Weekend Review: Colours in her Hands

 

Colours in her Hands / Alice Zorn
Calgary, AB: Freehand Books, c2024.
350 p.

This was an intriguing book that I liked for a number of reasons. There's embroidery, there's Montreal, dance, colour and family drama. 

Mina is close to 30 - she lives independently although she has Down's Syndrome. Her slightly older brother Bruno is her legal caretaker, and this responsibility is something he takes very seriously, making sure he is always available when Mina (or her social workers) have an issue - which is often. His girlfriend Gabriela loves Mina, but Bruno's refusal to have a child because of his responsibilities is driving them apart at the beginning of the book. After Gabriela leaves him, he meets Iris, a clothing designer who had come across Mina in a park and discovered her artistic talents. 

Mina "knits" - it's really embroidery, but Mina calls it knitting. It seems to come naturally to her; the colours speak to her and she just knows what to put together. It's an emotional connection. When Iris discovers that Mina has bags full of her embroideries, she sees fame and fortune ahead -- this outsider textile artist needs to be known. But this goal seems to exclude her telling Bruno or even Mina herself about her plans. 

These stories swirl around each other, and include Bruno's work as a prop designer for a small theatre as well as some other side stories. There are questions of how well two people know each other, what kinds of things are revealed or kept secret, and of course ethical questions arise around art and ownership and who has the right to share things. 

The book is fascinating, and Mina's character is strong and compelling (the author says she was inspired by her own sister-in-law). But I did find there was a lot of extra stuff going on that made the book maybe a bit longer than needed. And the ending was a bit off for me; there was a character introduced near the end who had a problematic relationship with Mina and that was never resolved. 

But I did find this so different from anything I've read lately, and it was full of art and music and people who live intense lives and care about things. I'm not sure I really liked any of the characters much, but I enjoyed a lot about this story, and loved the descriptions of Mina and her "colours" as well as Iris' sewing. Other stitchers will understand! 

Retro Montreal Museum Visits

Hey all! I've been doing a spot of spring cleaning, digital and otherwise, and have just discovered a stash of great photos that I took last August in Montreal, thinking of all my sewing friends -- but then forgot to share here. Let me remedy that! Please join me for a retroactive tour of the Museum of Costumes & Textiles of Montreal.

On my summer getaway, I made sure to schedule in a trip to this small museum in the basement level of the Marche Bonsecours, conveniently right in Old Montreal. It really is small, and only takes a short visit to see everything - which is great when you're holidaying and trying to fit everything in! The exhibits are always changing, and it's so worth a stop if you're in Montreal.

Anyhow, when I was there, the exhibit was "Leitmotifs", about pattern. You've got to click over to see the image of the "tie chandelier" at the begining;  I didn't get a picture of it myself, but it was visually stunning.  I really enjoyed it - the writeups for some of the pieces were informative and quite fascinating too.

Without further ado, here are some of the dresses I just had to record for posterity.

Just so pretty

Front of a modern-looking dress

And the back - this shows the more 50s details

I finally saw a real live DVF wrap dress!

Pretty in pink...well, more coral-ish

Love the sleeve ruching & look at that bust dart

Great use of the stripe in this full skirt

This sleeve detail was interesting - gathered drape at the underarm!

Cute ruffle!

And interesting story behind this polka dotted dress

Like the use of lace and gingham, but hard to photograph

Lovely 40s silhouette & fabric

Fantastic shirtdress

A closer look

And look -- novelty fabrics were a hit then, too!

One of my favourites - so elegant

All those self-fabric belts. And this charming fabric

I love this 'cape' effect. Couldn't get close enough to figure out how it was done

Thought this funky 60s tunic & pant was great!

I hope you've enjoyed the tour -- be sure to visit this cute little museum yourself if you're in Montreal. The Marche Bonsecours is also a centre for Quebec designers so you may see some of their new fashions in the boutiques there too.