The topics are not exactly connected, but they are both on my mind lately.
The brief introduction to autumn was short-lived – yeah! It was back up in the 80’s over the weekend, maybe even 90. Hot! I went to a folk festival at the Pirohovo outdoor museum on Saturday. Gosh, I love those things. Most of the time I only hear about such fun stuff after the fact, but I managed to find out in advance this time. We wandered around for a few hours, “window” shopping amongst the hundreds of vendors, enjoying the music and dancing.
Saturday evening Igor and I saw on the news that there had been another festival that day near the Lavra, close to our apartment, so we decided to check it out on Sunday. It must have been just a one-day affair, but there was a small kids’ festival at the Ivan Honchar museum. We popped in the courtyard and checked out the arts and crafts the kids were working on at different stations, watched to the children’s groups singing and dancing. We took advantage of the special free admission to the museum, too (and dutifully left a donation in the collection box). It’s a great little museum. I like it preciously because it is small – just 5 or 6 rooms, completely doable in a reasonable amount of time, no museum burn-out or glazed eyes from too much information. I love the old black-and-white photographs of men, women, families, clubs, teams, orchestras and other groups in traditional Ukrainian costumes. I love to imagine the crazy array of colors they are probably wearing. They have some exquisite examples of Ukrainian vyshyvka (embroidery). I love looking at it, and admire so much the talent, skill and time it takes to create these works of wearable art.
I’ve been thinking for a while to try my own hand at embroidery, actually. There are several arts and crafts shops that I pass occasionally, with embroidery patterns and cross-stitch materials. But I don’t want to do the goofy cats or unicorns or whatever. I’ve been wanting to try the traditional Ukrainian styles, but hadn’t seen any patterns. I finally asked the sales lady last week, and turns out she has a ton of traditional Ukrainian patterns, tucked away under the counter. Skimming through them, I quickly realized that they were all way more than I am ready to take on, so I asked her to suggest something for a beginner. She selected a pretty little napkin, with a Ukrainian motif. Perfect!
Naive me, I thought there would be some easy guide, maybe even step-by-step pictures, included. Nope, just some basic directions in terminology that I’m not at all familiar with. I decided to dive in anyway, and muddled through a few disastrous attempts before trial and error finally resulted in something that seemed to work and even resembled the photo of the finished product. I worked on it off and on over the weekend, making slow but steady progress. It finally occurred to me yesterday that I might be able to find some help on the internet. D’oh! It’s amazing how helpful it is to read the instructions! I was a speed demon last night, completing twice as much in one evening as I had all of the previous three or four days. Amazing! There are still mistakes, but it’s getting better and better.
And I’m loving it! What a great hobby. I used to crochet and do other such kinds of arts and crafts as a kid, but I don’t recall ever trying my hand at embroidery. I’m looking forward to finishing up this little project and starting another. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the skill (or patience) to try an elaborate and intricate ceremonial linen, but who knows!
Anka in Kyiv 