Tuesdays of Texture: Abra

By far the best way to cross from one side of Dubai Creek to the other is on one of the little passenger boats called abras (think motorised gondolas). This one was tied up on the Deira side.

abra

Tuesdays of Texture

Tuesdays of Texture: Singer

A few months ago Madame realised a lifelong ambition and acquired a vintage Singer sewing machine – similar to the one on which she herself originally learned to sew.  At the moment, it’s sitting in our entrance hall in front of a bright and cheerful quilt that hangs on the wall: one interesting texture set against another.

singer

Tuesdays of Texture Week 49

Tuesdays of Texture: Quilt

Last year, as a wedding present for our son and (now) daughter-in-law, Madame made a king-sized bed quilt, with most of the stitching done by her own fair hands. It took close to a full year to complete, and the last Swarovski crystal being stitched on just two days before the wedding. This is a work-in-progress image.

quilt

Tuesdays of Texture

Tuesdays of Texture: Papermaking

My first contribution to Tuesdays of Texture featured paper lanterns made by traditional methods at the Moulin du Got. This week I’ve gone back a few steps in the paper-making process to the stage where rags and other stuff are broken down and stirred, with this wooden paddle, into what can only be described as gunge. Like this:

papermaking

Tuesdays of Texture: Week 47

Tuesdays of Texture: Autumn Leaves

For my latest contribution to Narami’s Tuesday of Texture challenge at De Monte Y Mar, this is a photograph I took only last Sunday afternoon on a stroll around our local village. Plenty of textures here, as autumn leaves pile up on the tarmac against this old metal gate:

autumn-leaves

 

Tuesdays of Texture: Firepit

We’ve just spent a week in a holiday cottage in the still largely rural East Lothian region of Scotland. Although the weather wasn’t good enough (October? Scotland? I don’t think so) for us to use it, this firepit/barbecue area certainly offered a whole range of textures.

firepit

Tuesdays of Texture: Week 45

Toadstool or Mushroom?

For the latest iteration of Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – It’s All About Nature – I’ve chosen this toadstool (or is it a mushroom?) that I found growing by the side of the road near Chansigaud. In real life, it’s a creamy colour, but the monochrome brings out the texture (note especially the jagged edges) very well, I think.

nature

Tuesdays of Texture: Clogs

This image from the workshop of the local clogmaker in nearby Montrol-Sénard, a living museum of rural life, certainly displays some very interesting textures.

clogs

It resonates particularly for me, because what is now the entrance hall of our home was once the atelier of the local sabotier.

Although we have had it done up a bit:

clogs3-web

Tuesdays of Texture: Week 43

Tuesdays of Texture: Rust

These rusting chains and hoops hang over the disused well in the centre of the nearby village of Bonnefont. At a guess, the hoops once held together wooden buckets, which were lowered on the chains to collect water.

rust

Tuesdays of Texture Week 42

Tuesdays of Texture: Landing Stage

Staying on the island of Burano, where that church door from last week needs a lick of paint, is this little wooden stage that allows boat-owners to avoid getting their feet wet when boarding or disembarking from their vessel. I was struck by the contrast between the glassy (anti-texture?) water and the rough surface of the wood. Complementary colours, too.

jetty

Tuesdays of Texture: Week 41