Indalo

Everywhere we go here in Almeria we see the Indalo symbol.

The Indalo is a prehistoric magical symbol that was found in caves in the north of Almeria 100 years ago.

It is dated to 4500 BC. It represents a man (some say a ghost) carrying a rainbow over his head.
The Indalo has been adopted by the Province of Almeria as it's official symbol in the same way that the black bull is the symbol of Andalucia.

An Indalo painted or hung on the outside of your house is said to protect from evil.

And it can be carried as a lucky charm. But the charm will only be beneficial if it has been given as a gift.

Many businesses incorporate Indalo into their names for instance

 Indalo Pizza, Indalo Night Club, Indalo rentals etc etc and this Fotoindalo.

 There is of course the

and one of their club notice boards

This curved version is very popular for fridge magnets and for decorating tourist pottery.

Here is my Journal page about Indalo

Last year while we were in Spain I worked on one of my CQJP blocks and included a small Indalo.

 Just a reminder that Wendy has invited us all for FNSI again this Friday - to sign up click here.

Hope to see you there.

CQJP block for February and a Swap Card

So first of all this lovely card arrived in the post from Jeanneke in the Netherlands.

Jeanneke is my swap partner in Sheila's Spring/Easter postcard swap. Thank you Jeanneke for swapping with me and your card is finished and will be in the post first thing on Saturday!

Thank you also to Sheila for organising another swap.

Now, my CQJP block for February is finished and here it is!

A few close ups including explanations for some of the symbolism incorporated.

The pink /orange colour scheme has been a favourite of mine for a while and it seemed appropriate to be stitching it in a hot (sort of) country.

The Mudejar star in the bottom left corner I added as we travelled on the Autovia Mudejar from Zaragozza to Valencia. The bridges along the motorway are decorated with these stars in various forms and there are some interesting sculptures along the way too.

Shells that I collected on the beach (I have masses of these!)

Hearts for Valentines and we saw some early butterflies too. The little silver Indalo man is the symbol of the province of Almeria. He is seen everywhere naming business's, hotels, restaurants, on fridge magnets, jewellery, postcards etc etc.

I did enjoy stitching this block.

Hope you all have a good weekend.