Nosey Parker in the Neighborhood #4 Crafter`s Edition

It`s a couple of months since I linked up to Kat`s Nosey Parker in the Neighbourhood but here goes.  This month, it`s all about what crafts we get up to.

1)  What are your preferred crafts? Do you have one primary one that you do most of or do you dabble around in many different crafts? 

My creative outlets include blogging, bead jewelery making, photography and quilting. I always wanted to write a book but I now realize there`s little chance of that. However, I do like playing with words.  A year ago I started making jewelery using semi-precious stones and silver.  I love pearls and this is one of my favourite necklaces, which a friend commissioned me to make. It`s cultured round pearls and stick pearls and Bali silver.

I also love photography.  Living in Morocco is a photographer`s dream.  The light is beautiful and the subject matter is varied, colourful and never dull.  As the months get warmer, it becomes too hot to quilt and photography kind of takes over for a couple of months.

Wash Day in the Ourika Valley

Still life of an artichoke

 My creative focus at the moment is quilting which I love love love.

2)  What avenues inspire you most in your sewing/crafting that we might like to check out?


In anything I do, I`m completely self taught.  The internet and particularly blogs are a constant source of inspiration and I learn new things every day. There are way too many inspiring blogs to mention and flikr and pinterest can easily provide hours of inspiration. I love quilting books and this book and this book are on my wish list as improv.piecing is something I would love to learn more about.While I can`t get magazines here I have bought a few issues of Fat Quarterly and love it - it`s the best value e-zine out there.

3) Are you a one project at a time person or do you have "craft ADD" - OR are you somehow like me and have a combination of both?
 



I tend to be a finisher and certainly finish more quickly these days thanks to blogging, which is a great motivator as well as QALs, which I love. I seem to have found myself in 4 bees (how did that happen?) and as 4 sets of blocks a month is quite occupying as well as being in 2 swaps , I don`t have many WiPs at the moment.

Lark by Amy Butler

I recently whipped up my Lark quilt top but can`t progress this until I find the right backing fabric.  I never plan my quilts.  They kind of evolve.  So I never know what the backing or binding will be until the quilt top is finished.


4)  What is/has been your longest ever Work in Progress (WIP)?

Well that`s easy.  It`s the first quilt I ever made.

As I didn`t have a sewing machine, it was pieced, quilted and bound by hand.  My mum bought me a layer cake of Moda`s Arcadia in October 2009 and I finished the quilt in June 2011. It`s my son Zaki`s quilt.

Zaki`s quilt - finally finished!

5 ) What are some of your crafty projects that you've made recently (or not so recently is ok to) that you'd love us to see?

Well like Kat, I feel like I`m bombarding you with my makes every second so I`ve made you a mosaic of my favourites...well nearly everything I have ever made - all within the last 6 months because I`ve only been quilting seriously for that long!

 

 1. Lark Quilt Top, 2. Baby George`s Quilt, 3. Lucky Pieces Block, 4. Union Jack Quilt Sneeky Peek, 5. Central Park Quilt Top, 6. Duo QAL Quilt Back, 7. MCTR Front, 8. Blockade Block , 9. Ready for Binding (The front), 10. Gee`s Bend Inspired Mini Quilt, 11. Union Flag Cushion, 12. Across the Seas quilt - finished!, 13. Block for Annabel`s Quilt, 14. Quilted Amy Butler Disappearing 9 Patch Cushion Cover, 15. First Attempt at a Zippered Pouch, 16. DSCF9251

6) Do you have a piece of fabric or craft item of any sort with a story behind it that you'd like to share?

1. Union flag quilt, 2. Union flag quilt, 3. Union flag quilt, 4. Union flag quilt

This quilt is special because I was commissioned to make it by my friend Lisa for her daughter Leo...again it was made entirely by hand and took about 3 months with some fairly dense hand quilting (and I didn`t know about perle cotton then).  It wasn`t the first quilt I made (the second actually) but the first I finished! Quilting definitely got me out of a rut and has changed my day to day life - all because of 2 quilts made entirely by hand.  Now I have a machine...a new machine and things are a lot easier and a lot quicker!

Nosey Parker in the Neighborhood - Marrakech

Today I`m linking up with Kat`s Nosey Parker in the Neighborhood so that I can give you a little taster of where I live - go on, make yourselves at home and have a good snoop around.

Question 1: About my home...

About 9 and a half years ago, we moved to Marrakech from London where I was a partner in a law firm.  A complete turn around culturally and professionally.  We came here to set up our business - a B&B in the old town.  Yes, I`m a B&B landlady! I live here with my husband Youssef and our son Zaki.

Marrakech is in the N.African country of Morocco.  It`s the second largest city in Morocco with a population of just over 1 million.  It has an old walled city (the medina) and a new one, which was established by the French protectorate.  Marrakech has mild winters and very hot summers with no rain for 4 or 5 months and has an average of 10 hours of sunshine every day. Like Kat, we do a happy dance when it rains and take photos.

The view from our old house

Marrakech depends on tourism and every year almost 10 million visitors come here often staying in traditional houses (riads).  The place on everyone`s list to visit is the main square where you can see snake charmers, magicians, soothsayers and monkeys.

Question 2: What are the houses like in my area...

We live in a residential area in the city centre and here`s a photo of our street.  The Moroccans call these houses `villas` although they are not what I would call a villa as they are not free-standing. They are typically 3 or 4 floors high with a basement and maids` quarters (garconnier) at the top of the house. Our house is to the far left of the image - you can just see our front gate.  Opposite our house you can see the local corner shop (where the red `Coka` crates are) `hanout` where you can buy pretty much everything apart from fresh meat and vegetables.

Our house is on a corner. Here`s the neighbouring street at night.

In the old walled town, the streets are a tangle of traditional courtyard houses.  The houses look deceptively ordinary from the outside but once inside the rooms face onto a courtyard garden.

Question 3: Some of my favourite places...

One of my favourite places to visit is the Majorelle Gardens.  Until recently, we lived just around the corner from it and it was a great place to take my son as it`s fairly small and he can run around.  It`s a botanical garden owned until his death by Yves Saint Laurent.  The green plants work beautifully against the cobalt blue pots and tiles.

A wander round the souqs can be fun too although it gets busy at peak times and the vendors can get hassly.  They also speak good English now and were taught naughty expressions by that cheeky Jamie Oliver when he visited a year or so ago and I don`t appreciate the call of `fish and chips` as I pass by!

 

If I want to escape the city for a day then one of my favourite places to visit is the old Portuguese coastal town of Essaouira, put on the map by Jimmi Hendrix and now famous for its Gnaoua festival and surfing.

...or a trip up into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains where there are blue skies, verdant hills and red earth.  One of my favourite places to stop for a drink is Richard Branson`s Kasbah Tamadot where the views from the terrace are truly stunning.

Zaki and me October 2010

Question 4: How do most people travel around the city?

Don`t get me started on transport in this city so I`ll keep it brief. Marrakech has a pollution problem.  The main form of transport is a mix of scooters, cars and petit taxis, which are plentiful and cheap.  I drive here every day and it puts me in a bad bad mood.  No exception.  On a 10 minute car journey, I find I have an average of 4 -5 near misses. Trust me - I`ve counted and I consider myself a pretty good driver who drives defensively.  A more leisurely way to travel around the city is by caleche (horse carriage).

Questions 5: Is there a type of food Marrakech is famous for?

Yes, like the rest of Morocco it`s the tagine but there is a speciality common to the area and that`s the tangia. It`s always cooked by men.  In a pot, a mixture of meat, spices, preserved lemon and garlic is placed before the pot is sealed and left to cook in the ashes of the local bakery fire. Bakeries are usually next to the local hammam as the fire heats the water for that as well!

Hope you enjoyed your nose around.  Head over to Kat`s and have a snoop around other people`s neighbourhoods!