July’s blanket: A white rabbit, Venice,brocade and Arlecchino…..
July is already here!!! and to quote a very special white rabbit from one of my favorite books, ‘Alice in Wonderland’:
“the hurrier a go the behinder I get”!!
Besides me chasing my tail for the past few weeks trying to fit everything in , Alice in wonderland’s little white rabbit is not just going to remind me that I seem to be always behind with things, his tabard with the playing cards, is also going to be one of the sources of inspiration for my July blanket.
The July blanket is also a place that is very dear to me and where I have lived for 7 years while studying Architecture…
VENICE !
I know, how lucky is that?? I loved every single minute of those 7 years!
There are so many things I love about Venice, to fill several blog entries, but for today I m going to focus on colors…( just for a change!) I am going to show you what has inspired not only the palette for July’s blanket but also the pattern too.
So where to start….some shots of fabrics, buildings, interiors… a riot of warm colors that summarize Venice for me…
how about the ‘coral room’ at Palazzo Brandolini,
or the interiors with their brocade’s dressed columns of St Brigida Church…
Some amazing fabrics… Rubelli’s ‘ silk brocade with strawberries’
When coming to fabrics Venice for me is Rubelli and Mariano Fortuny….
From the historic Venice location of Palazzo Corner Spinelli , Rubelli , a 200 year old textile company, produces in their own weaving mills, an extraordinary quality of damask, silk, two-pile velvet, soprarizzo, lampas, and brocade. they also have very modern and contemporary designs but what I am focusing on, is their traditional cloths.
and with Rubelli I also have to mention Mariano Fortuny.
Fortuny was a talented artist with a passion for textiles.
He was an extraordinary man, an inventor, painter, sculptor, photographer, he was interested in architecture, and theater staging and lighting. But most of all Fortuny was a fashion designer and Palazzo Fortuny is the place where this extraordinary eclectic artist lived and worked and it is now a Museum well worth a visit.
Fortuny ‘s dresses were so legendary that if you like Proust you will remember Albertine been bribed to stay by buying her Fortuny gowns that “swarmed with Arabic ornaments, like the Venetian palaces hidden like sultanas behind a screen of pierced stone.”
When it came to fabrics and fashion, he not only created extraordinary garments but he also manufactured his own dyes and pigments for his fabrics, with these dyes he began printing on velvets and silks and dyed them using a press that he invented with wooden blocks that he engraved the pattern onto. His dresses are seen as fine works of art today and many survive, in museums and many people’s personal collections.
Well, what can I say?, every corner of Venice is truly remarkable
to go back to the blanket now can you see where the colors come from….and the shape of the pattern?
the shape of the pattern is not only from the playing cards’ tabard of the white rabbit , it is also from the outfit of a very famous character of ‘la Commedia dell’Arte’ : Arlecchino ( Harlequin)
here a bit more of ‘Venice’…
Guess is enough for today, I m going and see how I assemble this little blanket of mine….
happy crocheting !
Lucia xxx
Oh, those are MY COLOURS, Lucia. And, I guess, the straightforward pattern is good for a change, after those wonderfully intricate grannies and blankets over the last months.
You know, you made me heartskippingly happy after an exhausting working week. That was JUST what I needed right now. THANK YOU AS ALWAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will toast to you tonight from halfway between Venice and Scotland! … Well, Munich may not be exactly half way 😉 Still, HOORAYY to you Lucia.
thank you Ingeborg!
well, Munich is exactly 5 hours drive from my parent’s house in northern Italy! I know that because every time I come down with the car from Scotland I always stop both ways in Munich! Bavaria is a unique region and Munich is my favorite German city.normally I come every year during the summer. this year I am flying because it is just Olympia and I and we are away for a shorter period but next time I am passing by I will let you know.
and this is going to be a much easier blanket indeed so Prost! Ingeborg xxx
oh please, let me know when you are around. I would feel so honoured to meet you in person. – No pressure, though!
Wow! Another brilliant design. I saw the Kahlo blanket that you re-coloured for Janie Crow at the weekend. It was hanging on the wall in a marquee at Fibre East – wonderful! You are such a talented lady and crocheter (is that even a word!?). Do keep on producing, I enjoy your blog posts so much and always read with great interest.
Beautiful colour combinations. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.