To get your Istanbul fix...

It's no secret...we are missing Istanbul - we loved living there - it's an amazing city, full of contrasts and with an exciting energy all it's own.   And if you are missing getting your fix of of Istanbul here now that we are in Australia, or if you just love truly beautiful writing and photos, then you need to head over here.   My Philosofia is a blog written by the very talented Innes Welbourne, whom you can read about more here and in the Elle Magazine Turkey profile of him here.   Innes captures the essence of Istanbul beautifully, exploring the hidden nooks and crannies of the city and visiting and photographing all the places and people you wish you had the guts to!

These are just some of my favourite photos taken by Innes that are on my philosofia.

A hidden glimpse through a half open gate.  Yenikoy.  From the post Churches: Glimpses into a different times.

SLANTED SHADOWS AND PLENTY OF LOCAL COLOR ENLIVEN AN ALLEYWAY OUTSIDE A MOSQUE from the post Karakoy: Long shadows, deep colour.

KARAKÖY QUAY, MID-MORNING from the post Volumes of Silence:  Part I

RUGS FROM ALL OVER ANATOLIA AWAITING A NEW LIFE from the post Dhoku:  Rugs Reborn

NEW CAFES AND SHOPS ARE APPEARING IN FORMERLY RUN DOWN BUILDINGS from the post  Karakoy: Long shadows, deep colour.

Commuters on the way to Eminonu from the post Vapur 1: Timeless travel

ESCAPING THE MIDDAY CRUSH. FROM THE BOSPHORUS TO THE SEA OF MARMARA from the post Volumes of Silence: Part II

PIANO PLAYER AND SINGER STEAL PHOTOGRAPHER’S HAT, LOSE THEMSELVES IN
THE MOMENT from the post Sefahathane: Thickening the Beyoglu Atmosphere

Inside one of Mimar Sinan's mosques from the post 24 Hours on the Golden Horn

I was lucky enough to become good friends with Innes and his wonderful wife Sevim and his gorgeous daughter, that the blog was named for - Sofia.  I did this illustration for Innes a while back - inspired by Alchemy - which Innes writes about here - and especially Thoth and Hermes Trismegistus.  It was definitely a departure from my usual illustrations - something  I really enjoyed getting in to.

     

A few photos

Phew!  I'm back - I think (fingers crossed) our internet connection is now fixed!  So, how are you all?  What have you been up to?

I have been working on some new card and gift tag designs for the shop - including a few Christmas items.  Yeee!  I am really excited about these!  There is a peek of one of them down at the bottom of this post.  And now I just have to pick the paper I want for them this evening and then off they go to the printers!  I'm looking forward to getting them back and sharing them with you!

These are a couple of photos I snapped while stuck in traffic recently.  The sky was amazing!  It was at dusk and just about to start pouring.  Fishing is a very popular pass time here - especially along the banks of the Bosphorous.  And they are dedicated too!  I often see people still fishing in the cold and rain. It's getting in to fish season here - tonight we are off to get some delicious and very fresh 'Hamsi' for dinner.  You can see photos of our local waterside fish stall here.  Hamsi are a very small fish that we eat lightly floured and fried - and Yashar loves them too - which  I am very happy with since they are so good for you!

And of course I'm a sucker for a pretty old doorway!  Actually there are loads of very interesting and much prettier doorways - but of course I always miss out on photographing them...next time!

This little elephant can't wait to meet you ;)

Long Weekend Blocking

Monday was a public holiday here and it also ended up being a holiday from Making Mondays of sorts this week – not that I’m not busy making things of course! And I have been having internet ‘issues’ – how did I ever survive without it ;)

I spent part of the weekend blocking two blankets that my mother in law made for a custom order. The blankets turned out so beautifully – I’m sure that I spent much longer than I needed to blocking just because I kept stopping to stare at the different colour combinations and the amazing work she's done.  The colours reminded me of beautiful bright flowers in a lush field or garden bed.   More photos of the finished blankets coming soon :)

The long weekend also meant I had a little extra time to myself, which was lovely, I even had time to just take photos of a few things around the house that grabbed my eye.

 

Back to blocking.  Do you block your knitting or crochet projects? I discovered blocking a little while back and now I always do it.  It makes whatever the item is in to the shape it is meant to be, relaxes the curling that you get in some pieces and generally makes whatever it is hang beautifully. For the uninitiated Alicia Paulson’s lovely and straight forward instructions are here. The way I block is largely the same, except instead of spraying water I put my iron on the highest setting, with the most steam. Then I hold the iron a centimeter or so above the piece (being careful not to touch it at all) and steam away! Then, like Alicia, I leave the piece to dry –usually over night.

For smaller pieces I just pin them to the ironing board, but for larger blankets, pinning to a mattress seems to be the best way. If the item is something that needs to be sewn together, then I would always block before sewing the pieces together.

V
xx

Stormy Light

Firstly, I wanted to say thank you so much for all your lovely lovely feedback on the wallpaper designs for Studio Nommo!  I am so excited about it!  And if you missed that post, you can check it out here.

While my Mum is visiting we took the chance to have a weekend away at the Black Sea town of Sile (pronounced Shi-ley).   It only took us about an hour to get there - perfect for a weekend away.  Pretty much every place we visit has me dreaming of one day buying a little house there.  This one had me dreaming of a little place to escape Istanbul.  It was so beautiful. 

It was a stormy weekend, which although meant a little less time at the beach, also gave us some beautiful stormy light. It reflected off the water making it look like satin.  And I was loving all those shades of grey. 

This scene reminds me of a painting. don't you think?

ps don't forget that the sale in the Light Garden shop ends on Friday, so if you are thinking of buying a print don't miss out! 

Sale and some street shots!

Firstly I just wanted to quickly let you know that I am having a one week sale over at the Light Garden shop with 20% off cards and prints (including custom prints but excluding matted prints and custom cards).  Summer is almost here so it's time to celebrate!  It starts today and finishes Friday 28.   I will head over there right now to get all that set up.  All ready to roll now.  Yay!  I love a sale!

Also I have some very exciting things to show you next week with my illustrations.  Yeeee!  I can hardly wait!   And by the way, I owe lots of people emails and am way behind on that so I hope you don't think I'm terribly rude.  I'll be catching up soon I promise!

And here are some street shots from this week...yep, I'm trying hard to stick to the commitment.  On Wednesday (which was a public holiday here) we headed in to Tahtakale (remember that earlier sourcing excursion I went on?) for the morning in search of ribbons and material. 

Then we headed over to my new favourite area of Istanbul - Galata - I'm a sucker for crumbling old buildings, dreaming of the day when I can buy one and renovate.  And the cute little shops and the little cafe (sorry I forget the name of the cafe) where you can have a great bottle of wine and a cheese plate are definite draw cards too!

Photo things

Wow, was I sick this week.  Really, it was gross.  But all better now, phew!

I have been getting used to my new toy...the yummy camera Senol and his family got me for my birthday :)   These are a few random photos taken this week. 

Some blossoms in the grounds of the Sakip Sabanci Muzesi where Mum and I went to see 'Transcending Borders with Brush and Pen.'

Another from the jam making fiesta:

This last photo is not one of the best shots I've taken...but...it's more than a random photo, it's a committment :)   For a long time I have been passing people and places and thinking, I would love to take that photo.  And that every body has a story.    So, now I have the camera, no more excuses, I'm committing to take more photos of people I pass, of scenes on the street, all the photos that I have been wanting to take and I'll be posting some of them here.