Turkish Delights

The word turquoise, which dates to the 16th century, is derived from an Old French word for "Turkish", because the mineral was first brought to Europe from Turkey.  This is why I have called my blog post Turkish Delights because it celebrates turquoise the gem stone and the colour.

This pencil case was the inspiration.  When I went to the NEC in March for the three exhibitions, Sewing for Pleasure, Hobby Crafts and Embroidery, Fashion and Stitch I noticed that the colour turquoise was very popular on the Cat Walk!  My sister and I always enjoy watching the Fashion Show.  So off I went to find a fabric stall and promptly purchased some turquoise fabric! This pencil case was made from the two fabrics that I purchased.

Turquoise is not a colour that I have used very often, but even if I say so myself the resulting pencil case did seem quite a beautiful object.  This started me thinking about writing my blog.  When I did the search on Folksy I was enamoured at how often our wonderful jewellery designers/makers use turquoise to create the most beautiful jewellery. I could have used lots of photos of jewellery just to illustrate my blog, but I didn’t want my pencil case to seem out of place!

Of course, I had to search harder and deeper in order to find other items that had been made using the colour turquoise!  I do hope you like my final selection.  Apologies to all the jewellery designers/makers, but I did not want to leave you out completely.  I did have a HUGE choice and it was quite difficult!

Of course, it is not surprising that jewellery designers/makers use the gem stone turquoise.  The finer quality grade of turquoise is quite rare and valuable, but like with most opaque gem stones it has been devalued by the introduction of synthetics onto the market.  But whether real or synthetic turquoise is still very beautiful!

Some interesting facts about turquoise:

·        The first recorded use of the colour turquoise in England was in 1573.

·        The gem stone turquoise had been esteemed for thousands of years as a holy stone, a bringer of good fortune or a talisman.

·        The gem stone turquoise represents the sign Sagittarius.

·        It has been reported that the colour turquoise has a calming effect on patients.

·        Some mainstream psychiatric hospitals have used turquoise and other light tones of blue and green to calm patients by painting the walls in these colours.

·        Nurses often wear turquoise or aquamarine coloured clothing because of the calming nature of these colours.

Well, you learn something new every day!  I have enjoyed exploring the world of turquoise and looking at all the beautiful items available on Folksy.  I hope you enjoy the small selection I have chosen.  Don’t forget to click on the image to view it in the seller’s shop. You never know you might be tempted!  Especially now you know that turquoise might help you to keep calm!

Top to bottom: JellyGiraffe Handmade Jewellery, Creative Treasures, Imogen's Imagination, Ritzy Swish, Shoogly Beads, Marthamoo Krafts, Dottie Designs, Lynwoodcrafts, Ello Design, NOfkantsCurios.

BFN

Edwina