Our Sunny Uzbekistan

I often hear this phrase: it is a very popular cliche used to describe our country. It can be often heard in opening remarks at conferences or workshops. 'The people of our sunny country are very kind and hospitable...' - and this is true.

And it is also true that our country is very sunny indeed, and sometimes I think we could use some rain and clouds. Right now it is 5:30pm, and it is still 100F (38C) outside. Chance of rain: 0%. Thank you for your frankness and openness, weather.com.

This morning I went to the bazaar to look for vintage silk ikat fabrics for our Etsy shop and was close to dying right there. You could cook pancakes on the pavement. (However I found some lovely pieces, so I did not suffer in vain).

But it is just too hot and there is no hope of rain or cold wind, alas. All I can do now is stay under the AC and look longingly at something cold and wet, like these pictures of grass with water drops I made this spring.

The Iron Dragon's Daughter and Her Treasures

This book by Michael Swanwick is one of my favorites ever. I tried to recreate the atmosphere to the extent possible within the limits of a team Treasury (it is for the Upcyclers' Team, and all items are tagged 'teamupcyclers'). I enjoyed every moment of working on it.

'The Iron Dragon's Daughter' by EugenieM

This book by Michael Swanwick is one of my favorites. I tried to recreate the atmosphere to the extent possible within the limits of a team Treasury.

Vinegar Bottle and Carb... mattjohnsonde... $480.00	mens steampunk tie clip... DaysLongGone $76.00	Swarovski Crystal Ring ... BreatheCoutur... $40.00	Black Earring Genie - C... TheWoodenBee $15.75
Clockpunk Steampunk Rev... smithfitsbaza... $45.00	Dryad Spirit Art Doll C... DivineRagz $75.00	Vintage Wall Hanging Vi... RinnovatoVint... $28.00	Sea Shells - 10 count d... IdleHandsYarn... $3.95
Vintage Antique Book Fr... ourchildrense... $7.75	Two-gether 4-Ever Mini ... Collagical $8.00	Bracelets Green Destash mellostuff $7.00	SALE Hand forged high c... razorns $99.00
Dancing the Moon Down ... FyreShadow $200.00	Steampunk Key - Deerski... Keytiques $25.00	Rue upcycled mini noteb... NaturallyHear... $5.50	Delicate sea glass earr... NorthCoastBea... $18.00

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Recycle, reuse, upcycle and do not waste - the principle to be followed if we want to survive. We cannot consume endlessly; we must learn to save and give away. I like the Team for promoting this very principle.We, too, offer upcycled items and use vintage fabrics. Not only they are beautiful, but also unique and using them means you do not put additional burden on natural resources.

Vintage Books: A Childhood Remembered

Today I was lucky to buy a bundle of vintage children's books. All of them are in excellent condition and with lovely pictures.

One of the books is Heksen en zo (Witches and such) by Annie M.G. Schmidt, which has amazing pictures. I have never seen this book before. Just look, it is sheer magic!

Source of the scans: http://www.igrateney.ru/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=23981

I have not started reading it yet, but I am looking forward to it.

The second book I am especially happy about is The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell. This one we had as children, and then my younger brother left it in the taxi. My heart was broken! I have been looking for it for a while and how I have my own copy. 

I have looked at the English versions of this book in online bokstores, and some of them are really nice. But of course I wanted to have the one I had as a child, and now it is here!

The Russian edition has lovely pictures showing a very special magical world with amazing mythical creatures, all with their own personalities. The atmosphere in the pictures is very cozy, and even monsters do not look threatening despite their impressive claws and breathing fire. However I think my 6-year-old will be the best judge to decide whether they are scary or not. 

The girl heroine, Penelope, is pretty without resembling Barbie, and the boys are very nice, and all the beasts are charming. The Magician has mimics exactly like one of my school teachers, and it gives me additional pleasure making him even more alive and special to me.

Below you can see the map of the magic world followed by pictures of some of the lovely characters.

Source of the scans: http://kidpix.livejournal.com/278474.html

The remaining books are by Russian writers. Some of them boast pictures by Kalinovski, a great book artist, and they deserve a separate post. Now I will go back to reading - I am going to lie on my bed with The Talking Parcel and a big red apple. As an added benefit, I hope these books will help me with ideas for Halloween - we need to think of what to offer in our Etsy shop.

Mulberry Paper: My Latest Treasury

Today I discovered mulberry paper: I never heard about it before. I was browsing blogs and saw this post about a giveaway. I do not wear hairpins, but the flowers were lovely, so I decided to do a little research.

I found that 'mulberry paper' is something I always knew as "rice paper', and it was named that because it was used to wrap rice. It is made from mulberry bark tree, and less commonly from rice straw. I did not know that: I thought rice paper was made of rice straw only and took its name from it.

It is used to make beautiful and quite sturdy things such as flowers, lights, lampshades, stationery, etc. I searched through Etsy and made a Treasury consisting solely of mulberry paper items. A picture is worth a thousand words.

'Mulberry Paper Gifts' by EugenieM

Set of Four Peach Punch... SpearmintAndT... $11.00	10 Handmade Pale Orange... NineGiftShop $4.65	Green and Pink Flowered... TeagansTotSho... $7.95	Cute Mulberry Paper Not... ThaiCharm $4.50
Romance Rag Wreath Ivor... RagWreathBout... $25.00	Sakura flower mulberry ... SmileLight $13.99	25 Handmade Mulberry Pa... butterflies66... $4.75	Bulk party set mix siz... cottonlight $40.00
8.5" x 11" ... NightOwlPaper... $3.99	Paper Flowers- Single S... ShinyMonkeyBu... $5.00	20 x purple shaded baby... cottonlight $15.50	Paper Flowers embellish... isakayboutiqu... $4.99
Favor Bags-Mulberry Pap... CraftsByCamil... $75.00	Bridal Bouquet- Paper, ... SolBijou $300.00	FIRST SAND INVITATION o... invitesbythis... $8.00	white green pink butter... illuminera $10.00

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

The beautiful rose pin which is being given away by Spearmint and Thyme is in the top left corner.

I am in love the lights by Smilelight and illuminera. I love lights and lamps of all sorts, and these are very special.

NineGiftShop, RagWreathBoutique, butterflies661, isakayboutique, SolBijou and ShinyMonkeyButtons make adorable flowers. Some are very life-like, while others are stylized, but all of them are beautiful.

I just noticed I included items by cottonlight twice -  the prettiest white lanterns and magic color lights - but the items are so lovely, I will keep both listings in.

Baby flower headband by TeagansTotShop is very cute.

CraftsByCamilleShop offers nice and simple paper favor bags, invitesbythisandthat - stylish invitations which use the same mulberry paper.

Then there is also a souvenir from Thailand - a very rustic looking notebook by ThaiCharm.

And the last, but a very important part of the Treasury, is a listing with mulberry paper for crafting, offered by NightOwlPaperCrafts.

Now, this was a useful exercise for me. Here at Mulberry Whisper we are supposed to know everything about mulberry, including mulberry paper. Unfortunately it is not produced in Uzbekistan; if it were, we would certainly make something from it for our own Etsy shop. As it is now, all I can do is enjoy someone else's creations from this wonderful material.

Her Treasures, 50 Years Old

We went to a flea market today to look for vintage silk and for something we would like to own. The expedition was a success; we bought a bunch of wonderful vintage adras and atlas (silk fabrics with ikat pattern) for our Etsy store. As for nice vintage finds, we bought a couple of books with beautiful pictures for our kids (my sister and daughter), I found a very old Dulevo egg-cup with a saucer and a wonderful tea box, and thought the day was successful enough and we could leave.

And then I saw an elderly lady who looked like she came from a village. She was selling old things which looked useless to me, but something caught my eye. It was a doll - a handmade doll, very primitive, with a lovely face and many plaids - a traditional hair style for Uzbek girls.

The doll reflects the traditional concept of an Uzbek beauty: she has a round face with large almond-shaped eyes ('like stars or like doe's eyes), bow-shaped eyebrows ('they send arrows through hearts), red mouth ('like a red rose') and pink cheeks ('peache-like'). All the attributes are there. And her costume is fully appropriate and is in line with traditions - a khan-atlas (ikat patterned silk satin) dress with pants (lazim), a velvet vest and a hat. And, of course, traditional footwear - kaushi or ichigi.

My heart was broken. The lady saw I was hesitating and said: 'This was mine. Many years ago my own Grandmother made it for me. Then I grew up, got married and took it with me to my husband's home. I wanted to give it to my daughter, but I only had sons. And now my granddaughters would not play with it - they say it is for poor children. They only want toys from stores. I would prefer if you could buy it and take home with you; I do not want to throw it away'.

I was toying with the doll when I saw something interesting - a little piece of embroidery showing from under the old clothes she was offering. I dug it out and gasped.

It was the loveliest, prettiest, most wonderful girl's hat I have ever seen. How can I describe it? I am at a loss for words... so I will try to be specific first.

It was a traditional scull cap or hat called dupi (Russians living in Uzbekistan call it tubeteika). These hats fold flat and can be stored easily. Girls and women wear them with traditional clothes.

This particular dupi was made for a very small girl, possibly 3 or 4 years old, of navy velvet all covered with the most beautiful embroidery. It belonged to this lady when she was a child, and then she kept it in her chest with that doll for all these years. And now I cannot write anymore. I just have to show it.

It might be funny but I almost cried when I saw it. It is so lovely and so touching, this little hat that was owned by the woman sitting in front of me, when she was a little girl, many years ago. Now she is old - our women in rural areas live a hard life - and the hat is still beautiful... Of course I took it home, along with the doll. I paid her more than she asked for and left quickly, as I did not want to start crying right there.

And here I shall stop. The things are mine now and are not going anywhere.