Hand Stitching Indian Style

I heard all about Dijanne Cevaal's travels to India. I am particularly interested because my husband has been working in Bangalore for the last month and I plan to join him during his contract there and perhaps travel to different areas when he is occupied with meetings and such.

One of the things she did during her residency in Pushkar was to help find use for small pieces of fabric discarded from making clothing.

She designed a patchwork-type purse using pieces of hand-spun, indigo-dyed fabric.

She hand-stitched each small geometric-shaped piece of fabric using stitching inspired by the techniques the local women use.

Aperitivo with Dijanne!

The stitching is called  Sujuni. It is different from the Kantha stitch in that there is a chain stitch used to outline figures and shapes and the straight-line running stitch is used as a filler. To read more about these two forms of Indian traditional embroidery, click here.

A Visit from India

My husband just got back from India.

He spent some time in Nagpur and the wife of a friend sent a present for me.

It is a woven shawl he said. A typical cloth from Gujarat, a state in western India.

There is a little mirror embroidered in
 using mustard coloured thread.
I learned that technique in a workshop
I took years ago given by Judy Martin.

I like the little mirrors sewn in. They remind me of stars twinkling in the night sky. I like the tassels edging the top and the bottom.

Some tassels are mustard and blue and some are red and blue.

I wore it last night for dinner as it was a little cool out. It is such a special gift.

Women

I am part of a wonderful group of ladies in Verona, Italy, called Ad Maiora.

The group started almost 25 years ago by 6 friends who wanted to be together. To laugh. To share ideas. To help others.

The patchwork, the textile art and the knitting came later. The needle arts were something to do together. Someone enjoyed those skills and wanted to share them with others. The group is not a guild.

It is a fabulous network of women who support each other and are open-minded when it comes to new initiatives. We do community work. Our efforts have supported women in many countries- Kenya, Lesotho, Georgia, India, Italy. We are 80 members this year. Enrolment in past years reached 120.

With International Women's Day that just passed (March 8), I was reminded that many women still experience violence against them. Women are denied education. Women can not be independent. Women are not respected.

I look at my life and the choices I and my daughters are able to make. I am grateful to live in Canada and to have raised my children here.

(Images taken from the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. Sujuni hanging entitled "Peaceful Collaboration After the World Without Men" (1990-2000), embroidered by 2 co-operatives in India. The work is inspired by group discussions about their makers' lived experiences and the conditions they hope to change.)

Approximate size 60" x 80"

India

Friday my friend Diane Shink, (AQS) certified appraiser, teacher and quilter, and I went to Pointe à Caillière in Montreal to see the exhibit Colours of India.

The photography by Suzanne Held was superb!! She captured the colours so well.

The textiles were nice but the way they were displayed.... Look at these two turbans. They are block printed. Don't you think they could have had them pressed before exhibiting them? Shameful for a museum setting.

This embroidered, quilted, cotton-canvas carpet made in the second half of the 18th century shows evidence of not being stored properly. Notice the cross fold lines.

...plus there are other folds in the border

Diane and I were not impressed.

My husband is in India right now. I hope he can find me a nice piece of fabric.