Before I left home I searched onlinr to see if there were weavers in southern Spain as well as the Balearics, Corsica, and Sardinia. I got a long list of weavers keeping traditional patterns alive, and where to find them. I was excited to find so many possibilities of seeing the textile treasures of these places as well as connecting with weavers. Yesterday was the first adventure on the journey to meet local weavers.
Last year Bob and I had driven to Nijar, a bit east of Almeria to look for weavers. Yesterday I found all the same places! Last year I regretted not buying a handwoven tote bag from one of the shops in Nijar, and I was hoping to find it again, still full of choices. And we did! I remembered an entirely different shop, but Bob was convinced it was a place I don’t even remember seeing last year–that is until I walked inside. Then I was certain we’d found the place, and what a thrill that was. The same tile work outside the shop.
The very bag I wanted to buy last year….so I bought two in order to bring one to a weaving friend. I hope she loves it as much as I do. I will be carrying it today.
çThese were the other temptations. This wonderful loop work seems to be prominent in this part of the world. I bought a table runner in the Açores, on the island of Sao George done in this technique. I decided that as a table runner it would likely cause mishap with things falling over that I might place on it. Instead I intend to make into a long bolster pillow for our bed at home. It’s not done yet! While these bags were so tempting due to the skillful work involved, I went with my first love from last year–the simpler tote bag.
Here is the woman who was manning the shop during my visit, sitting at the loom demonstrating for me. The loom is only 2 shafts, and looks to have about a million meters of pretty fine cotton on it. The weft is heavier cotton, and she uses a fly shuttle to weave. At the moment she is weaving a rug, also a prevalent item for sale in this area.
There are tags on the tote bags I bought, so I asked the woman waiting on me if she is Isabel. She showed me a group photo on the wall and pointed to Isabel. Why didn’t I ask her name? I learned that she weaves the many handbags and tote bags that have the loop weave, yet I didn’t think to get her name. Hugely disaapointed about that.
Last year we found a cafe where we wanted to have an afternoon glass of wine and some food before driving back to Almerimar. It was just after 4pm, and they were closing until dinner at 8pm. They could not give us any food, but they did pour us two glasses of wine and asked us to leave our glasses on their door step when we left. They closed the restaurant and left while we had our wine in their scenic spot near the courtyard of a historic church. This year we arrived in time to have wine and a several tapas for lunch.
After lunch we walked through the town where I revisited a number of shops from last year. There are handwoven rugs and blankets in many of the shops, along with baskets, which this area is also known for making.
I bought a cotton blanket for Pandora, for those nights when I can’t sleep and end up in the main saloon reading or knitting. I bought a moss green twill patterned rug like the one on the top shelf at the right of this photo. I wish I could get the table and chairs home somehow, but this photo will have to do.
There were also lovely hand embroidered pillows, and a remarkable collection of baskets. Just a reminder–both baskets and handwoven tapestry can still only be made by hand. There are no machines that can weave tapestry or baskets.
In taking a walk through the town I found this beautiful cutwork embroidered curtain. Too bad about the reflections, but I hope you can tell how well it is made.
We arrived here on Monday, where Pandora has been waiting for us since August. The repairs are not done to Bob’s hopes, which is something we always face when having things done at a long distance. The man managing our repairs did not stay on top of things, so the big inverter never got diagnosed to be either repaired or replaced, and the man who was doing the repair to our rudder from the orca attack, did a less than stellar job. He is quite prickly and declared that Bob is too much of a perfectionist (not his exact words–he used more colorful language) to appreciate the work that was done. Hmmm….
But on more positive subjects, this is almost a perfect time to be on the Costa del Sol. The sun is brilliant, while the temps are quite cool, so I am wearing sweaters every day! At this time of year–late winter/early spring– the winds are very strong, coming down from the mountains. Since this is desert, there is fine sand everywhere. Sometimes the mountains are shrouded in a cloud of sand somewhat similar to fog.
We have rented an Air BnB in a condominium complex. It is quite nice, and gives us a way to relax in comfort while Bob deals with various things to get Pandora ready to sail. It is too windy to launch her into the water at this point. On top of repairs and replacement of the inverter, we have to put all the sails back on her. We have a new Code 0, our biggest sail, but as I understand it, it’s the main sail that takes the longest to put back on. We haven’t tackled any of the sails yet because of the strong winds.
In the evenings we have a glass of wine on the balcony overlooking the rooftops of other dwellings and the boats in the habor. It’s quite magical. I should finish the Sonann sweater today and hope to get photos of me wearing it on this wonderful balcony with a view. The residences are low enough (right hand photo) that you can boat masts beyone the rooftops.
It will feel great to finish the Sonann sweater (photos soon), and even greater to move on to my next knitting project. From one of Wooly Thistle’s newsletters I learned of the Spanish yarn company, Wool Dreamers. They use locally sourced wool and cotton to make their line of yarns. Soana (not to be confused with the Sonann sweater name!) is a 50/50 blend of local merino wool and locally grown cotton. Wooly Thistle carries this yarn, but how could I NOT try to buy it in Spain?? As it turns out, I could not get it within a reasonable driving distance of this area. However, I could order it and have it delivered to a postal receiving place right here in Almerimar. So that’s what I did. Here are photos of the yarn and the pattern I will make with it.
I’m happy to be here, encountering weavers and seeing the skills of locally made textiles and baskets, not to mention pottery and other wares. It’s a great start to our season sailing in the Med. I just need calm seas to move to our next destination, and only the wind can decide when and where we’ll head next.