⟖ world service ⟗

I am feeling quite excited about being here now. It's taken me a while to adjust and disembark.
But, hey, I am in India and it is, as usual, madly exciting, exhilarating and calm, all in the same moment. I'm well rested, feeling inspired, enjoying my pigeon English conversations and sharing smiles with almost every person I meet. As usual, an overload of colour is causing malfunctions of over stimulation and I am going to share some of my images with you from the last couple of days.


I went to the haberdashery shop as I really want to make something when I am here and when you are in a hot country there is only one thing for it, a blanket...I didn't intend to but I saw the wool and was smitten. I can't even tell you how cheap it was, ridiculous. Pure wool, colourfast (so they say) skeins in the most eye aching colours. I bought a few for 126 rupees (£1.79) and had to wind the skeins into balls, all rather delightfully old fashioned.

Especially if one listens to BBC World service on a crackly radio whilst drinking Twinings Tea! 

(I'm not being paid to advertise on this blog, but get your people to talk to my people if there is a proposition in the pipeline)

Once I'd wound my balls, I had the sweetest afternoon on a sunny veranda listening and hooking and thinking about lucky I was to be able to be alive in that moment. 

But then on my evening walk, the moment just before dusk when it seems as though there is a magic ethereal quality to the sounds and colours of India, a moment when anything seems possible and hopeful and an air of expectancy hangs in the air .....I saw this! Which fired up my wanty engines very much. Crochet garlands anyone? Someone find me a pattern?

But then I bought some embroidery thread and now I've got too many projects in the bag already. I shall have to stay here for a long time using up all my haberdashery. Would you have been able to resist?

And what colour cloth shall I embroider my life story on? It's enough to make a girl lose her decision making capabilities.

It's just as well I've got the gift of yoga to keep me grounded and unimpulsive and focused.

And I am so thankful that I haven't had to handwash all of these clothes. 

Until next time, Namaste and Lots of Love...

♕ queen of shops ♕

I'm back in the rain and grey and gloomy doom. I thought you might have had the decency to have an Indian summer waiting for me but alas only the grey carpeted corridor of Gatwick greeted me and my 20 kilos of luggage. My luggage was packed with my purchases of wool from the haberdashery shop in Turkey.
Knitting and crochet are very popular pastimes in Turkey. It's very hot in the summer but becomes cooler in the winter especially in the mountains. Even in the warm days that I was there I saw older people with woollen hats on and shawls & knitted socks appearing in the shops.
I am teaching myself to crochet and very nice it is too. I am not very accomplished but I am enjoying making little granny squares and it keeps my idle hands busy. So to the wool shop I went to buy some pure Turkish wool for my blanket which I will deem a family heirloom before I have begun.
The shop was divine. The proprietors spoke very little English so I just swooned around them and they didn't mind me taking a few snaps which I knew you would all love to see.
It was a haberdashery heaven...

The wool choice was staggering in colour and grade and it was all so much cheaper than here. Pure 100% wool was 4 Turkish Lira for 100 grams which works out to around £1.70. And the hanks of wool worked out much much cheaper than that. And if you didn't mind an acrylic mix then you would pay a few pence a ball. Not Fair is it? That's the problem with living on an island that isn't self sufficient anymore. Grrr. We should have lots of good value home spun wool. I thought we had loads of sheep?

Check out those colours?

Every type of button you could possibly need?

And reels of ribbons galore...

Zips and...

Trim and lace...

And the sweet couple running the shop bought us Apple Tea on a tray. It's just normal behaviour in Turkey. They don't do that in John Lewis do they?

I'll keep you posted on the crochet blanket...it's my new going out.