More about Romeo

More Romeo Gigli, and some Alexander McQueen, who worked in Gigli’s studio before studying design in London.
The model in the ads is Kirsten Owen photographed by Paolo Roversi.

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Athens Museum

Some more images from the Athens museum:



Some knitting – not a lot – most of the textiles on display were embroidered or woven – and the knitting was difficult to photo in subdued lighting:




Some stunningly elaborate costumes:

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Royal Wedding

There have been a lot of tv programmes about royal weddings recently – I took some photos of the television screen.

The story and images of Diana’s dress were particularly interesting – the second image is of David Emmanuel sorting out the cocoon after it emerged from the gilded carriage – there was so much fabric it had to be squashed in.

In the aerial views the dress looks like some kind of sea creature -

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Munich to Salzburg

This selection includes Bavarian knees from the Hofbräuhaus, a ceiling from the Villa Stuck, Austrian snow scenes, sketches for improved beaded borders (plus me doing the sketches), and a little wool shop in Salzburg. I didn’t find any lace weight yarn in Munich or Salzburg – except for something that’s a bit like Kidsilk Haze – I bought some in red. I also got some blue Indian glass beads at the Ethnographic Museum, like size 8 seed beads but very irregular.

The other highlight of the trip was the Münchner Stadtmuseum with temporary exhibitions of Herlinde Koebl and Roger Ballen.

Thanks for all the comments on the BSM – its official name is Black Swan Mantilla. I’ve decided to go ahead and publish the fringed version, even though it’s a complex project, and goes completely against my resolution to keep things simple! I will include an easier border option.

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Munich Ethnographic Museum

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Munich

I’m in Munich for a few days.

Here are some textiles and faces from the Neue Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne .

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Haapsalu and Tartu

A final round-up of the Estonia trip…

Haapsalu is the epicentre of  Estonian lace knitting – it’s a leafy seaside town with wooden houses, a castle, and a magnificent railway station. It was pretty quiet in June.

Tartu, a university town in Eastern Estonia, was deserted for Jaanipäev, but we managed to find a coffee in the very impressive central square, and a fine meal at a Georgian restaurant.

The textile items are from Tartu’s souvenir shops and a couple of small museums nearby, and include traditional men’s socks without heels – they look like they could be children’s hats.

The sketch and swatch are for the Ruff Shawl pattern – I spent a lot of time during this trip perfecting the cables.

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Tallinn

Some images from Tallinn’s Old Town, the City Museum, the Open Air Ethnographic Museum, and some portraits from Kadriorg Palace. I was working on swatches for the Ruff Shawl during this holiday. Click on the images for bigger versions.

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