Not quite sure how it has got to be the end of November! Last time I said I'd post some pics of my trip to southern Spain and here they are - lots of wonderful design inspirations from a weekend wandering around Seville and Cordoba under warm blue skies. I spent a delightful time virtually on my own in the Real Alcazar in Seville among wonderful blue and yellow tiles and water gardens. The trick, as advised by a seasoned traveller, is to be the first in the queue and walk right through to the final garden then work your way slowly back. That way you get about an hour to yourself before re-joining the tourist crowds. In Cordoba there was a miniature version of this Alcazar next to the famous Mezquita. If you are patient enough to work through the photos, do be sure to check out the Roman mosaics from the museum there. These are brilliant inspirations for cable patterns, which are my current City & Guilds preoccupation having moved on from Intarsia and Fair Isle work.
Since then the clocks have changed and we've plunged into an English winter. Despite the dark evenings I've been enjoying going up to the V&A on Tuesday afternoons to learn about Asian textiles. We've worked our way along the Silk Route from Japan to Turkey and are now in India for a couple off weeks before finishing off with a fortnight in South East Asia. I'm posting a small selection of some exquisite Chinese embroidered animals, which apart from being stunning in themselves, will I'm sure inspire future knitting, especially their exceptional use of colour.
It's still too early to wish everyone a Happy Christmas so I will try to do another post before the holiday season is upon us. But I do hope you are warm and safe and enjoying the time you are managing to create for your creative activities.
