re having high winds and thunderstorms as I type, which is just creepy in February.  I hope the weather is better where you are!

XOXO,
Anna

Guess What…Guess What???  TheManoftheHouse and I found some local custard powder!  I’m so excited!!!  One of our grocery stores (Meijer if you have one in your area) has just opened up an international aisle and they have custard powder in the “England” section.  It looks just like the custard powder I bought in Scotland, with one little difference:

We’re all freaky about our nutrition facts here in the US, so they’ve slapped a little sticker on the can so you can see if a serving of custard powder meets your daily nutritional needs.  It doesn’t appear to be vitamin packed or anything, but I personally DON’T CARE ’cause I LOVE those little custard shortbreads and I plan to make them and eat them and get fat.  ER.  FATTER.  And now I don’t have to hoard my one little can of custard powder.  Yay!  In case you don’t have a local shop where you can buy custard powder, my quilty peep Gurney e-mailed me and said you can mail order it from The English Tea Store.  I also had a few other people tell me that it can be ordered on Amazon.

I’ve always said, if you need to know something, just ask on your blog and someone will know the answer!  Thanks for all your custard powder help — you guys are great!  So, as a reward, here are some pictures of something I know you’ve all been waiting to see:

Men… In… Kilts!

(For you ladies in Scotland, you can be dismissed if you’d like — I’m sure you see this all the time, so the excitement has probably worn off by now.)  On our Saturday in Edinburgh we were very lucky and we came across three (!) weddings.  The guy above was the officiant (preacher?  priest? ???) at a wedding in the tiny little chapel inside Edinburgh Castle.

This little guy below appeared to be the son of the bride.  The picture isn’t great (it was cold and drizzly and they were on the move) but isn’t he cute, helping his mum with her wedding dress?

At a different wedding just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle, this guy was playing his bagpipe for the wedding guests as they entered the church.

How’d you like to knit those socks???  (Hey, they look suspiciously like the socks Finny recently finished knitting!)  I was amazed at how many men were actually wearing kilts.  I wish I’d taken better pictures of the wedding parties but there were crowds around them.  After all, they weren’t there for my picture taking pleasure. (And for the record, I wasn’t the only gawky tourist taking pictures.)

This guy appeared to be part of one of the wedding parties.  He was waiting where the cars were pulling up.   He was talking on his cell phone — maybe trying to figure out where someone important was?  Sending the all clear signal?  The picture definitely doesn’t do him justice.  (Insert Sharon’s “just sayin'” here.)

And this guy had nothing to do with any weddings.  He was just a tourist attraction, and not very excited about it, I might add LOL!

Hopefully this little kilt interlude was just the boost you need to get you through your week.  Only two days until the weekend!  (Because some of us can only handle counting the days until the weekend — NOT the days until Christmas!)

XOXO,
Anna