Deck the halls with bows and pom-poms.

Facebook is full of pictures of well decorated Christmas trees. We don't have a tree because all our decorations are in our village house storeroom. I can't get to them as our car is in the repair shop. (I hope whoever it was who smashed the back bumper and drove off is being kept awake at night by pangs of guilt).  As a token decoration I have combined my burgeoning skills in crochet, which I rediscovered last Friday after a gap of 25 years, and pop-pom making (probably about 45 years since I practised this craft) and made myself an indoor wreath, so the house is not a completely Xmas-free zone.
Bodrum is also gearing itself up for Christmas. I stocked up with crackers at the first Christmas market and on Friday we attended the annual Christmas Carols.  There are plenty more markets, dinners and carols to come, but the last Friday's event is the most important one for long-term immigrants as it has been going for enough years to be a tradition. Many of us can still remember the first one and the hours of rehearsals we put in practicing carols.

Geoff, Lon and the Band - Friday 12th Dec 2014

Lon, Geoff and carol singers (my daughter in blue) Dec 1998

My daughter and Geoff 2014

I move to reintroduce the rehearsals for next year's concert as the audience were all struggling to be heard, despite having our vocal cords lubricated with mulled wine, or maybe it's just the years catching up with us.

Cream Teas and Baskets.

Cast a quick glance over these photos and I think you'll agree that the overall impression is of people having a good time.  This is why I count myself lucky to be a member of Bodrum's  H3A; a group of residents whose main aim is continuous enjoyable education. This learning can take the form of lecturers, travel, wine tasting, art classes, reading groups, opera visits, singing, creative writing, backgammon tournaments and more.  They are ever open to new experiences.

Following my two basket-making lessons in the summer, I hoped the group would be interested in a trip to our village to watch Raşit in action and on Sunday the idea came to fruition with 32 H3A members meeting on my terrace to hear a bit about our village's fight with the mining/cement company, walk along the edge of the forest to enjoy the view of the agricultural plain and watch Raşit make a start on a basket.

Helena modelling a finger protector/extender used when the harvest was literally brought in by hand. 

Raşit had tidied up his long defunct teahouse especially for the occasion and now finds he has a perfect workshop which may well end up as a village craft centre. There is already talk of some weaving  and wooden spoon turning afternoons in the Spring.

After witnessing a Turkish traditional craft, we finished with time-honoured British one - A cream tea.

Those not familiar with the concept were relieved to find that the cream went on the scones - they had been anticipating it going in the tea!

From Bush to Basket

Baskets Galore

http://www.hero3a.com/about-h3a/

Baskets galore

We had another visit from the Raşit the basket weaver. Again he was already well into production on our terrace when we woke up.

I really liked this shape mid-construction and thought it would be nice to have a large handle. 

His grandson came along this time to do the leaf stripping but wasn't a very willing apprentice. 

Raşit sells his wares in Bodrum at the Friday market so he works through the week to have 6 or 7 completed baskets ready to offer for sale. 

He's been branching (!) out with new designs this month but hasn't completely abandoned the traditional.  I've got my eye on this splendid olive pickers basket. 

From Bush to Basket

I finished Thursday's post with a picture of two baskets woven by our friend, Raşit. While I was in Greece, he'd kindly brought over a large supply of fresh vegetables from his garden to make sure my husband wasn't starving in my absence and over a tea or two, Teo and he had perused some art and craft catalogues to get ideas for basket designs.  He'd just made these two out of fresh olive branches and wanted our opinion.  Explaining the concept of "less is more" we got him to agree to ditch the plastic beads and I was keen for him to describe the weaving process. Now I am back in the land of "no problem - everything is possible",  I shouldn't have been surprised when Raşit said he would be at our house in the morning to show me how it is done. 

By the time we surfaced the next day, Raşit was installed on our terrace having collected his raw material and stripped it of leaves.  I just had time to throw on some clothes and grab my camera to record the first incisions.

It soon became obvious that two hands are not sufficient for the initial stages and at least one foot has to join in.

Jake couldn't believe his eyes as visitors don't usually turn up with an armful of sticks. Luckily for our basket, he was content with stealing just two.

I had to be content with watching and taking photos as having a go myself wasn't an option but as the basket took shape I was already imagining myself weaving garden chairs, bird cages,  trellis work and  and plant holders.

I can't wait to get started on my own baskets but as I'm off to Greece again on Wednesday, I'll have to be patient until September. 

In less than 3 hours, this bush was converted to this fruit bowl which is sitting proud on my dining table. 

Bodrum's Creative Ladies.

If you are in Bodrum on the first Wednesday of a month, head down to the harbour to find an array of stalls selling crafts, jewellery, clothes, preserves, baking and much more, produced by the ladies of Bodrum.  In an initiative to give women an outlet for their home-made crafts, the town council provides tables and chairs along the road to the marina and the stalls are (wo)manned for the whole day.

Thirty years ago,  most of the sewing and weaving in a household was destined for a daughter's çeyiz, (dowry trunk), nowadays these skills can be put to economic use. What I really like about this market is that all the ladies are busy knitting, sewing or beading as they wait for customers so there is no doubt that they are selling what they have produced themselves. 

The jewellery on display is all extremely innovative and attractive. 

I was especially taken with this table; the smiling smallholder was wearing one of her own designs, a necklace made up of tiny beads to resemble Bodrum's ubiquitous bougainvillea, 

and at under 20TL per necklace, I'm sure I'll be back on the first Wednesday in April to stock up the present drawer. 

From Rags to Riches

One rainy Sunday in November 2010, I spent a very pleasant afternoon in Mayfield Scout and Guide hut learning how to make rag rugs.  If a square of hessian, old tee-shirts, sharp scissors, a carpet hook and a bit of wood with a groove in it  were all it took to produce the masterpieces that our teacher, Debbie,  pulled out of her carpet bags, then I was in. After endless cutting, wrapping, cutting again, prodding and pulling, that afternoon we each managed to produce a small cushion cover at the end of the 5 hour session. I was inspired and vowed to create a masterpiece, an heirloom for my daughter's bedroom.  I started that week and then.....
Fast forward 26 months:  My daughter asks if we have any spare rugs for her small apartment.  A great guilt washes over me. Her "heirloom" lies abandoned and unfinished in my "craft box." (Inverted commas very necessary in that last sentence.)  Luckily, the whole caboodle had been shipped over from England, and my carpet hook and dressmaker's scissors are still shiny from non-use.  I've spent every spare moment in the last two weeks cutting, wrapping,  pulling etc and I can now shine my halo and announce that  the slightly wonky rug is finished.  The pattern is not what I originally envisaged because I ran out of old sky blue and pink tee-shirts, but have made use of tracksuit bottoms, pyjamas, Christmas ribbon and an old Santa suit.  In a country of carpets, this may not seem a very accomplished offering but I FINISHED IT.

Debbie Siniska's Rag Rug Art