Persia

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 in reasons I haven't been posting (an occasional series)
Tags: family, travel, yarn

Bermondsey feels like a desert. I’ve been staying there looking after my Aunt’s dog, and have been sharply reminded of how spoilt I am living in an area where I can walk to get anything I need. They are overpriced, but the convenience seemed worth it when I was taking the 30 minute walk or bus ride to the nearest decent food shop. Their flat is lovely, right on the river with a balcony, but watching ships pass through Tower Bridge only entertains me for so long.

Iran, on the other hand, is definitely not a desert. My aunt and uncle returned on Sunday, bearing gifts in thanks for the above-mentioned dog watching. They know I would have done it anyway, but it’s always lovely to receive a present, and I had two!

This gorgeous woven rug, designed as a set of saddlebags but not seamed.

Because it would hang over the animal one would usually see only half at a time, so there are two patterns. I need to start using colour like this more – I’m very afraid of using reds or combining so many in one piece.

The zigzags are done in a more loosely spun yarn, and the red/blue line is stitched on top, so the texture is very interesting as well.

They also brought me some yarn! The colour isn’t true – the dark blue is a proper indigo and the green is more of an angelica green. It’s partly in balls because the coach broke down a couple of times, and much to the amusment of the Iranian police, my uncle (a very tall and very English looking gentleman) decided to occupy himself with winding it. Apparently several members of the party joined in as winders while my uncle did a sterling job as a human swift. I wish there were photos.

I love the three colours together, and they are telling me they want to be something mosaic or tessellated. I need to get my scales out and determine how much I have to work with. I wonder if Ravelry has ’stuff my family brought back from Iran’ as a yarn brand?

They also brought bags of cardamom seeds and hibiscus petals, which we passed around to breathe in and imagine ourselves in the market at Isfahan. I need to get organised and go to see that part of the world myself.