The table cloth on the stairs La Palma has a long tradition of gorgeous embroidery. As I mentioned in my previous post, the embroidery museum is upstairs in the Red House, in Mazo. This gorgeous tablecloth in broderie anglaise is halfway up the stairs. Assisi embroidery, a form of cross stitch. About the only thing in the museum I could see myself making. Now I’m fairly good at cross stitch,…
Traditional embroidery, Casa Lujan, Puntallana, La Palma There’s a shop of crafts from La Palma beside the museum at Casa Lujan in Puntallana. It sells things like traditional embroidery and ceramics. In the centre of the room, there’s a traditional loom, although they didn’t have any rugs for sale when I was there. (Palmeran rugs are made with a linen warp, and rag weft. If you order one, you generally…
Fuencaliente town hall has decided to have a craft stall in the visitor centre at San Antonio volcano, just for those days when there’s a cruise ship in port. As you can see, there’s plenty of embroideries on sale, but they also have lovely soaps, hand made with olive oil and natural fragrances.
Every year La Palma holds a craft fair, and usually there’s an amazing variety of crafts on display and sale: embroideries, cigars, ceramics, woodcarving, paining on glass, bags made out of goatskins, leatherwork, hand-made paper, etc. Last year’s fair was held in Los Cancajos. This year it will be in Tijarafe football ground from today (Wednesday 13th) until Sunday 17th. It’s open from 11 am until 9 pm. It’s…
The 19th century butcher’s shop, Breña Baja, La Palma The old butcher’s shop stands on the outskirts of the village of San Jose, in Breña Baja, near the Paradorof La Palma. The building dates from the late 19th century, and it was a butcher’s shop until the 1960s. But now it’s been renovated as a craft exhibition and shop. The famous cigars of The Breñas Although the place is small,…
La Palma has a long history of silk production, going back to the 16th century. In fact, at one time, silk was made in all the Canary Islands, but since the 19th century, El Paso, in the centre of La Palma, is the only place which still produces it. They use an old fashioned, labour-intensive technique, the only place in Europe which still does so. You can see most of…