Winter sun

 In a deviation from our normal programming, we flew to Paphos in Cyprus for a week of winter sun recently. Right up until we were sitting on the plane, I didn't really think we were going, because there had been so many hoops to jump through: pre-departure testing and certificates, having to get an entry pass for Cyprus, getting up at 3am to travel to Luton airport then finding out the M1 was closed so we had to travel entirely by secondary roads, would the pre-purchased car park work, would we have the right paperwork to check in, etc. etc.  As you can likely tell, I am a worrier and tend to obsess a bit about these sorts of things.  I had also hard-copy printed all our certificates and paperwork for reassurance while feeling like a dinosaur.  But I felt like a vindicated and validated dinosaur watching the yoof holding up the queue for 10 minutes scrolling through their phones trying to find their various certificates, or in Cyprus getting put to one side because their phone had run out of charge so they couldn't show their entry certificate, or even on the return journey hearing the woman at the next desk who had no idea she needed to complete the UK Passenger Locator Form to get back into the country (although how she managed that I don't know since Easyjet had sent me daily texts and emails about all the paperwork to the point of being annoying).

Anyway, we made it there and enjoyed a very chilled week of blue skies, moderate sunshine (highs of 16C but the warm sun made it shorts weather all week for DH), far too much good food, and lots of strolling and investigating the various archeological sites in Paphos.  To DH's disappointment, Paphos is fully anglicised: all the signs are in English, English menus, almost everyone speaks fluent English, there was even an English tearoom that we visited a few times. Apparently it is a prime destination for English expats as well as UK holidaymakers. But it made it very easy, and we also had a coach trip one day into the interior to see a bit more of the authentic Cyprus.  

In terms of COVID, everything was much stricter and better managed in Cyprus.  Masks are mandatory in any indoor public space (including hotels and shops), you have to show your entry certificate (which confirms your vaccination status) or a vaccination certificate to get into any larger shop, restaurant or mall; our hotel greeted us at the restaurant with sanitiser every meal and there were disposable plastic gloves for handling buffet utensils; even our bus tour required full masks all day and a vaccination certificate.  DH and I are doing daily tests since our return just in case - but so far reassuring negative.

In terms of textiles and needlework, I didn't see very much around where we went.  I made the mistake of going into one 'traditional embroidery' shop in Paphos town, which rapidly turned into a hostage situation as the insistent shopkeeper showed me a succession of hideous Made in China machine-embroidered table cloths with crudely crocheted borders.  I had to buy a Christmas doiley just to get out of there.

There is a type of traditional Cyprus weaving using coloured threads and floats to create motifs.  I saw a much-damaged traditional loom in our hotel being used as interior decor, and also another loom at the Paphos Ethnographic Museum where I took this picture of a traditional cloth.  But you didn't seem to be able to buy any examples in any of the souvenir shops.

Much more interesting was a traditional tourist shop in the village of Omodos, where this lady was creating needlelace mats using a single needle and a thicker cotton thread. I looked this up when I got home and it may have been Pipilla Lace, although her examples were more simplistic. She was trying to explain to me when she saw that I was genuinely interested, but unfortunately she didn't speak English and my Greek is non-existent.

I bought a small mat from her for 5 euros, and a tatted lavender sachet also for 5 euros.  I'm not sure if she made the tatting or not, but I wanted to give something back for her patient demonstration and letting me take photos.

All the souvenir shops in Paphos that we went into featured the most appalling tat, so I ended up only buying a few coasters: one in fused glass from a gift shop in the old town, and two emulating Ottoman tile designs. Between the pandemic and it being off-season, a lot of shops and restaurants were closed and the town was pretty quiet.  It was too cold to swim in either the sea or the outdoor unheated pools at our hotel, but we enjoyed the indoor heated pool several times and sitting out on the sunny terrace on a lounger.

So not a lot of crafting going on this week, although I did start knitting a garter stitch baby jacket on the plane in red cotton yarn.  When I got back, waiting in the post were two sewing-themed USB sticks that I bought on Amazon after seeing them on a papercrafting Youtube video. I'm going to use one of them for transferring designs upstairs to my Brother ScanNCut.

Since getting home, I've finished off the Hinterland linen dress.  It turned out fairly well, and should be a nice comfy dress or tunic-over-leggings once the weather warms up a bit.  I will make the bust darts a bit shorter if I ever make it again. This is sewn in an Eco-washed linen I bought from Fabric Godmother, using the Hinterland pattern (modified) from Sew Liberated. It has two comfy side pockets and I added a purely decorative double breast pocket.  I had to modify the bust dart placement as I am short-waisted and wide-waisted, and do a full bicep adjustment to the sleeves. I also shortened the skirt. Because it was linen, I sewed all the seams as either felled seams or French seams apart from the armhole which I overlocked.

And now we are home, where the big news is that DS has found a flat he wants to move into with his girlfriend next month.  If it all goes ahead, we will become belated empty nesters in April.  I'm excited for him but obviously sad at the same time.  We've been so lucky to have him home during the pandemic and to know he is safe.  Plus he has been sharing the cooking with me which has been brilliant, I'm not looking forward to returning to being a fulltime chef. The house will seem very quiet without him particularly when DH is working in his attic space.  This will however free up our dining room so I could potentially set my quilting frame up and tackle my mountain of quilt tops. We'll see.  It needs to be done but it is my least favourite part of the quilting process.