Author name: ozweaver

It has been cold and damp ever since we moved onboard Pandora. ….and there has been fog!  When it is pea soup thick and we can’t see anything but a bit of water on all sides of us, I can imagine that we are in Maine in June rather than Florida in January!  Then out of the gloom I’ll see a bit of salt marsh and realize we really are in the south.

Bob took some lovely photos of the marsh as it materialized now and then out of the fog.

 

He is using our GPS to navigate the narrow channel of the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) and radar to find other vessels that might be crossing our path.  There are lots of bridges along the ICW, many of them draw bridges that only open at certain times, so approaching them in fog is a bit dicey for my liking.

We ran aground at one point on a hump that was right in the channel, and we got stuck for about 10 minutes, just long enough for me to begin to make peace with staying put until the next high tide.  That would have been a good long time since we were traveling on a falling tide that morning.  Bob used the engine to get us off, which always means stirring up a bit of mud from the bottom as he powered off the shallow hump.  It creates a bit of stirred up water and mud and certainly a lot of noise.  I took a photo of this pelican who didn’t seem to mind all our noisy, turbulent endeavors.  I guess he’s seen it all before.

 These photos made me realize that I’d like to do a series of small tapestries of the beautiful landscapes we travel through on our winter journey.  Of course I’m a bit worried about colors!  I brought a lot of yarns along to work on a particular image I’d planned before we left, and I don’t think any of them will work for creating these foggy landscapes that are so compelling to me now.  That will be a challenge!

I should finish the aplaca/silk infinity scarf today.  I hope it will go in the mail tomorrow (my birthday!) in time to reach my sister when she returns from celebrating her birthday!  We are almost twins, a decade aparty!

Our boat Pandora went in the water a few days ago in St. Marys, Georgia.  This is a lovely southern town, the epitome of old southern elegance and gentility.  We enjoyed walking along the waterfront, through a lovely town park, and along the main street and quiet residential streets… when it wasn’t raining!

There was a wedding in the park on Saturday evening.

There are camellias in bloom all over town.  Some of them are very tall.

Lunch at Riverview Café turned out to be a fun surprise that the owners are Greek and have a menu full of delicious Greek items!  I have not had Greek food since moving to the Connecticut River! We got a piece of baklava to take ‘home’ with us for after dinner.

Most of the shops in town are closed on Sundays, but the one that was open may be the gem of the whole town:  Cottle and Gunn.  I was ready to move in and never leave!  Both owners were in the shop while Bob and I were there and the four of us had a lively conversation.  These two women collect lots of vintage furniture from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, along with plenty of vintage household items to complete the look.  They sell a line of chalk paint and milk paint and are quite creative at ‘repurposing’ some of the furniture to be whimsical, fun pieces that would transform any room into a fairy tale.  I wanted everything in the shop!  Barring that I just wanted to move in.  They invited me to come back with my knitting to sit and talk to them!

 Along with the vintage items, they also had a beautiful collection of locally made things by various craftswomen.  There were some beautiful baskets, and some very creative sewn accessories.  When I get home in the spring I think I will call them to order this fun spool of colorful paper dots.  I don’t know what I’ll do with it (beyond using it for a garland on a Christmas tree), but I think it could brighten a room all year.

 It is raining a lot, and it is chilly.  We left St. Marys yesterday, in late afternoon, and motored the short distance to the northernmost coastal town in Florida, Fernandina Beach.  We’d love to go ashore and explore this quaint looking town, but it’s cold….and still raining! So we had a quiet dinner onboard last night with baklava for dessert, and this morning we are heading south in a gentle rain and fog.  The salt marshes are beautiful in the fog.

I have been working on an infinity scarf .  It is a heathery shade of pale plum “Misti Alpaca” by Berroco, and the pattern is also by Berroco.  It is called “Wallis” and it’s available as a download through Ravelry.  Rain is still in the forecast for most of today and tomorrow so I should be able to finish this project quickly since it’s too chilly and damp to go ashore, and the alpaca/silk blend is warm and soft in my hands. The color of my yarn is a paler version of the woman’s blouse in this photo. I’m hoping to get it in the mail soon for someone very dear.

 

Well, it’s full on winter now, so we have cast off the moorings of our safe warm home and headed south for better weather, but rougher living!  Our boat Pandora is on land up the St. Marys River in Georgia.  Bob left her there in October and she had her hull buffed to a gleaming shine, and she had some mechanical work done as well.  Now we are provisioning her and getting ready for the trip down the coast of Florida and possibly over to the Bahamas.

It’s not unusual for the temps to dip below freezing in winter in southern Georgia and northern Florida, and that is exactly what has happened.  When I realized this was going to happen I decided it would be an excellent opportunity to wear the Wool People 7 sweater “Merle” (designed by Amy Christophers) before I lost this opportunity.  If not now, I wouldn’t wear it ’til next fall.  I only had 1 1/2 sleeves to go, and it went quite quickly.  I am now happily wearing it!

I’ve got a number of projects to keep me happy while we are away.  This is the first year I’ve brought a lace pillow onboard.  I have a little book of lace hearts and I’d like to make 2 or 3 of them.  I am on the last bit of my first heart, and it has been an easy project.  Whew!  I was beginning to feel that I was never going to gain any proficiency at making lace.  It does help to work on beginner projects!

I also have about 8 very small knitting projects on board.  A pair of gloves (almost done with the first glove), a pair of mittens, two pairs of socks, a moebius scarf, knitted slippers, and a small handbag….hmmm…that is only 7, so I have forgotten the last one.

I also have five sweaters onboard this year.  The first one is the “Merle” which is finished (shown above!)….so that leaves the other four.  “Arabella,”  another Wool People design by Anne McCauley, which I am knitting with Cascade Yarns Venezia sport, which is a blend of merino and silk.

I also have with me the wonderful boatneck sweater by Carol Sunday called “For Irene” which I am knitting in Phildar Cotton 3.  I’ve got Alice Starmore’s “Mary Tudor” with me, which I’ve neglected for over a year, so maybe I will make some good progress on it.  And the last sweater is a casual sweatershirt type design that I picked up at Halcyon Yarn the last time we were in Maine….possibly more than 3 years ago now.

I’ve got two tapestries with me too.  I’m not sure I have the proper yarns for them, which is a big worry.  I also forgot to bring any bobbins!  I know I could weave without bobbins, but it wouldn’t be pretty and I do want to do the best work I can.  A good friend from the Wednesday Group has sent me a package of bobbins!  They have arrived at the local cruising station, and I will get them today.  What a good friend!

Pandora will go in the water on Saturday or Sunday, depending on temperatures rising and no rain!  Then we will be off living like nomads.  Today I am provisioning food and household staples for the next 4 months.  Wish me luck!

 

The weeks have been ticking by, and I’ve had SO much to post and no ability to do it!  For these past 6 weeks, I’ve felt like a woman with her hair on fire!

Posting has been virtually impossible (and continues to be):  my computer is full, my iphone is full, and Dropbox is full!  How could this happen all at once?  Clearly, I am that kind of person who just glides through life enjoying my high-tech toys, who then completely falls apart when these tools require some effort on my part!  I have resisted the urge to simply pay for the upgraded Dropbox.  UGH……

So, in addition to having clogged up all my precious tools, it’s also been the holidays and I’ve just had minor surgery!  While the surgery was minor and completely successful, general anesthesia always takes its toll.  I’ve been blissfully relaxed and able to sleep ridiculous amounts of time, and I’ve been quite fuzzy brained.  In a number of ways, it’s been a blessing!  I’ve had a no-stress holiday since I couldn’t get up enough energy to jump through all the hoops or even worry about what lists I should make!

A terrific perk to not worrying about Christmas preparations was that I took a whole day to go into New York to see the Pieter Coecke van Aelst tapestries at the Met.  It was so inspiring and overwhelming and just plain HUGE.  Isn’t it marvellous how they displayed the tapestries coming out from the walls?

But, on the other hand, there is so much I would like to catch up on here.  I had such amazing experiences in Portugal, and I want to record them.  There were so many opportunities to experience textiles.  I spent a day in the lace museum at Vila de Conde and another day at the lace school that is part of that museum.  I saw wonderful textiles everywhere!  Each part of the country has its traditional embroidery techniques (and pottery designs too!) which are easy to find.  And I visited the eastern city of Portalegre where there is a tapetry studio for large works created by well known modern Portuguese artists.  I have lots of photos and lots of stories about these wonderful places, and I hope to make some space on my computer so I can begin to document these adventures!

Meanwhile, it’s that lulling time between Christmas and New Year and Bob and I are throwing our stuff together to head south and move onboard our boat Pandora, that is waiting for us in St. Marys, Georgia.  I am taking some guilty pleasure from spending some time washing and ironing all the linens we have used over the past week.  I am setting the table for my return in May, and have a new embroidered tablecloth from de Viano do Castelo in the north of Portugal.  Take a look at that link for some gorgeous examples of the handwork of the women in this area!

 Here is a close up.

A few other things that have given me a grateful holiday spirit:  Approaching the end of my Merle sweater.  Huge thanks to Jared Flood and Harrisville Designs for making such a lovely yarn (Loft) for knitting!  Thank you to Amy Christoffers for this beautiful design.  I have knitted it a intriguing color called “Button Jar” which is a complex green, hard for me to describe….muted with wonderful flecks of a bright warm blue, like sky blue, and sunny yellow.  It has been a dream to knit, and it looks pretty good on me too!  Unfortunately, I am having no luck getting the colors to be accurate.  This is too washed out.

 When I return home in May I will be ready to finish weaving this medium weight linen fabric that has huck motifs crossing each other in a plaited effect.  Pretty cool!  It’s a huck threading based on a plaited twill that Laurie Autio designed on her computer, and I am translating into cloth. This design was part of a hand out that Laurie gave us at our November mini-workshop at the Handweavers’ Guild of Connecticut.  This fabric will become a hefty tote bag lined with some fun plaid linen fabric from my stash.  It will be a summer bag and I hope it will be finished in time for summer in New England when I return!

This is the fabric on the loom….the color is somewhat too cool.  The real thing is a bit warmer.

And this photo is of a sample that I cut from the loom, and now the colors are too warm!  Reality is somewhere in between…. Also, the huck motifs running in one direction are a noticeably different color than the motifs going in the opposite direction, but the photos do not demonstrate that.  Having the warp and weft in contrasting colors emphasizes the plaited efftect.  While I chose a medium contrast of colors, the photos just do not pick it up.  The real deal is much more effective!

Wish me luck getting my computer files under control so I can post some videos and photos of the beautiful handwork of Portugal!

 

 

 

We have been in Lisbon almost a week….a wonderful week!  We are staying in a lovely studio apartment in the Alfama, the oldest part of Lisbon.  It was originally settled by people from northern Africa, so there is lots of Arabic influence.  A good number of the streets are too small for cars so it is quiet with lots of foot traffic.  Our apartment is in a small cluster of low masonry buildings that are perched up on a high terrace, with views of the Panteo Nacional.  It dominates our sky and is stunning at night when it is lit.

Our taxi from the airport dropped us off at one of end the nearest larger street (meaning one small car could navigate, and clearly he wasn’t will to do it).  We walked a ways up this street (up being the operative word here!)….and then we began walking steeply up a trail of narrow cobbles and steep steps to our terrace.  But what a reward at the end!

Each morning we have been walking down from our high perch to have coffee and pastry at Alfacinho coffee shop which has good internet.  The coffee everywhere here is delightful.  I don’t know why we cannot get better coffee in the US!  And the traditional sweet pastry is delicious!

There is so much to do here that it feels somewhat stressful making sure we see all the “important” sites.  So we have tried our best!  The well known tile museum, and of course the Gulbenkian, and both were as impressive as we could hope!  But the best part of being here is walking the tiny medieval streets, listening to Portuguese, looking at the views!

 

 

On the first day we chose sites that were within walking distance, and we walked a total of 8.5 miles.  I slept really deeply that night!  The next day we tackled learning the metro system and headed for the central part of the city, where we found a bank and the long walk uphill through the park to the Gulbenkian Museum.  Aside from most places NOT taking our Visa card, everything is going really smoothly.  We are a long metro from a bank, and of course there are limits on what you can withdraw each day…..so living on cash is going to be a bit dicey!  And who knows if there will even be banks in the smaller towns.

We went to the Castelo San Jorge, which (naturally!) is on a high bit of land where it could be well defended.  It was originally a fortress built by the visigoths, and then later acquired its current name.  Portuguese certainly know how to relax…. there are cafes everywhere, and in fact, at the castle there was even a wine cart, where we bought two glasses of wine and and sat on the parapets enjoying the immense 360 degree views of all Lisbon.  The city has sprawled out over a number of hills that rise up from the Atlantic and the Tagus river.  Walking anywhere involves much steep ups and downs…..feels like mostly up no matter which direction we head!  How can everything be uphill in both directions??

 

There were falcons and owls inside the castle, and a group of trainers who worked with the birds.  You could even pay to have your photo taken with one of the birds.  At one point a trainer let one of the owls fly about.  The owl was quite reluctant to come back, and after quite a long time the owl was still flying about the courtyard.

Last night was our first weekend in Portugal, and Alfama was a great place to spend it.  It is well known for many tiny taverna style restaurants with live traditional Fado music.  Fado is a type of folk song, always sad, always accompanied by guitar.  The place we chose last night had three guitarists; one playing 12-string, one on 6-string, and one playing mandolin.  The singers rotated between three men and two women.  They were all very entertaining!  At one point the two women sang a duet together.  I could not understand more than a random word here and there, but I definitely got the impression that the two women sang about loving the same man.  One of the men had a beautiful tenor voice.  It was a great way to spend the evening.

We are still sleeping later than usual each morning….perhaps we begin to show our age? Tomorrow we will figure out our way to Sintra and for the rest of our stay we will mostly be in smaller towns.  We hope to settle in somewhere quiet where we can make day trips to other locations, but stay settled in a quieter location than bustling Lisbon.