Seriously
folks this is a post that I have put off in a way because I will rabbit
on and on about the genius of the architect and the reason I travelled
halfway around the world...(lets face from Australia everywhere is
halfway around the world)...to see this particular
site...sight....building...monument...church....wonder of the world!!!
So I will attempt to let the pictures do the talking.
This is the official front entrance of the church, the scale is massive but also intimate....you may be able to see as there is a human reference there bottom right hand corner.
This was an attempt to get a longer range shot, I am standing in a park opposite the church. The lens I took that day does not do landscape panorama.
This is the pinnacle over the entrance, the tree of life and the doves are all ceramic. Not painted but glazed.
You see that dash of colour, that is part of the gates in this entrance. This was just recently installed, and are known as the rose gates. This side of the church is dedicated to nature, new begininngs.
The gates were exquisite, and were completed by a Japanese artist to continue the vision of work started by Gaudi.
They are cold painted bronze
This is another door way, the colours are more autumnal
As we entered the tour guide asked us to look up. These sculptures were also completed by the same artist, and you may notice the features on the children's faces are Asiatic. This church has bought together so many artists who have all left their personality which makes this place incredibly inclusive and international.
A small detail on the gate, I couldn't tarry too long there were queues of people behind me....wanting to take selfies!!!! Don't get me started on selfies.
Now we are inside, and the first thing to do is look up.
Seriously, have you ever seen such a ceiling?
The light floods in through clever placement of skylights, this was during the day and there was no artificial lighting used.
Medieval churches struggled to have natural light but this architect solved the issue, again we are talking design before computer aided programs, this was at the turn of the 19th century and even today he would be considered incredibly modern!
This is a small detail that Gaudi would certainly approve, you look back towards the entrance from inside the church, and this detail becomes evident. You wont see it from the outside only from inside.
I took a bazillion pictures, and I will spare you a complete avalanche because I want you to appreciate the wonders not get bored and flick through.....hey I am guilty of the same thing on other peoples blogs...I get it, if its not your passion or project...you will flick through...........
This church was a passion of mine, there is more to see we have only just stepped inside, until next time lovely people....you have been warned. LOL.
Well here we are....end of February.....another whole month, a twelfth of a year....a leap month....you get the picture!
These little circles of mine are counting down my year, and its quite a process now. I have read the wonderful blogs of the other participants of this challenge and the wisdom and varying styles is wonderful to observe.
I am not preparing my circles ahead of time, but I did spend a day cutting and preparing the background squares so I could just grab a square each day and hunt for the fabric that speaks to me in that moment.
I did fall behind for a day or two as life got in the way of the routine, but I made it my job to at least select fabric daily even if I didn't sew it on the day.
I am writing the date on the back of the squares and I don't cut the fabric away from behind the circle as some have told me that essentially weakens the quilt.......now don't all talk at once, I respect each and everyone of you and what ever method is best is the one you will swear by.....this is mine....smiley face....:-)...smiley face!
I have also managed to start another project that I was itching to try, the rope bowl.
This has been a whole lotta fun. You know all those slim strips of fabric that we get when we square up fabric before cutting? I saved these as they were often the full width of fabric, and then proceeded to wrap them around the clothes line rope. No particular pattern or design in mind, just wrapping the fabric around the rope.
Then I whacked it under the sewing machine, and with a zigzag stitch, (set to the widest setting) I coiled the rope and sewed it down.
There are many tutorials and youtube videos to illustrate. Its a little like a cross between potting and sewing, you angle the bowl up as you want to create the sides. You can do it gently and get a shallow dish, or more steeply and you get a bowl shape.
I am seeing more of these in my future, I have a thing for baskets and bowls. I also want to try other methods and styles. In fact once I did contemplate joining the basket weavers guild to learn more about that magical art.
You know what? Nothing to stop me now, I think I will do it!!!
And like my sewing, I am lagging a little behind but linking up now with Quiltyfolk for the February review.
I will not burden you with too many words, which is not my usual style, but I will just leave you with images of the interior of this glorious building.
I am glad I got to see this in person, if you love design and creativity this will not disappoint.
Detail of the space over a doorway.
From one side it looks muted, when you enter the room and look back the light coming through illuminates the whole beauty!
Light fitting
Tried to get a shot of the ceiling. It swirls towards the centre of the room like water going down a drain.
The finish on the columns is hand painted, made to look scaly.
The colours!!! Seriously I swoon when I remember how exquisite this place is.
A light fitting....I could see this in my home very easily.
Detail of the mosaic work....hours of artistry.
You can access the roof top terrace and see the capping tiles.
More chimney pots
These were covered in glass mosaic tiles, some neutral in colour others very bright.
The thing about this work is of course it wont fade in the harsh Spanish sun and doesnt need painting each year or so.
However I would imagine there would be some maintenance but these are nearly 100 years old!!!
There I spared you the hundreds of snaps and distilled it into the best ones.
I hope you enjoyed the beauty.
....well more like rummaging in my own kitchen bin.
As the title of my blog suggests I like scraps and they can be pretty small and still useful in my book.
My darling daughter has, over the years, discovered her sewing skills and with the explosion of pretty young things making craft groovy she is motoring along and sewing a great wardrobe of simple tops and pants for her working life.
This girl of mine has simple but expensive tastes and being single, not owning a car and still living at home as a student she can afford to indulge a little.
Thus she has purchased yardage of Liberty to make a few tops, and being an awesome person passes on her left over scraps to me so I can add them to my stash.
Imagine then my surprise when I open the cupboard to ditch the soggy teabag in the bin when I espy colourful fabric scraps IN THE BIN!!!!!!!
Luckily there were no soggy tealeaves or indescribable meats thrown on top of these precious pieces, and yes I may have still dived in and washed them later.
I retrieved the fabric and later told my daughter what I had done and "why did she throw such things away nilly willy?"
She sighed.....and said, "Mum you are officially bonkers!"
Yes, yes I am! But I am hooked now on small pieces of precious fabric, the possibilities, and Liberty scraps are worth the indignity of being discovered head down, bum up scrabbling around in ones own rubbish.......are you with me? Anyone?.....No just me then?
I mean anyone can see these are still usable.
And this is the standard that determines whether or not a piece is thrown out.
I collect them in a pretty glass dish.
...and this is one I prepared earlier.
A small purse made from 1/4 inch hexagons. Loved making it and I have several purse frames to make a few more.
This scrap quilt is on a slightly larger scale, its the 365 quilt led by Audrey from her blog "Quilty Folk"
I started on New Years Day, and this is the result for the month of January. So far so good.
I have found this routine has focused me and given me permission to be a "creative being" Its been an adjustment but I am getting more and more relaxed as I look forward to the next phase of life.
I am seeing both my Mother and my Father In Law dealing with their advancing years, and their examples have made me more determined to finally live life on my terms.
My Father In Law is a true example of grace and determination, he never moans but sees each step along the ageing process as a bit of a challenge. He recently had a bad fall and broke his hip and wrist, he was frail to begin with and we were very concerned as to how this would play out.
He is just getting on with it, he is almost energised by the rehabilitation, he knows he will never be the same but he does what is required with his diminished physical limits and still has a sharp and enquiring mind. A man I admire very much.
My mother on the other hand has become petty and very demanding, she is not above using guilt and manipulation to blame her ageing and ill health on others, especially her daughter.
Such a contrast!
So I will play with scraps and love what I do, I will seize my life and love deeply those who love back.....the rest can just please themselves.
Phew who knew a blog would be so cathartic?
Whoo..........this is a deep breath out, and Hmmm, this is a deep breath in, and I sit down and sew a little or a lot.
It is a very fortunate woman or man that has a hobby like ours. We are indeed blessed to have found that thing that settles us down and allows us to create.
With my retirement and my husbands closely following, there has been a period of adjustment. I was so happy to have him home, looking forward to spending more time together and enjoying each others company as we did when we first met.
Then a change sweeps through, our routines are disrupted, our roles are changed, I have more time and freedom, but I also have more time and freedom!!
It has taken me time to realise that I have this new situation, I seriously have felt a little lost as my role has changed, but I have a creative outlet and I am giving myself permission to get in there and create.
My mind continually tries to tell me how I have "wasted" the day.
I can go to paid employment, be bored and busy at the same time, yearn to be sewing, and yet because I now have no wage I deem myself to be "wasting" my time now.
Sanity is a fickle mistress.
The simple act though of going to my sewing room and selecting a circle for the 365 quilt has strangely opened a door. Its a routine, like work was, that sparks my desire to do more.
As I tick off that little task, I then go onto the next work in progress and then my head starts planning all those other quilts that I have wanted to start.
Suddenly I feel that I can do these things, I can start because I have more time and freedom than before.
I am also a little superstitious so please gremlins give me a break, don't fill my new found freedom with other responsibilities....yes I do like to worry too about things that may never actually happen the way I think they will.....so its Whooo ...a breath out and Hmmmmm....another breath in and I sit and sew.
This is a jar in which I place all my current small scraps
As it fills I decided to do as
Victoria Findlay-Wolf suggests in her book,
"Fifteen Minutes of Play"....and that is to play.
And this is the happy result. I have made new fabric from small pieces. I found that sewing it onto a paper foundation gave me direction and stability. I am planning to sew these with plain fabric pieces for one of my many scrap projects.
And this is what I do when I just feel like "wasting time"
So adjustments will continue as life continues, my husband and I are getting to enjoy having a lot more time together and he too is glad I have that hobby, then he is free to pursue his hobby.
No longer a worker bee, but now we can stop and smell a flower.
