I’ve experimented with these two personas in an effort to understand climate.  In the end, I’ve decided that 6thC Mediterranean/1350 Danish is where I want to be, but the sources I found were neat, and my mother wears Persian based on these pictures. Persona: 16thc Persia, artisan class Based on the following illustrations (all from Roxane Farabi): using the following patterns: Rashid’s PatternsRoxane’s Patterns and these fabrics:-4 yds rayon jacquard-3.5 yds taupe linen, rayon embroid.-2.75 yds lt yellow linen, rayon threaded-1.5 yds mint linen -4 yds translucent embroidered cotton for pirihan (Still want silk to line jacquard for joba – … Continue reading Persona: 16thc Indian and Persian

When I wear a sari, I generally wear a tight, knee-length kaccha-stylewrap based on the instructions on the sarisafari website:http://www.sarisafari.com/howkaccha.html Here’s a picture of me fresh out of the kitchen, with a localproto-Indian:http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h182/icbhod/Andi%20at%20Trimarian%20Fall%20Coronation/100_3293.jpg I don’t think this wrap is right, I think it should be more like theKhandala wrap, seen here:http://www.cbmphoto.co.uk/saris/phsariMH.html I call this the “flower seller’s wrap” but I’ll be damned if I canremember where I got that term. This wrap is the basis of my 12thcentury Kalinga/Eastern Ganga Dynasty servant kit. The use of thisspecific wrap is based on my interpretation of line drawings in FashionStyles of Ancient … Continue reading Bibliography: Indian

In recap:  I ended up ordering three new yoga disk sets.  Rodney Yee's "Advanced Yoga", Shiva Rea's "Yoga Shakti", and Baron Baptiste's "Yoga Bootcamp."  I've felt for some time that I wanted to broaden my yoga experience, to understand more about the various styles and types and personalities.  In short, it's time to apply some mental rigor, and not just the discipline of "get on the mat more often."  Which gets boring. I've watched some of "Advanced Yoga".  It's advanced.  The people who did that teacher training course that I didn't, they could do this stuff at the end.  Head balances with legs wandering … Continue reading Back on the mat

(This post got out of order – see yesterday’s Stash post for fabrics.) I’m having a confluence of Persian culture, lately. I’ve been working on prepping a "Medieval Desert Gardens" class, in order to provide medieval solutions to our recent drought issues.  This necessarily involves Persian gardens, as we have descriptions and archaeological remains of gardens on the Persian plateau beginning in 550BC.  Also many of the foods that we eat now originated in the ‘Fertile Crescent’ – so studying Persia is really helpful for a gardener. I’ve been impressed with Jadi, a Persian Laurel, both her garb and her … Continue reading Persian!

I’m going to add a new category, but this one isn’t for a new interest – but one I’m coming back to. I took up yoga seriously several years ago.  I was trying to figure out how to lead a post-academic, grownup-dancing life.  Yoga was techy/historic enough (just wait until I get to the names) and active enough to interest me. I did a couple of years of weekly classes, and really liked it.  I bought books and videos, the occasional magazine, and really immersed myself, as I have a tendency to do.  However, some of the other parts of … Continue reading Yoga