My brother is a wonderful guy. He is charming, funny and quite persuasive. He has a few catchphrases that he uses to get his idea across without you realising he's doing it, unless of course you know them (luckily I know them LOL)
He always says: "Here's a question for you..."
The answer is always pre-determind unless you fall for it...
He also always says: "I'm just thinking aloud here..."
Then follows another pre-determined idea. Living so far away I miss those catchphrases and I love the way he uses them to help me find a solution to something.
Not that I need a solution, but having a blog allows me 'think aloud' and to remember special times.
So I'm just thinking aloud here and I'm thinking of 'another' project for my to-do list!...:
Many years ago (pre-kids), my Mom and I used to go on mini-breaks together. One year we went to Istanbul. Wow! What a beautiful place. We had a fantastic time and because I had worked for a gorgeous antique carpet and textile magazine that had connected me with many people in that city, our holiday was even more special. One amazing treat was being taken around the non-touristy parts of The Grand Bazaar. There we ate in local eateries and got taken to secret rooms off the beaten track to be shown textiles. I worked on the sales side of the magazine so don't profess to know my stuff, however one thing many of the dealers repeatedly said was: "buy what you like, not because you think it's an antique!" I bought a small textile that I use as a bedside table topper.
I love it! It has a velvet centre and cotton patchwork border with what look like some Ikat pieces.
The backing is a Russian cotton (I believe)
and I just love the primitive stitching, the 'quilting' and the colours.
One day I plan to re-create it (without the velvet), but in the meantime I enjoy it and the memories it holds.
16 comments:
As a stand alone piece it's lovely but with all those memories it's priceless - you obviously have thread running through your veins not blood :o)
What a beautiful piece. It would be fun to recreate!
What a beautiful post and precious piece from Istanbul!
I love things with a history or memories which are linked to them.
A lovely story about a lovely piece of work. It would be great to re-create it ONE day - lol ! BTW does your fantastic brother have a quilt made for him by his sister ?
What a lovely piece, and I love how you connect your thinking aloud with your brother.
The textile is beautiful -- simple and primitive, but also rich looking.
What a little treasure - it's interesting how (and why) we become attached to particular things and the stories behind them. It really is a beautiful piece with it's irregular shapes and placements -- all the more endearing. So very handmade - so very special. It would make a lovely bedsized quilt.
What a treasure and great memories!
What a lovely textile piece. It has a lot of visual interest.
You posted a comment on my blog very recently. I sent you an e-mail reply but it has come back to me. Don't know what's wrong. Just want to let you know that I did try to respond.
I enjoyed this story and I agree, we should always buy things we love. Would be fun to recreate this design. You brother sounds like some kind of character, a very nice one! Now I feel inspired to go sew a table topper like this...
What a wonderful memory and your tabletopper is uniquely special, I like the stitching also.
This is a fantastic post and what a treasure to remember your trip. It's a gorgeous piece. I like the dealers advise "buy what you like". Great way to look at things.
Great story! I am going on a girl trip too - not as cool as Istanbul - Mary Jo's fabric store, tomorrow! I plan to "Buy what I like!"
What beautiful!
Kind regards,
Sonnja & Beertje Zonn
From the Netherlands
So simple, but so lovely!
Karol-Ann, thank you for thinking out loud! What a wonderful story! Brothers are fun sometimes to make us think! :)
Can't wait to see your version of this little topper.
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