Sunday, December 30, 2012

Why Burlap?

So, why burlap? It brings memories of my childhood. September, the harvest season. Farmers coming to town to the local market with potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, amazing apples, and beautiful flower bouquets. Trucks and horses are everywhere, farmers calling in every buyer and showing up their potatoes. My dad goes to the market and buys 8-10 burlap sacks of potato for the winter season for us and for my aunt Molly's family. When the potato sacks are finally delivered to our apartment, we helped my mother to assemble them in the kitchen cabinet. First, we have to remove the two lower shelves, then the side walls we would cover with wood, and after the new facility arrangements, we would be ready to remove the potatoes from the sacks. The potato sacks will become useful to care woods for the fire stove as soon as the cold weather will hit us later, in the fall. The smell of the fresh potatoes and burlap sacks is a smell of the childhood that brings back the memories.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Burlap Texture

Burlap is a material that is made out of the bast family of fibers. Bast fibers represent a family of vegetable fibers which run the length of the plant stem. They are found in the inner bark of plants. The texture of burlap comes from the fact that it is made from the skin of the jute plant - one of the least expensive textile crops in the world, and one of the strongest.

Burlap: History of Textile

Burlap is a fine quality jute fabric that has been long used as the most preferred packaging material for all kinds of goods. Burlap meets the latest international standards for food safety. Burlap also known as Hessian, a plain woven fabric, made of good jute yarn. Burlap is used in wide range of applications. It is all 'about being able to look good in a burlap sack.'
"Burlap is probably as old as Moses," - Emilio Sosa.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Snow and Stars

"To confuse snow with stars,
Simulate a star's fantastic wisdom."
(From "Too Easy: to Write of Miracles," by Denise Levertov)

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Malukhiyah Dish

The Malukhiyah has been known as a popular dish in Egypt since the time of the Pharaohs, and later spread to the Levant. The leaf is a common food in many tropical West African countries. It is believed that the "drip tips" on the leaves serve to shed excess water from the leaf from the heavy tropical rains. It is called Kren-Kre in Sierra Leone, and is eaten in a palm oil sauce served with rice or cassava fufu, or is steamed and mixed into rice just before eating a non-palm oil sauce.

Monday, December 24, 2012

About the Trees

"You can hug a tree or a tree can embrace you." (IT)

Sunday, December 23, 2012

All About Burlap

I would like to invite you to purchase the new book offered by Ida Tomshinsky on history of textile. The book's title speaks for itself - it is all "About Being able to Look GOOD in a Burlap Sack." This book is about natural magic -burlap, a nature's gift to civilization. It is a man-made textile creation given to us by a plant called jute. Burlap has many applications, and it is all 'about being able to look GOOD in a burlap sack.' The physical properties of burlap widely known as strength, weather resistance, and versatility. Burlap or jute Hessian cloth has a long-time history, great childhood memories of burlap in cloth and in bags from potato sacks to sophisticated tailoring in fashion design and smart interior designs and great craft home projects.
In addition, there are books from the History of Fashion Accessories Series about socks, gloves and the "Dairy of the Handkerchief" written by Florida author, Ida Tomshinsky. You never will look at your socks, gloves and other fashion accessories with the same attitudes.