It’s getting warmer
here but before the ice melted ice skating was enjoyed on this frozen river in the city centre.
Knitting
has become a new fascination for me as a way to explore colour combinations [thank you Kaffe Fassett] and I have discovered a local wool shop where the aunties who run it seem to know which ball of wool I want when I point and speak very rudimentary putonghua. They are no doubt bemused by the fact that I buy one ball of wool in each colour with no reference to type, thickness etc. Some images of knitting in Beijing…and thanks to Joe’s photos of the giant ball of wool xmas tree near Tiananmen Square I have at last made the link and see that it’s appropriate that I have taken up knitting in the year of the sheep!
A ceramic structure at a nearby historic park – the Temple of Heaven- and a luminous green foil car/tin can. Yes there’s a colour connection but so far I haven’t found shiny metallic fibre to knit with.
Spring Festival
is almost here – the local Hutong where we buy most of our veggies has emptied out considerably, many of the usual stalls and restaurants have already closed a week before the event. We have had some debate around whether it’s the year of the goat or the sheep as the word in Chinese is the same, no consensus has yet emerged amongst those whose opinion we’ve sought. There are posters appearing near our flat warning of the dangers of fireworks whilst at the same time a large stall selling fireworks has been erected outside the Workers’ Stadium. More to come on this subject in the next blog.
The first image below is of Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, showing sheep/goats [lama?] or possibly recycled horses from last New Year’s traffic island display and the second gives a taste of red lanterns in Beijing creating a sense of anticipation for the festivities ahead.
rachelceramics 