A City Break in Madrid (well, near Madrid!)

2013 was not all bad, some good things happened too! In September The description of the hotel said that it was located close to the historic centre with many restaurants, cafés and bars nearby. And so it was – just not close to the historic centre of Madrid! As it turned out this was a happy accident because Alcalá de Henares (Citadel on the river Henares), provided a lovely setting for a late summer mini break.

Calle Major, Alcalá de Henares

The historic centre of Alcalá is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and justifiably so. The area surrounding Cervantes Square has been largely preserved. The main street, Calle Major, is the longest porticoed street in Spain and remains essentially medieval even though it houses buildings constructed anywhere between the 1st and the 19th centuries. One house of particular interest is the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, author of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. Of course, I have heard of Don Quixote but did not know the name of the author much less where he was born and we probably would have walked right past the pretty 16th century house without a second glance had it not been for two brass statues on a bench outside. Even before we noticed the brass book on the bench we had commented that one of them looked like Don Quixote. The house, an intriguing mixture of Roman design and Moorish decoration, was more of a museum to 16th century living but it did contain a collection of Don Quixote works translated into various languages.

Don Quixote statue

Alcalá also proved to be a good base for visiting Madrid (our intended destination). The local bus service was frequent, reliable and very reasonably priced. The bus journey took a little over 30 minutes each way. We actually spent quite a lot of time sitting on buses; in addition to visiting Madrid twice, we transferred to and from the airport on the bus and toured Madrid on the Hop-on, Hop off Tour Bus. There were two separate tour routes; we purchased a two day ticket and did Route 1 one day and Route 2 the next (we’re adventurous like that!).

When not sitting on buses, we spent much of our time sitting at the afore-mentioned restaurants, cafés and bars. Food and drink was predictably expensive in Madrid but was much more reasonably priced in Alcalá. Regardless of expense I could not resist the culinary delights on offer at Madrid’s answer to Oxford’s Covered Market, Mercardo de San Miguel. The cast iron and glass building is a visual feast as well as a Smörgåsbord of tasty morsels and I wish I had foregone breakfast that day so that I could have sampled more.

Unlike most of our holidays, where we rush around trying to see and do as much as possible, there was something about Alcalá that compelled us to just relax and take it easy. Or maybe it was the unseasonably warm sunshine … or the abundance of good food … or the abundance of good wine!

Meet the Lodgers

This is a post that I had not anticipated writing. I have two new men in my life!

I grew up with dogs and have always considered myself a doggy person. When I first moved in with Jon he had a cat – a very charming tom called Tom! He died of old age on 7 July 2005, the day of the London bombings. A couple of years before Tom died we had acquired a second cat. It was not intentional. A girlfriend of my eldest stepson came to stay for a night or two while she looked for somewhere more permanent to live. Among the baggage she brought with her was a small bundle of fur called Fluppet. The girlfriend ended up staying for about a year. When she left she left Fluppet behind and her name changed to Tinkerbelle.

Tinkerbelle

In June 2012 I noticed a slight swelling on her jaw and over the next week or so it got bigger. When I took her to the vet, I was expecting them to say she had an abscess but they said she had a cancerous tumour. It turned out to be a very aggressive tumour that grew rapidly. She was a very young cat when she came to live with us and I estimate that she was only 10 years old when she died 10 weeks later. The last couple of weeks, and especially the last weekend, were traumatic. She could no longer close her mouth and could only eat if I hand fed her, pushing soft food beyond the lump. She dribbled continuously and the fur on her throat and chest became sticky and matted. And, obviously, she lost a lot of weight. She looked frightful but, apart from the lump, she remained healthy and lively right up to the last weekend.

We were not sure if we wanted to get another pet but decided we would definitely not get one immediately. Every so often I would browse the websites of local cat sanctuaries but always convinced myself that I didn’t want another cat. I think I knew I was kidding myself and had subconsciously written a check list of what I was looking for. I wanted 2 cats, preferably two that needed to be re-homed together. I didn’t want kittens but nor did I want them to be too old, somewhere between 6 months and 3 years would be ideal. I wanted boys and they had to be house trained. And I didn’t want black and white cats – most of the cats in the neighbourhood are black and white and I wanted something different. It had been easy to tell myself I didn’t want another cat because nothing that fit my criteria came up. And then suddenly two pairs of cats came up on the same day. Two days later we went to meet them.

The first two, Jack and Max, were very much like Tinkerbelle, long paired and beautiful. They were 18 month old brothers. Their owner had died and they had been living with her nephew who was not interested in them. When he took them to the sanctuary they were slightly traumatised and rather shy. We thought that they would be quite content living in our quite household.

The other two were completely different - short haired, lively and inquisitive. Although they came as a pair, they are not brothers. One is 18 months old, the other 10-12 months old. We thought that they would enjoy our garden and the neighbouring school grounds.

I was totally torn between them, but in the end we decided to offer Fizzy and Fuzzy a home and they seem to be very happy with that arrangement. They will get new names but for now they are called The Boys. And I am really enjoying having them around (even though they are seriously eating into my stitching time!)

The Boys

P.S. Jack and Max were re-homed the same day and are reported to have settled in nicely.

Apologies for Absence

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog and there are two main reasons for that. Firstly, the end of 2013 got a little bit crazy – things going on at work; things going on at home. Some of it was planned and pleasant; we finally got around to completing the patio and creating a pond in our back garden. (With the rain we have had in the past weeks the entire garden is beginning to look like a bog and the pond seems like an unnecessary addition!) Some of it was unplanned and unwelcome. Most of it was trivial and taken on its own would not have mattered in the least but combined they robbed me of a great deal of time and energy. We have had problems with our plumbing and electricity and a whole catalogue of problems with cars. Annoying, inconvenient and costly but none of it insurmountable. But a couple of things have been more serious and caused me some distress. We have been through a major restructuring at work. Initially, I did not know if I would be amongst those that were made redundant. Fortunately, I was not but it was stressful waiting to find out who would be affected and upsetting to say good bye to friends and colleagues. Things are beginning to settle down now but we are still trying to work out how we are going to organise ourselves with a 30% reduction in staff.

I am hoping that a new year will bring a change in fortunes and the run of bad luck is over. It hasn’t actually started out that way - my stepson’s car has now broken down and needs a major repair and another potential problem is looming. Still, I mustn’t complain, many parts of Oxford have been flooded and we have been spared that nightmare; no one was hurt or injured!

Now that I have a bit more time and energy, I feel inclined to start blogging again but this is where I am hamstrung by a second obstacle. I like to write things in chronological order but, at the moment I don’t feel inclined to write about things that happened 6 months ago. I want to write about things that are more current and seem more relevant. This is creating a mental road block and preventing me from writing anything at all. I’ve been waiting, hoping that the urge to write will return and then I will produce a steam of blog posts in one creative outburst. It hasn’t happened – except that I have spent the past couple of evenings writing an article for our company newsletter and now this. Maybe, just maybe, these are the first drops that will lead to a flood.

In order to overcome my mental obstacle I have decided to give myself permission to ignore my self-imposed constraint and write ‘out of order’, even to leave things out if I don’t find the inspiration to blog about them! My next few blog posts, if I do indeed get around to writing them, will be RANDOM. Those who know me well, will know just how radical that is!

Happy New Year.

Stitch with Your Heart

Time and time again, Kusano-senei, implored us to stitch with our hearts. This was not a new concept to us.

Nuido is the name for the form of Japanese embroidery taught under the auspices of the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta. The word Nuido is made up of two parts; Nui is the Japanese word for embroidery (also known as shishu), and Do refers to the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge. Do also refers to the development of the spiritual components of the art of Nuido. We are taught that Nuido has three aspects:

• Rationality - the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge
• Sensitivity - the development of artistic sensitivity and awareness
• Spirituality - understanding the spiritual aspects of shishu

I can see how this relates to the St Francis of Assisi quote:

• He who works with his hands is a labourer. (Rationality)
• He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. (Sensitivity)
• He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. (Spirituality)

I have done needlework from an early age. At first I learned by following the instructions in kits or designs printed in magazines. I was working mainly with my hands. In 2005, when I began to learn Japanese embroidery I was very aware that I was stitching with my hands and my head, I had to really concentrate on learning how to handle the silk and the various techniques. The first time I was consciously aware of stitching with my heart was while stitching Flutterbies for my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary. Now, whenever I sit down at my frame, the whole of me is present: my hands; my head; my heart. If my heart is not in it, I stop and come back to it another time. I still consider embroidery to be my hobby, something I do for pleasure and relaxation, but I have also come to think of my embroidery as my art, something I put my heart and soul into.

© Shizuka Kusano/Carol-Anne Conway

The hands are the exit of the spirit

- Iwao Saito, late master of Kurenia Kia embroidery center

Happy Stitching

A Very Special Petal

With every student stitching a different design Kusano-sensei, Watakabe-san and Ishii-san worked hard to ensure that we all knew how to execute the various techniques on our own piece.

The cherry blossoms on my piece are worked in long and short stitch. Kusano-sensei indicated that she would like me to stitch one of these petals first. Did she know how I have struggled with this technique? Once I had transferred the design to the fabric and twisted some silks, Ishii-san demonstrated how to do the first row of long and short stitch. She began in the centre of the petal and stitched to towards the right. When she stitched the right hand section, she invited me to stitch the left hand section of the same petal.

When I had completed the left had section, Watakabe-san demonstrated how to stitch the next rows in long and short stitch. Again, she began at the centre and stitched the right hand section then invited me to stitch the left had section.

When that was done, Kusano-sensei demonstrated how to stitch the last rows of long and short stitch and again she stitched the right hand section leaving me to complete the left had section.

© Shizuka Kusano/Carol-Anne Conway

As a result I have a very special reminder of the class (as if I needed one) - one petal stitched by Kusano-sensei, Watakabe-san, Ishii-san and myself.

Happy Stitching

A Very Special Class

It is a long drive from Manchester to Edinburgh but in May 2011 we thought it was worth the trip to see Kusano-san’s embroidery. By the time we had travelled there and back we were very tired but still on a high from the wonderful work we had seen. When Kusano-san heard that some UK students of Japanese embroidery would be visiting the exhibition, she arranged to be there to meet us. As much as we wanted to know about her work, she wanted to know about us and why we were learning JE. She is a very warm and charming person and we all felt very inspired by her and her beautiful designs.

When we returned to Manchester, tired but still on a high, Jane said if we had found an hour in Kusano-san’s company such an inspiration, imagine how it would be to take a class with her. I think we all went to bed and dreamt of such an opportunity.

Well, it seems that dreams can come true. At the end of June, Kusano-sensei returned to the UK to exhibit her work and teach a five day Special Class in Ferndown. And it truly was a special class. Kusano-sensei designed 24 unique designs, one for each student. We were given a choice of designs ahead of the class and asked to submit our first, second, third choices. All of the designs were so lovely, I would have been happy with any one of them but I was lucky enough to get my first choice, New Moon and Cherry Blossom.

Shizuka Kusano

Kusano-sensei brought with her a selection of Kimono, obi, tapestries and other item for the exhibition. Some I had seen before in Edinburgh but there was also a selection of new work that I have not seen before. The exhibition was set up in the very room where the course took place so during class we were surrounded by beautiful embroideries.

Watakabe-san

Throughout the week, we covered most of the techniques JEC students are familiar and learnt some slight variations on the methods we already knew. Every day Kusano-sensei delivered one or more short lecture and gave several demonstrations to the entire class. Throughout the day Kusano-sensei and her two delightful assistants, Watakabe-san and Ishii-san, worked tirelessly giving individual demonstrations and guidance to each student.

Ishii-san

If I had imagined that taking a class with Kusano-senei would be wonderful then the reality far surpassed my imagination. I learnt a great deal in practical terms but I gained something quite unexpected from Kusano-sensei’s gentle but enthusiastic encouragement. Kusano-senei made me feel like an artist.

"He who works with his hands is a labourer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist."

- St. Francis of Assisi

Class of 2013

Happy Stitching

Flower Circle – A Circle of Friends

It seemed to me that the Flower Circle was a quick project. In terms of time on the frame, for me at least, it was a quick project. My Japanese embroideries are usually on the frame for a year or more; this piece was on the frame for a mere 2 months and 4 days! So I was somewhat surprised when I totalled my time sheet to find that I had put in 74 hours of stitching. That just shows how 15 minutes here and there, and an hour or two at the weekend can add up!

© Shizuka Kusano/Carol-Anne Conway

The Flower Circle was also stitched by several others and the completed pieces were displayed together in the same room as the recent exhibition of Kusano-san’s work in Ferndown. Since I began learning Japanese embroidery in 2005, the stitchers of those other versions have become some of my dearest friends. We have spent many pleasant hours together; stitching, chatting, pawing over books and the internet, and admiring each other’s work.

© Shizuka Kusano/Carol-Anne Conway

When I returned home with my Flower Circle, it occurred to me that the Flower Circle reminds me of the friends I have made through Japanese embroidery. Although unique and individual, like the flowers themselves we all have one thing in common – our love of Japanese embroidery. Within the circle one flower might be closer to some than others, and some even overlap. Our group is like that, because of proximity or other interests, one person might be more closely associated with another but sometimes more, or all, of us are able to come together. And sometimes life might mean we do not have as much time for Japanese embroidery and our friends as we might like and we fade into the background like my purple flower. But a circle is an amazing thing. It is eternal with no beginning and no end. And made of the right stuff a circle is very hard to break, put under pressure and it may bend and distort but it remains intact.

© Shizuka Kusano/Carol-Anne Conway

I have decided to rename my Flower Circle "A Circle of Friends".

Happy Stitching