Corsets, Crinolines and Codpieces Part 5

Crowning Glories

Women's Hairstyles from 1400

In the late 1400 women appeared in public with their heads uncovered.
According to the portrait painters of that time, some of the styles were extremely ornate. I can find no documentation to verify that these elaborate coiffures were the norm ; or were made especially for the portrait or perhaps the artists own invention.

Sandro Botticelli: Portrait of a young woman 1480- 1485

Bartolomeo Montgagna: Saint Justina of Padua 1490's

Domenico Ghirlandaio:Portrait of Giovaina Tornbuoni 1488 A much simpler style, perhaps depicting the youth of Raphael's model   Raphael: Portrait of a Young Woman 1506 And this wonderful loose and natural style  Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa 1503 Watch for more on this topic Also more of this series; Corsets, Crinolines and Codpieces, Parts one, two, three and four

 

Domenico Ghirlandaio:Portrait of Giovaina Tornbuoni 1488

A much simpler style, perhaps depicting the youth of Raphael's model

 

Raphael: Portrait of a Young Woman 1506

And this wonderful loose and natural style 

Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa 1503

Watch for more on this topic

Also more of this series; Corsets, Crinolines and Codpieces, Parts one, two, three and four

My Irish Garden

Gooseberries Galore!

Looks like being a Bumper harvest this year

Has anyone any interesting Recipes?

Spring in Morocco

Fruit Tree Blossom
February and March are the busiest months in the village gardens, preparing them for the main growing season after the winter rain.
The fruit trees, apples, plums, apricots and almonds are mostly in flower, so pretty to look at.

 

Under the fruit trees wheat and broad beans are growing.....
also a tortoise!

 

The Pomegranite trees are just coming into leaf.

 

A pair of donkeys ploughing 

Lemons seem to be growing all the year around!



Watch for my next Morocco Blog about the gates to the village gardens !

My garden in Morocco.....update

More news about my container garden

 

 I didn't expect such fast growth... these are the rocket seedlings five days after sowing

 ...and eight days after sowing...this is amazing! At this rate of growth, I shall be eating them in a few weeks!

My garden in Morocco

Indoor gardening

This is a real challenge for me...my blog readers will know that I have a large garden in Ireland


Now I am living part time in Morocco and as I am staying in a Riad I decided to try making an indoor garden.
I bought two planters in the Souk, made from recycled motor tyres, and begged some soil from my landlord.

Both of them are now filled and seeds have been sown ( I probably should have waited for the new moon)

It still is chilly at night so I have been covering them with fleece....now I have to wait and see if they germinate!

I sowed some rocket in October and that seems to be doing very well...a 'creature' ate the basil plants!
And we have mint for the tea.

 
So watch this space for an update.

Wearable Art...Spring Rose, another design from my Etsy Shop

Second in my collection of wrapped textile jewellery

Spring Rose

  
I used as a base t-shirt material cut on the bias; with this I could easily regulate the thickness to give different effects. For this design I choose natural raw silk yarn for the wrapping.

Where the branches were intertwined I bound them together. I choose a creamy white suede look fabric rose as the feature decoration. I added two leaves and seed heads in bright spring greens. I made green craft wire into coiled tendrils threaded with some off white wood beads.
I made a silver plated wire hook and ring for the fastening.

 The necklace measures 53cms from end to end. The centre feature is 9.5cms deep.

Spring Rose in my Etsy Shop €65

Wearable Art at last for sale in my Etsy Shop

EVE , first of my wrapped textile jewellery collection 

 EVE.... soft and lightweight, wearable art; something very different to compliment your wardrobe.
I have been working on this collection of wearable art for the past year. As with all new ideas it takes time to get from the first sketch to the finished product.

 

 
I wanted to use as a base for all the designs a soft lightweight rope effect, the sinuous effect of ivy branches were the nearest idea I could borrow from nature.

 

I used as a base t-shirt material cut on the bias; with this I could easily regulate the thickness to give different effects. For this design I choose pale olive green slubbed cotton thread for the wrapping.
Where the branches were intertwined I bound them together. I choose a shiny red miniature artificial apple as the feature decoration as I loved its glossiness next to the soft green yarn. I also added a leaf and some berries which I repeated in a bunch at the neckline to balance the design.

I made a silver plated wire hook and ring for the fastening.

The necklace measures 54cms from end to end. The centre feature is 5.5cms deep.

Eve is now on sale in my Etsy Shop 

€65.00