South African inspirations

South Africa is a visual feast, from the crafts

 

and the fabrics...

 

,

to the people

 

 

 

to everything else you see.

 

  

.

 Tip of the iceberg, but enough for now.

Sunday in the Cape

ARGH - I just posted a whole thing and it didn't save.  Starting again:-(. 

I have less than an hour till my flight to Joburg boards, so will have to type quickly.  Sunday, the weather gods smiled and the sun came out.  The saying is that Cape Town can have four seasons in one day, but we were really lucky.  This was especially good because everything in Cape Town is closed on Sundays (even the museums), so we had to go elsewhere.  Gillian and I took the train to Kalk Bay and then on to Simon's Town, at the end of the line and on the eastern tip of the Cape.

Kalk Bay is a beautiful fishing village, replete with shops, galleries, bakeries, and charm.  But it isn't too twee and is not obnoxiously commercial and touristy.  We loved it.

We had fish & chips at Kalky's  -- a dive that serves the best fish & chips ever (even Gillian, who is from the U.K., said it was "spot on."  

After lunch, we returned to the shop where we had put aside cloth, collected it, and paid.  

Michel, the owner, was a treasure trove of knowledge about African fabrics and how to spot the differences between the old Kente & Kuba cloth and the new, made-in-China African fabrics.  More about fabrics later.

Saturday in Cape Town

We arrived in Cape Town yesterday (Saturday). Because of poor wifi, yesterday's post didn't publish till this morning. As a result, I am blogging about the last few days in this post while I have WiFi.  So, if luck holds out, you'll see two posts with Sunday dates.  

** No - this is not posting till Monday, when I am at the Cape Town airport with WiFi, food and drink in the SAA lounge. Ahh...the joys of travel.

Gillian and I arrived in Cape Town yesterday afternoon and immediately hit the streets, the craft shops, and the waterfront craft market. Weather is grey but houses are colorful.  This is Table Mountain in the background; hard to see because of the mists.  

We are staying in a gorgeous b&b that reminds me of one of Ian Schrager's boutique hotels. Tables set for breakfast, which is not for ½ hour yet.  As usual, I am starving - LOL.

On Friday, in Durban, we had the pleasure of visiting the lovely and supremely talented South African quilt artist Odette Tolksdorf www.odettetolksdorf.co.za at her home, where she showed us some of her beautiful quilts.  Odette had been teaching at Quilt Festival but we were all so busy we hadn't had a chance to meet.  The visit was a real treat.  

Back to Cape Town...

In Africa it is impossible not to be affected by the colors and patterns that seem to be everywhere -- and by the warmth and friendliness of the people.

Posting this a few days late, and now on to the next adventure, next post...

Wow - WiFi!!

In the Durban  airport with Gillian Travis, where we had to buy coffee to get free WiFi.  Leaving for Cape Town, where the weather is unpredictable but the city is supposed to be fabulous.  It has been so much fun here - can't even begin to tell you how much we have laughed and how beautiful both the crafts and the people are here.  Everything is inspiring and I can't wait to get home and back into the studio.

What a relief to finally be able to post to my blog!!  More to follow when I have uploaded more pix.

Zowie!

After a delay of several hours for mechanical issues, we finally left Newark shortly after midnight.  This meant, since it was a dinner flight, that we had dinner somewhere around 2:am.  Happily, I was in first class, so the seat turned into a bed of sorts.  I slept like a log till 7:30 this morning.  We landed in Sao Paolo around 10:30, SP time (an hour later than NY time).  The international terminal is new and elegant, but empty of people.

Although, even here -- a familiar airport sight.  

The Star Alliance airport lounge is the most beautiful I have ever seen, but the food isn't very interesting or very good, sadly.  However, it, too, is pretty to look at.

So here I sit, wondering what I haven't had to eat that I should go back for.  Pasta? Meh -but maybe.  Dessert? I rarely eat dessert, but might have to see what's available.  OTOH, I could go downstairs to the terminal in search of a good empada...

vacation on the deck

After yesterday's impossible heat/humidity, the rain cleared it away and today is soft and dry with a lovely little breeze.  A perfect day. I'm taking advantage of it with a mid-afternoon break on the deck, from the computer, where I was researching the Sao Paolo airport (reviews from travelers are grim and apparently nobody in this international airport speaks English (or even Spanish or French)  Consequently, I have been on Google translate trying to find out how to say "where is the ladies' room?" and other various necessary questions in Portugese. I did find the airport website, which at least told me that my arriving airline and departing airline leave from the same terminal -- and that I have my choice of two airline lounges.  Both of my flights are overnight, so my 11 hrs in the airport between flights is during the day.  At least I won't have to worry about where to sleep while I am there.

The Bambis have been ransacking my garden again, despite the anti-deer spray. I was so happy to see these beautiful daylilies yesterday, that I took pictures.

Here's what my garden looked like this morning.

I am attempting to get two weeks worth of clothes and five days worth of 4 different workshops into one suitcase.  Right now, all my stuff is on the living room floor - do you see why I need a mid-afternoon break?  This is probably an exercise in futility, but I have numerous flight changes en route to Durban and think that one suitcase has a better chance of arriving than two. It's a crapshoot, however  and we will see.

I have also loaded up with 5 or 6 books in my carry-on (what else will I do for 11 hours in an airport?)]

On another subject, as I was going through my UFOs the other day, I came across this top that I never made into an actual quilt.  What was I THINKING?  1976.  Cut with scissors, pieced by hand. I am trying to decide how to cut it up.

That's today's update.  I am now going to put my feet up, read the rest of today's NY Times, and then force myself back to the packing and the organizing (not necessarily in that order. 

still in a time warp

Eating at odd hours, staying up late, and waking up early.  Oh, dear. So here I am at midnight eating toast and peanut butter with a cup of tea, taking a break from cleaning and organizing this sewing room so I can think straight. Haha - this will take more time than I have.  I have emptied my suitcases so that I can pack them again, and since I am teaching four classes in five days, I need to take a lot of STUFF. Logistics require a sorted room to  figure out what I need for 4 different classes.

Speaking of classes - you may remember this in-process piece posted from my Friday color class in Tucson.

What a happy surprise to get Karen's picture today of the finished piece! Dynamic composition and an unexpected fourth color, which adds such richness. I hope to get photos from some of the others.

I spent some time this afternoon puttering around and came across this baby quilt which I made in 1994.  I never could bear to part with it beause it uses vintage fabrics from the blanket covers and aprons my Nanny made from 1940's & '50's fabrics she brought home from the dress factory where she worked:stripes and plaids, particularly.

Now that I've rested my feet for a bit, I can go back to sorting for a while, at least. 

blogging in the airport.

 Saturday

 morning I spent a few hours in terminal A at DFW.  Except for the fact that there don't seem to be any real bookstores there, it was a pleasant place to spend time.  Lunch was the highlight of the day.

No, these are not colorful luncheon napkins, they are fat quarters of you-know-what.

For a person who claims not to buy fabric, I have made a liar of myself once again.  Inspired by the students in my Fearless Color class, I am ready to play again, between laundry and packing for South Africa.  We shall see if I am as good as my intentions.  In the meantime, here are a few of the things that were on the wall last Friday.  I did not get pix of all of them, sadly.

I 

Time to get back on my eastern time schedule, so that's it for tonight. 

An afternoon of Art

While you were reading the previous post (and I really hope you followed that link), I was starting to post some visual highlights from the Tucson Museum of Art.  

What a lovely museum, and just the right size for me.  Don't you love the shadows on the wall?

Here are some of my favorites from the contemporary exhibition.  

This is by Miriam Shapiro, who uses cloth and clothing in her work.  

And this one is by Jaune Quick To See Smith, whose work always speaks to me.

After a lovely dinner in a restaurant that specializes  in the cuisine of Mexico City, I crashed early.  Still on jet lag.

Does this sound familiar? You have to read this!

This was supposed to post yesterday but apparently my internet connection didn't agree. 

The Sewing Lawyer: A speech on quilting