Blue and White ceramics - Egypt

Blue on White ceramics: the reciprocal influence of Chinese porcelain on European and Middle Eastern ceramics - Egypt

Other essays on the history of BoW in Iraq, early Iran, late Iran, Japan, China, Turkey, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and England.

This brief investigation of blue on white ceramics is focused on Egypt as my previous investigation suggested that the potters of Basra moved to Cairo around the 10th century and the rise of the Mamluks.

Pre 10th century

The Ancient Egyptians produced some beautiful items with blue overglaze such as these bowls (1, 2, 3). Over a long period of time, the Egyptians were producing items such as the iconic scarab in solid blue or turquoise overglaze (4). This range of blueish-turquoise items is sometimes call Egyptian blue (copper-calcium-silicate) but others appear to have been coated in a cobalt glaze the source of which is suggested to be evaporite deposits. Interestingly, the combination of blue and white doesn't seem to be culturally attractive and there are very few extant examples from this time (5).

In the 5th - 7th centuries Egypt was controlled by the mostly Christian, Copts. Coptic earthenware featuring blue motifs seems to have consisted of red clay objects that were fired (or dried) and then decoratively painted. Many jars were painted with lines of text however there are some examples of figures or patterns. The British Museum collection contains a number of whole (6) and fragmented items (7) from this period. This decoration method appears to be traditional in the region as similar ones can be found dating to the 18th Egyptian Dynasty (8) (1543 - 1292 BCE).

The 7th century saw the Byzantinians fighting a loosing battle for control of Egypt against the Rashidian Caliphate. The islamic influence of the Rashidians and later the Umayyadian Caliphate resulted in the conversion of much of the population. I have yet to find any items with blue glaze from this period but the Rashidians are important to note as they established the capital at Fustat (now part of Cairo), near what was Coptic Cairo. After the Umayyadian Caliphate (the largest Empire in the world at the time), the Abbasid Caliphate came to power.

10th-13th centuries

The 10th century saw the Baghdad based Abbasidian Caliphate suffering from internal political strife. Sections of the empire were breaking away, and trade relationships were fluctuating. Fustat (Old Cairo), under the Fatamid dynasty, was rising as a political power at this time, resulting in the shift of production from more marginalized regions of the empire, i.e. Basra, to Cairo (Attwood). I have found no extant BoW items that support this theory as there is no evidence of the simple designs employed by the artists of Basra in items recovered from Egypt. The Egyptians do seem to have adopted the lustreware first developed in Iraq around this time. It's possible the lack of local cobalt, the local penchant for turquoise and the desire for the more decorative lustreware squashed the transfer of the BoW designs.

In the 10th century common ceramic objects in Egypt are still being dipped in overglaze before being fired (9) as part of the ongoing traditional decorative theme. The blues are becoming more varied by the 12th century with the introduction of a more purplish tint to the glaze (10). This may indicate an iron contamination in the cobalt source. This shift away from the more traditional lapis or turquoise colourings may be a result of the Islamic influence or a reduction in quality/quantity of pigment sources. The blue-purple strainer is an interesting item because typically these lovely objects are natural clay (11) and rarely glazed. I have found a couple of extant items that were glazed in turquoise as well (12, 13) indicating the love of this colour is deeply rooted in the Egyptian potters traditions. It seems that even though more complex and decorative methods are available, the production of common household goods such as filters and lamps (14) continued to involve simple glazing techniques. Lamps are of particular interest because they need to be glazed to prevent the terracotta from absorbing the oils. Lamps are also a common household object that would require mass production. Colours range from yellows (15), to greens and turquoise (16) and the rare blue (17). (side note: I love the pied colour of this one - 18).

Support for Attwood's suggestion on the move of Basra potters to Cairo is derived from lustre-ware items (19) recovered from Fustat. Stylistically these items are very similar to objects produced across the Abbysaid Empire (20) and even imported from Spain (21). This makes identification to a hobbiest like myself particularly challenging and I initially assumed the stylistic diversity at Fustat was solely due to their geographic location and the importation of high-level ceramics. However sherds such as 22 are marked with 'sa' which may be a potters mark, a workshop or a Fustatian tradition, either way, the item has been identified as Egyptian in origin. Essays on Islamic ceramics on the Ashmolean Museum propose that the Basra potters migrated to Egypt bringing the skills of lustreware. These potter families them migrated to Syria and later spread to Spain after the fall of the Fatamid dynasty in the 12th century.

10 - Bluish-purple strainer from Fostat, Egypt. 12th century, glazed fritware. Victoria and Albert Museum, item number c.914-1919

13th - 14th century

By the 13th century, the Mamluks had risen to power in Egypt ousting the Abbysaidians. On a side note: the Egyptian Mamluks seem to have made the greatest imprint on history, but the Delhi Sultinate was also controlled by the Mamluks which is often overlooked by hobbies scholars discussing this period in the middle east. Through the 13th and 14th centuries, Egypt was an important trading hub connecting the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, India and the East Indies.

Where the potters of Basra produced stylistically individual designs which are reasonably easy to identify. If anything, the potters of Fustat can be most easily identified through the use of solid Egyptian blue and turquoise glazes. This method of identification unfortunately, doesn't work for styles that require the use of different glazes. Items recovered from Fustat have a broad range of stylistic influence with sgraffito (23), incised and dipped (24) and polychrome underglaze (25) items all being produced from the 10th - 14th centuries. The position of Fustat as the hub of trade networks allowed local potters to adopt patterns and techniques from across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. A good example of this is the black and blue (BBW) items produced in Fustat during the 14th century (26). Some blue and black fragments have been recovered from Fustat (27, 28) and the style is quite similar to items produced in Syria at the time (29, 30)

Blue on White in Egypt

The production of BBW items in Fustat indicates the potters are conversant with the method of applying a white underglaze, then decorative elements and a clear overglaze. Sherds of Chinese porcelain (31) have been recovered from Fustat confirming the transport of such items to Egypt. There is no doubt these items influenced local designs. Sherds have been recovered that sport chrysanthemum like flowers (32), ducks (33) and other Chinese motifs (34). A number of sherds have been recovered from Fustat with patterns are reminiscent of Asian and iznik designs (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40). While I would like to wax lyrical regarding BoW trends in this region, I simply do not have sufficient extant objects to do so.

As well as the importation and imitation of Chinese BoW items, the Mamluks were producing BoW tiles (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) very similar to the turquoise and blue hexagonal tiles being created in Syria with an almost Iznik flavour (47).

45 - Hexagonal Tile, 15th Century, Egypt. The Met Museum Accession Number 67.69.6

Additional resources:

A section on the Abbasiddian potters from a web based teaching course on islamic ceramics hosted by the Ashmolean Museum. http://islamicceramics.ashmolean.org/Abbasid/pottery.htm 

A PDF article on the Abbasid perception of Chinese Ceramics.

Hallet, J. 2010 Pearl Cups like the Moon, The Abbasid perception of Chinese Ceramics. Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds.. eds Krahl, R. Guy, J. Wilson, J.K. Raby, J. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, pp 75-81

A great scientific paper PDF on the reciprocal influence of Tang China and Abbasid Iraq ceramics.

Wood, N., and Tite, M., (2009), ‘Blue and White – the Early Years : Tang China and Abbasid Iraq compared.’ Transfer : The Influence of China on World Ceramics. (Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No. 24. Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. ed. Stacey Person, ed. London University, pp 21-45

A short article on Basra's Potters and their developments

Attwood, R. 2005 Basra's Inventive Potters. Archeology Reviews. Vol 58, 2.

A PhD thesis I'd really like to get my hands on, scientific analysis of the origins of cobalt.
Wen, R. 2012. The cobalt blue pigment used on Islamic ceramics and chinese blue-and-white porcelain. PhD Thesis, University of Oxford.

My collection of BoW images mapped to location of creation. Note: only 80 items initially load, you need to scroll to the end of the collection before they'll all show up on the map. Zoom into your area of interest to see clusters around centers of production.

Blue and white ceramics - Iraq

Blue on White ceramics: the reciprocal influence of Chinese porcelain on European and Middle Eastern ceramics - Iraq

Other essays on the history of BoW in Egypt, early Iran, late Iran, Japan, China, Turkey, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and England.

I've been working on a series of cups this last few months as part of the further development of my Blue on White (BoW) research. Originally the items were made to support my assertion that much of the later period BoW earthenware items were crafted as a response to the popularity, and limited supply of, BoW porcelain from China (also known as Yuan or Mingware). While I still believe this is true in many cases, making sweeping generalizations across Europe isn't a good practice. Also, the statement blatantly ignores the greater socio-political climate impacting each center of production over the 500 odd years I'm reviewing.

Given I've now collected over 300 images of blue and white ceramics (earthenware and porcelain) and mapped a majority of them, I can start to correlate designs and trends over space and time. Where possible I've mapped the items to the place of creation however if the description is vague, such as 'Iran', I've mapped it to the current capitol city (Tehran). In places where only a cultural label is available, such as Ilkinid, I've mapped it to the capitol city of that dynasty (Samarqand).

Some things to note before I get started:

If I could, I'd put picture after picture here to illustrate my statements but then this essay would get out of hand. Instead I've inserted limited, specific examples and linked to other items of interest.

My research is obviously biased by the sources of the extant ceramics I've found. Many of my items come from the Met and V&A (and London Museum to a lesser extent). This is because they have high resolution images and a good search function for a sizeable chunk of their collection. The annotations are also written in English, my primary language. Others are from Christies or other auction sites. I am aware provenience may not be solid for auction items but this is often a good resource for less than museum quality goods. I am also well aware that my collection of images is biased both by my personal selection criteria (cobalt blue glaze on white) and by the bias inherent in the collections I have chosen my samples from. Like me, each museum must focus their interest and their collections reflect their curators interests so they may have limited items from specific regions. The quality of the databases used to store the online collections has also affected my personal collection, ease of access and breadth / specificity of search terms having the greatest noted impact on my ability to access items from specific regions or cultures.

Brief introduction:

The Chinese were the first to work out how to make high temperature firing porcelain and cobalt blue was one of the only glazes available to them that was stable at these temperatures. The high temperatures and unique composition of their pots created items that were lighter and stronger than their earthenware counterparts. It was due to this that they were in such high demand (porcelain wasn't achieved in the west until the Renaissance). High demand + scarcity of supply worked to give the Mingware the lure of being rare and thus valuable. Eventually the Chinese started creating items specifically for export utilising more European designs. Meanwhile, local potters across Europe imitated the Chinese designs, blending the shapes and patterns with the local styles. Some more detail is available on my previous (and very broad) look at blue and white ceramics.

Three origins have been proposed for much of the cobalt used in glazes over the period of examination, Egyptian evaporites, Iranian (Kashan) resources or sources in the Chinese province of Jingdezhen. Scholars have determined that the Kashan resource supplied much of the worlds cobalt in the early middle ages with some sources in Turkey and later in Germany being exploited as well.  It is interesting to note that originally the BoW of China utilised Kashan cobalt rather than the closer mineralisation, possibly because they hadn't been discovered or refining the ore was too challenging at the time.

As a result, level amount of BoW earthenware production before the 14th century is a feature of proximity to the mineral source / trade routes and exposure to the technique of tin-glazing. Later the demand for and availability of Chinese products plays a greater role in determining decorative motifs and the shape of BoW earthenware pieces. These designs are often distinctly different from other local styles. In the following discussion I will address what I consider to be major production hubs and the styles of BoW and non BoW earthenware before and after the introduction of Chinese porcelain.

Outside of China, the earliest extant colbalt blue on white ceramic item I've been able to location originated from Iraq, so I shall start my analysis there.

Iraq

All of the extant examples of BoW I have found in Iraq are bowls or shards that were created in the 9th or 10th century. At this time Iraq was part of the Abbasid Caliphate, the capital of which was Baghdad. Though the Caliphate fluctuated in size and military/political influence, they remained the dominate power until the 13th century when the Mongols had the last Caliph killed in 1258 AD.

The blue-on-white ware I identified are the typical dark blue (cobalt) on a tin-glaze underglaze. Though most are simply identified the origin as 'Iraq', some specifically mention Basra (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). The BoW earthenware from this time appears to come in three styles calligraphic (1, 8, 9), geometrical (2, 3, 7) or floral shapes (4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13). Given the similarities in bowl shape and design elements I am inclined to assume all the others were produced by potters in, or originating from, Basra. Bowl 14 though found in Nishapur, Iran, is identified by the Met Museum as originating in Iraq. Stylistically, it is very similar to bowl 13 so I have mapped it as Al Basra, Iraq as well.

Given that BoW ware produced in Basra was probably imitating Chinese whiteware imports it is clear there are three stylistic camps developing in the 9th and 10th centuries. The BoW ware has simple floral, geometric or calligraphic designs over a white tin-glazed background. The Victoria and Albert Museum suggests that Iraqi potters were the first to develop the white tin-glazed background as well as lustreware such as this bowl (15). The lustreware produced in Basra at this time featured complicated patterned floral and animal motifs. In addition to the lustreware and blue-on-white, the potters utilised a wide pallet of colours, including yellows, browns and greens as seen on dishes (16) and jugs (17).
Similar items are produced in China at this time called Sancai-ware (18). There does seem to be a stylistic overlap between the Iranian green/yellow/blue items and the BoW design motifs as can be seen in this dish (19).

After the 10th century, a significant power shift occurred within the Abbasid Caliphate (i.e. rise of the Mumluks). The area the Caliphate of Baghdad directly controlled was contracting as sections pulled away and established their own ruling lines.It's possible the power base shifted to Egypt and the Basra potters followed, establishing tin-glazed earthenware and lustreware in Cairo. For more information of the rise, technological developments and fall of the Basra pottery, there is a wonderful series of lecture notes hosted by the Ashmoelon here (the most relevant section reviews Jessica Hallett's thesis here).

 

Iraq - Item 6 - Tin- glazed earthenware. Basra, Iraq. 9th century. V&A museum, item number: CIRC.122-1929 

A link to a post containing all of the reference images and no hot links.

Additional Resources:

A section on the Abbasiddian potters from a web based teaching course on islamic ceramics hosted by the Ashmolean Museum. http://islamicceramics.ashmolean.org/Abbasid/pottery.htm 

A PDF article on the Abbasid perception of Chinese Ceramics.

Hallet, J. 2010 Pearl Cups like the Moon, The Abbasid perception of Chinese Ceramics. Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds.. eds Krahl, R. Guy, J. Wilson, J.K. Raby, J. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, pp 75-81

A great scientific paper PDF on the reciprocal influence of Tang China and Abbasid Iraq ceramics.

Wood, N., and Tite, M., (2009), ‘Blue and White – the Early Years : Tang China and Abbasid Iraq compared.’ Transfer : The Influence of China on World Ceramics. (Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No. 24. Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. ed. Stacey Person, ed. London University, pp 21-45

A short article on Basra's Potters and their developments

Attwood, R. 2005 Basra's Inventive Potters. Archeology Reviews. Vol 58, 2.

A PhD thesis I'd really like to get my hands on, scientific analysis of the origins of cobalt.
Wen, R. 2012. The cobalt blue pigment used on Islamic ceramics and chinese blue-and-white porcelain. PhD Thesis, University of Oxford.

23/2/2015 Pot of the Week - Kashan, Iran

 

Octagonal bowl with vegetal designs.  12th - 13th century, Kashan, Iran. A fritware with slip painting and sgraffito decoration under turquoise glaze. The Harvard Art Museum, item 1936.49

 

16/2/2015 Pot of the week - Kashan, Iran (Persian)

Bowl with Radial Foliate Design, 12th-13th century. Kashan, Iran from the Seljuk-Atabeg period. Fritware painted with luster (copper and silver) over white lead alkali glaze opacified with tinHarvard Museum, object 2002.50.103

9/2/2015 - Pot of the Week, Chinese

A RARE MOLDED BLUE AND WHITE BARBED RIM DISHYUAN DYNASTY, 14TH CENTURY

with bracket-lobed rim well painted with a lively wave pattern in underglaze blue of strong, inky tones, the shallow cavetto with eight reverse ground ruyi-form 'heaped and piled' reserves, molded in relief with fine detail, enclosing leafing peony against a ground of delicately undulating scrolls, the center formed by a large quatrefoil of neatly arched waves enclosing a circular medallion comprised of eight Buddhist flame motifs within radiating petal-shaped panels, the underside with freely drawn lotus scroll with characteristically spiky leaves all between line borders, all resting on a low wedge-shaped footrim, the unglazed base with a mark painted in cobalt
Diameter 18 in., 45.7 cm

2/2/2015 - Pot of the Week - Mamluk / Tamurid

A Timurid or Mamluk blue, black and white bowl, Syria or Persia, 15th century

the body of squat bulbous form on a short foot with a wide mouth with straight-edged rim, the exterior painted in cobalt blue and brown on an off-white ground, with a row of connecting eight-pointed stars containing wave-shape designs, between cross-hatched lozenge motifs, above painted brown arcades each containing a stylised grape-vine, the interior with a floral motif
14.8cm. height.
22cm. diam.

12th century garb part 1

I've been trying to find an image to develop my next set of garb from. Part of the problem of studying 'India' is that in reality I'm studying many different kingdoms and traditions. Finding a generic medieval-indian outfit would be like finding a generic medieval-european outfit. It just isn't a thing. So I've decided that I'll do my best to recreate outfits from specific images or collections based in one time or one location.

I've found my first!

The Battle between Bahubali (Balarama) and Bharat Painted wooden book cover (Patli) Jain School, Western India, 12th ce. (secondary source #1), (better secondary source #2) - Moti Chandra, Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India, Ahmedabad: Sarabhai Manilal Nawab, 1949: Fig. 199.

These ladies are badass. They're in chariots with Mongol-esk recurve bows, shin armour (sort of like the ancient Greeks), shoes (note the lack of toes), a pant drape, mid length choli top with longish sleeves. They're also left and right handed and in the background is an awesome chick weilding a sword and round shield. I don't know how easily this will convert to SCA armour, but I could totally work this for IKAC shoots.

Sari collection

Extant sari (?)  length with hamsa geese print, cotton, Gujarat for the Indonesian Market - 481.3cm long, Met Museum. Accession Number: 2012.445

I wonder about the two spots of damage, is that due to folding and subsequent damage while being stored or displayed? Perhaps those are the sections that were preferentially knotted?

Textile with forested landscape, Gujarat for Indonesian market, 494.5m long, Met Museum, Accession number 2005.407


The saree's that I own:
Cotton brown with black blockprint and dark turquoise detail - 5.20m (5.7 yards)
Cotton red with gold triangle trim - 5.20m
Cotton maroon with straight gold trim and border protection -  5.20m
Cotton cream with brown block print - 6.20m
Cotton/silk blend white with gold spots - 5.20m
Cotton white with gold trim -
Cotton light brown with apricot gold trim -
Cotton purple with orange gold trim -
Cotton maroon with black and gold trim -
Faux silk art silk block print -
?? orange brocade -
Silk wine striped silk -
Cotton ? stiff orange with purple and applique - 

I find the softer and lighter the fabric the better it drapes. As a result, I prefer to wear the cream with brown block print (even though it's really long), the brocade or the wine silk. The art silk I keep around as a demonstration tool and because I love the block print design. It is too slippery to drape well without lots of safety pins but it does fall nicely as it's a light weight fabric.

Monthly UFO update

The list so far:

Blue tartan bustle kilt
Red tartan bustle kilt
Blue lace with butterflies tartan kilt
Brown block print sari    (21/12/2014)
Green Ikat saree   (21/12/2014)
Rust and Cream block print saree (29/12/2014)
Red with gold saree  (1/1/2015)
White with red dupatta (4/1/2015)
Cream and gold silky saree (5/1/2015)

Red with Black saree

Apricot saree
White & gold saree
Purple & black saree
Blackwork wall hanging
Fancy Pants blue t-tunic
Snakes and Ladders Quilt
Cream 1860's dress' belt
Goldhaube
Mumluk Dishtowl
Cream woolen dress (28/12/2014)
Layla's tutu (23/12/2014)

Additional items:

Cream & rainbow spot dress
Rust Chemise
Janet's Giraffe
Grey Kilt
Red Kilt
Red and Green Kilt

Generic discussion of my ceramic method

(developed so I can hotlink to this rather than retyping it each time)

General Technique:

In the late middle ages to the renaissance, a number of centers for production of highend earthenware existed across Europe. While each area had their own style, techniques and motifs often travelled along the trade routes. Generally, earthenware plates and bowls would be moulded, fired and then ceramic artists would glaze them typically with tin based glazes. These processes were usually handled by different specialists. (the V&A website has some detailed information related to earthenware production).

For all my work I have used commercially produced bisque. I have then glazed it with commercial (and modern) glazes. To achieve a solid colour, the under-glaze must have three layers painted on. This takes some time, but is important to prevent thick lines or splotchy colours. Where white decoration is required, it is either left blank or the coloured glaze is scratched back with a wooden skewer to reveal the ceramic or a layer of white glaze underneath. This is a period technique as shown by the fine lines on this 16th century Spanish pharmacy jar (1) where the cobalt glaze has applied then carefully scratched off. A clear over-glaze is then applied before firing which I get done at a professional service.

I feel my approach is justified as I don't own the equipment to produce my own bisque and while I have dabbled in glazing, I don't own a kiln either so can't risk ruining other peoples work with my experiments. I'm also aware that many of the lead based glazes use din period may not be appropriate for items people wish to eat from. A side benefit of the professional firing service and commercial glazes is that the items I produce are microwave and dishwasher safe!

Materials: 
The bisque I purchase comes in a limited set of shapes. This restricts the items I can do and how closely I can replicate items due to changes in scale or shape. For each of the items presented here, the design drives the bisque choice when then modifies the design application.

Typically the extant items I replicate are tin-glazed earthenware which is pottery which is coated in a glaze containing tin oxide. This leaves an opaque white base upon which metallic oxides and other glazes are painted. The main difference between my work and that of the workshopss of the middle ages is that I use commercial glazes. These glazes come pre-mixed and are usually a consistent colour. They also contain no toxic substances and due to the over-glazing process result in a product that is dishwasher, microwave and most importantly food safe. Many medieval items utilise a lead based glaze as it can create a higher intensity in colours like red. Needless to say, I doubt my items would be as useful if they weren't functional as well as pretty. The other major difference in the glazing is my lack of lustre. Lustre ceramics involves utilising a glaze containing metallic oxides which leaves behind a shiney lustre once fired. The technique was first developed in Iran before spreading to Egypt and then onto Europe. In the renaissance, Spain was the center of lustre-ware production featuring Moorish designs and pseudo-kulfic inscriptions. The line of commercial glazes I use doesn't contain a lustre products so at this point I cannot replicate this form of ceramic.

 

Generic references for cupshape

References:
Generic references for the cupshape I preferentally use so I don't have to keep repeating myself to make each post a cohesive document.

16th Century glass beaker - barrel shape

1634, British Isles - Barrel shape with handle.

Some research into "Blue on White" Ceramics

 Figure 1: The Blue Willow Pattern first popularized by Minton (1)  in 1780, and readily available at your local Woolworths.

This research project was initiated as a response questions from Master Crispin regarding blue on white ceramics at Fields of Gold 2014. I knew the basics such as the significant influence of Chinese (Ming)ware on the European market but I didn't know if this was a stylistic influence or something else. (turns out it's practical, higher firing temperature creates stronger ceramics and cobalt is stable at these temperatures). Given that 'Blue on White' is a wide topic I started as I usually do, hitting up my favourite museum collections for some extant samples. I've stored these on pinterest, tried to assemble a small collection of representative pieces and a timeline. I've also collected quotes from various sources that relate to the pieces above them. For some reason vases seemed to be a thing and it's interesting to see the motifs and shapes changing over time and cultures. This is a HUGE topic which I only touch on but I feel this research essay is sufficient generalist background as I conduct additional research for each project as well. Where possible I've utilized primary sources (extant objects) but have referenced a number of secondary or tertiary sources as well. Additional reference material is provided at the end and I've put this one behind a cut because it's a massive post and reasonably picture heavy.

Greylead - totes legit!

A London delft claret bottle

dated 1645
of slight pear shape with a small plain footrim, the slender strap handle with a simple pointed lower terminal, inscribed in blue 'CLARET 1645' above a curlicue, 16.2cm., (some wear to the glaze on the rim and foot, minor glaze hairlines)

Footnotes: The label on this bottle shows two fine, parallel lines drawn in grey as a guide to the painter"

Sold by Bonhams on 1/10/2003, lot 29

Schoodie / Squoodie

Schoodie - a combination scarf / hoodie

Squoodie - a combination scarf / hoodie with a squid theme

So, I didn't know schoodies were a thing until I went to Tobin's November Stitch and Bitch day. Apparently they are and my favorite Youtube channel, Threadbanger, has even done a short instructional video on how to make one out of an old sweatshirt (jumper) here. Tobin kindly lent me his pattern which he seems to have printed off the internets. I'm not sure where he got it but this seems like a rather simple three piece pattern which I may make next time. You can also get a ton of free patterns for knit or crochet patterns for scoodies simply by googling it.

I made the schoodies in November as a gift for my man who's currently contracted out to work in the sandbox. As it's winter over there (a cold Christmas - what a barbaric idea!), I thought I'd make him something to keep him warm. I scheduled this to auto-post after Christmas so as not to ruin the surprise!

To make - follow these helpful instructions on Indie Tutes OR:

(pattern shown here is schoodie (with ears) not Squoodie)

1. Cut out your fabric.

Make sure you have 2x outer-shell, 2x inner-shell, 2x outer pocket pieces, 2x inner-pocket pieces cut in opposite directions.

When cutting the fabric be aware of the grain. Like fur, my bumpy fabric for the liner has a grain so I had to ensure that the pattern was cut to ensure the grain went down the tentacle. This means I needed 1.2m of liner fabric but only about 0.7m of outer shell.

I elongated the outer-shell of the hoodie to create the hood shape. I left the inner-shell according to pattern to ensure the hood wouldn't slip over my mans face.

2. Pin the pockets rightside to right side and sew along top.

I decided to use the non-fluffy side of my fleece as the good or right side of the fabric so I pinned the non-fluffy side of the purple fabric to the fluffy side of the cream.

3. Turn over the pockets and pin along top to hold in place (if using cottons, you can iron the seam to hold it flat)

4. Pin pocket pieces in.

Pin in such a way that you can't see the colour difference (when you're done sewing this results in colour matching the pockets to the tentacles)

5. Start pinning squoodie together from the center front seam (right sides together)
Use ALOT of pins! I used pins ever inch or so. Fabric with nap like fur tends to slide on the fabric and will stretch and bunch if you're not careful. If you have one (which I don't) a walking foot may help

6. Sew
Sew from the center back along one tentacle.
At this point I decided I wanted to have a slight taper before the pockets to create more of a tentacle shape. I drew it in with water erasable fabric marker and sewed along the line
Keep sewing until you reach almost to the back again. Leave a hand sized gap.

7. Pull through and flatten.
DO NOT freak out if you end up with one pocket on the inside and one on the outside, simply pop the point back through and move the pocket to the side you want (your hood is actually fully reversible yay!)

8. Hand sew gap closed (or machine if you've got time restrictions and don't mind a weird seam at the back)


Adaptions:
I elongated the original hood to make a squid look. By sewing in a tight angle at the center back of the hood between the lining and the outer-shell I pinched the fabric in such a way that pulled the hood down to rest in an appropriate manner.

I considered sewing squid-eyes onto the hood but I didn't want to make it too cutesy.

If you can't find bumpy fabric like mine, consider appliqueing suckers onto the inner-shell tentacles.

If you're using fleece, you could add a quarter circle of fleece to drape out of the back of the hood. The fleece won't fray and you can slice it into tentacle shapes. Make sure this is sewn in so the stretch direction is down along the tentacles. Pull the tentacles to make them curl along the edges a little to hide the rawness.



It'd be entirely possible to elongate the hood to an extreme lire-pipe length for a pixie look.

Ears can be hand-sewn separately onto the hood, rounded ones for bears or pointy ones for a fox/dog.

Paw prints could be added to the outside of the pockets prior to sewing them in.

I found a set of wonderful sari/saree wrapping videos on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0B1F2FE35193AC5C

This one, showing a Kerala sari, and this one showing how to drape a sari in under two minutes are pretty much the basic drape I've taught in all of my classes. It's still my favourite drape and I find it works best with softer fabrics or a heavy brocade. The image above is me attempting this drape with a light cotton, my orange blockprint. As you can see it's not really falling right and I look a little frumpy. Still, one of the easiest drapes to look graceful in I feel.

UFO update

The list so far:

Blue tartan bustle kilt
Red tartan bustle kilt
Blue lace tartan kilt
Brown block print sari    (21/12/2014)
Green Ikat Sari   (21/12/2014)

Apricot sari
White & gold sari
Blackwork wall hanging
Fancy Pants blue t-tunic
Snakes and Ladders Quilt
Cream 1860's dress
Goldhaube


Additional items:
Purple/Black Sari
-2x seams

Mumluk Dishtowl
-Complete embroidery

Cream woolen dress
-2x hem sleeves
-Handsew bottom hem
-Red/gold embroidered detail?

Layla's tutu
-Handsew in 13 ribbon loops for ribbon belt

Push A Laurel Song

I'm am not very good at singing, but I do enjoy the Boars Head Tavern at Rowany Festival. One song I heard at Rowany 2013 was the push a laurel song. I'm listing it here so I don't forget some of the verses that I wrote down that evening. I suggest singing the chorus ever two or three verses otherwise it just drags and drags.

Chorus
You shouldnt push a laurel off a bridge,
You shouldnt push a laurel off a bridge,
You shouldnt push a laurel,
For that would not be moral,
You shouldnt push a laurel off a bridge.

You can push a pelican off a bridge,
You can push a pelican off a bridge,
You can push a pelican,
And then push em off again,
You can push a pelican off a bridge.

Chorus

You can push a fencing don,
We wont even notice that they're gone,

Ye can push the reigning Crown,
Hear them scream on the way down,

Ye can push the King and Queen

Thought it might seem mean

Ye can push a duke or duchess

Have no fear, they won’t make a mess.

Have no fear, they won’t be missed

You can push a belted knight off

And be sure he’s a write off

Push a local reeve

But the mess might make you heave

You can push a cocky herald

Just make sure his life’s imperilled

You can push a martyr or virgin

And we’re sure ye won’t need urgin’

Ye can push St Crispins College

No one will miss their knowlesge

You can push Andronicans off

Do it right, you have their pants off

You can’t push the Rocket Herald

Or he’ll change your name to Gerald

Never push Cruz Australis

Or your lifespan will be far less

No, you can't throw Master Drakey,
He's thrown himself off by mistake-y,

Pushing Master Vandal off is fine -
Laurels please form a line!

You can't push a filk-song-writer
It'll come back hard to bite yer

Ye can push a costume nazi
If yer style’s artsy-fartsy,

Unfinished Project (UFO) list..

The following is a list of my unfinished projects. Specifically, these are ones that I've started and put to one side due to distraction, lack of interest, lack of time or lack of materials. My friend Ceara recently posted a list of things she's achieved in the last few years on her blog with some lovely Gantt charts. She is amazingly productive and has inspired me to collate this list in order to cross things off of it. This is not a full list of unfinished projects as there are some I've done the research for and/or bought the materials but haven't dived into yet (ie the silk painted sari project). Those will be addressed some other time. I've recently completed three things from this list (I'll post about the after Christmas) so I've feeling like I can probably get quite a bit of this knocked over.

The list in no particular order:

Blue tartan bustle kilt
Overlocked to length
New edge trimmed with satin ribbon
First bustle layer complete
-Second and third tulle and tartan need to be measured and attached
-Trimming or bows or something to hide the stitche

Red tartan bustle kilt
Kilt trimmed and overlocked to length
-Add edge trim
-Sew on tulle and bustle layers
-More trim

Brown block print sari
--2x edges to hem

Apricot sari
-2x edges to hem

Blackwork wall hanging
~5 hours in
-about 9/10ths left to do

White & gold sari
-2x edges to hem
-Smooth the twist out of all the gold work

Blue lace tartan kilt
Majority of damage removed
New hem replaced with cream lace
Darning of moth holes complete
50% of darning covered with silver butterfly beads
-Acquire more butterflies
-Sew on butterflies to hide darning

Fancy Pants blue t-tunic
Tunic complete
-Shorten 1x arm
-Attach silk cuffs to arm
-Handsew edge of cuff

Snakes and Ladders Quilt
(after 10 years)
Squares cut and sewn together
Majority of embroidery done
-Finish all snakes
-Finish all ladders
-Embroider random numbers where reinforcement is required
-Find / purchase batting
-Find / purchase quilt back (or double bed sheet)
-Stitch the ditch and attach pieces together
-Edge quilt

Cream 1860's dress
Majority of dress complete
-Make blue puffy sleeves
-Make cream and blue tie-sash
-Handsew down trim on bodice and reinforce pearls

Goldhaube
Gold thread and pearls completed
-Gather and sew into headband
-Gather and work out fastening method.