28 August 2013

ボロ Boro...

Now highly collected, beautiful Japanese Boro,which basically means rags or scraps of cloth, were made out of necessity not design. It was the need to stay warm and the patience to repair that created these lovely fabrics that we now consider an art form. 

These fabrics were precious, they were made from the hemp or flax that people had planted, harvested, spun and dyed themselves. Therefore when clothing and bedding needed to be repaired, patches of other fabrics were stitched over worn areas with tiny 'sashiko' stitches to secure them in place.


For the poor of Japan up to the early part of the 20c, clothing  had to be maintained throughout the wearers life. Boro was born of the value of 'mottainai' an ancient Buddhist term from Japan that means to have respect for the resources around you, to not waste resources and to use them with a sense of gratitude.  




 Each boro is by it's definition totally unique, it is the value of time spent, not money.

all photos - google search 

23 August 2013

London's street markets... 1959

The inimitable voice of Sid James takes us on a tour of London's street markets in 1959. Petticoat lane, Berwick Street, Farringdon Road and Portobello Road.  What's interesting is there's a shot of the horse racing tipster Ras Prince Monolulu who I wrote about in the post - Derby day shouting his cry; 'I've got a horse'.


youtube - Rich Henderson

21 August 2013

Treasures past...


    When I was about six, all the girls in school collected 'treasure' and the best place to keep your 'treasure' in was a chocolate box, preferably one with a picture on and a ribbon attached.
                                The 'treasure' was from broken costume jewellery,
                                                                             anything that glittered or sparkled,

  everyday we would take our 'treasure' into school... 

 how many diamonds would you have to swop in exchange for that big sapphire? 
 Highly prized were the big blue diamonds found on top a vial of perfume, my mother thinks was Blue Grass.

  Simple pleasures when children were only expected to be children... ho hum.

all beads - beadandribbon etsy / pink glass stones - BeadsHappen etsy / multi coloured stones - snapcrafty etsy / purple stones - GemMartUSA etsy

17 August 2013

Hooked rug...


 Beautiful 'Gypsy Rose' hand hooked wool rug - Dash & Albert rug company



13 August 2013

9 August 2013

 Gosh and I thought the maid of honour outfit I had to wear for my friends wedding was bad! that was nothing compared to these ladies.

photo - www.wipwapweb.com

6 August 2013

4 August 2013

Sad...



"We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, read too little, watch TV too much. We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living but not a life. We've added years to life, not life to years." - George Carlin 1937 - 2008


1 August 2013

Feeling hot hot hot...

It feels like the hottest day of the year today. As you come out of the door it's like that blast of hot air when you step out of the plane, not the wet heat of some countries but that dry heat, as though you've walked into an oven.

I said out loud 'feeling hot hot hot' and laughed, because it took me back to a holiday travelling in Mexico where the little guy looking after us asked how I was feeling and I found myself replying "feeling hot hot hot" to which he burst out laughing. You see the whole time we were there they played the same two tunes over and over; 'Feeling hot hot hot' by The Merrymen and 'Going loco down in Acapulco' by The Four Tops, both big hits then.

Funny what you remember... so in memory of that, it's two for the price of one today.





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