Warm and cozy scarf

I'm not sure what this scarf is made of. It could be wool, but it could be an acrylic too. It is thick, and when I wear it it feels like I'm wearing a blanket. This is another scarf that I could wear more often if it had a set outfit. I think I will try to wear it tomorrow. The weather is so cold that I think I would enjoy something cozy around my shoulders.



As you can see, it is from Italy. I don't remember at all where I got this one from.



We had a wonderful family reunion this weekend! There were grand kids, grand-parents, nieces and nephews, in-laws and friends, and all kinds of siblings. We had our usual chili and cornbread lunch (with all kinds of delicious extras). Instead of playing games, we have started bringing a craft for everyone to participate in. This year was a mosaic on a ceramic tile; every one of them was beautiful.

After the get together, my youngest sister showed me how to do temari. Here's the two of us concentrating together on our work. I will show my finished temari when it's finished, but I wanted to thank my sister for showing me; I've wanted to learn this technique for years. My guild did it one year, but I missed that meeting.



I have to laugh at this picture, a little bit. The two of us were off in our own little world, while there were at least 11 other people and a dog in the room. You can see from the way I'm holding my mouth that I was concentrating. Needlework has been a wonderful past-time for me throughout the years. All I have to do is pick up a needle and I'm in my happy place.

Thimble Thursday--Wisconsin

I got this thimble this summer on our way home from the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee. DH, DD1, DF Karen and I were driving back from spending way too much at the show, and we stopped at the Cheese Castle, which turned out to be a wonderful place for thimbles, for the magnetic states you put on your fridge, and for cheese. I do have to admit that I didn't care for the chocolate cheese we picked up. Everything else was delicious, though.



This was such a fun thimble I couldn't resist. It's udderly cute! (I can hear the groans from here.)



We had so much fun that I really want to go again next year.

I love the Internet!

When I posted about the ñandutí last summer, Marie very kindly contacted me, and offered to buy a couple of examples and send them to me when she was in the US this fall. After arranging all the details, I sort of forgot about it, so you can imagine my surprise and excitement this week when I received a package with these two. Thank you Marie!


This first one was worked right on this fabric. (If you are interested, I could take a picture of the back.) I love the vibrant colors on black. The center motif is a octagonal grid with double threads, with woven flowers over 3 threads, and circles made with coral knots (or something similar). There are three patterns in the next ring, mostly needle weaving, but there are coral knots on each one also, outlining the center and in one pattern, defining the petals. The base thread in the outer ring is all the same, variegated from peach to orange, and each "palm leaf" is woven in a different color. The variegated color gives such a sense of liveliness! Also, if you didn't know, it comes from Paraguay. It came mounted on a wooden frame.






This piece didn't photograph as well, but it is also beautiful. The color is all in the background thread and the weaving is all in white thread. The butterflies in the alternating motifs are really what attracted me to this piece in the first place.






Thank you so much Marie! I'm also so happy to know that this needle art is not dying out, but is continuing to evolve in new and exciting ways.

Beautiful scarf

After bringing back the last scarf, my former boss traveled through Jordan, and picked this up for me. I love it! It is rayon thread (a pearl 5 weight) cross stitch on (I want to say) a camel hair base. The embroidery is bright and shiny, but the base fabric is gauzy and rough. When you look at the back, it is very clearly hand-made.



This is the label on it; this lady is very proud of her work (as she should be)!



I haven't worn it very often. The pastel colors aren't quite me, and I worry about the embroidery coming undone. The ends are woven through on the back, but only through one or two stitches. Having worked with rayon, I know that if the ends do come loose, it will be difficult to stop the embroidery from unraveling.

I thought I was done with scarves, but I have 3 more to go. Then I think we will move on to Chinese knotting, and I will try for a thimble post on the right day.

Gaudiest

I mentioned earlier this week that my boss had a bet on about how gaudy a shawl had to be before I wouldn't wear it. Well, this one comes close. The main color is gold, but all the other colors are also metallic, the fuchsia and the green and the purple. I have worn it, but only for a holiday party (at work) and only while I was at the party itself; not on the way to or from.



I do love the fringe though! It's four layers deep! This is the kind of work you do when your mind is else where, and it takes a long time! But that detail really makes a difference.



I took the workshop this week at my Homewood guild, and I'm in love with how the project turned out. This is paper piecing over cardboard, and it makes a darling little basket. The blue one is finished with a beaded picot edging.



I think this one looks like a flower in this picture. The edging on this one is blanket stitch. These baskets are little, just about the right size to hold a thimble, so I thought I would start sharing my thimble collection too. I was going to call it "Thimble Thursday" but it's Friday.



I hope you will forgive me. I got this thimble this past summer on my trip to North Carolina. I had heard of the Cherokee "Trail of Tears" but I had never made the connection that it started in North Carolina. The thimble isn't authentic (I'm pretty sure it was made in China) but it has served the purpose of making me aware of some of the sadder history of our country.

Today is Blog Action Day against poverty, and I thought I would try to participate. I've been looking around the web, and there are tons of sites where you can get "fair trade" textiles from around the world. The label "fair trade" means the artisans are paid a living wage for their work, and there are no sweatshops or forced labor. I must admit that most of the things I've gotten from the Internet were not labeled "fair trade." That doesn't necessarily mean someone is getting exploited, I know that Guatemalan "molas" have a known value, and the same is true of a lot of other handwork around the world.

From Nepal, silk yarn


Zimbabwe Twin Dolls

Organic Cotton Veggie toys from Egypt

Laotian Raw Silk Scarf

Guatemalan hand-woven shirt

Hmong magazine pocket from Vietnam

Hmong wall hanging from Vietnam

Embroidered Jacket from Nepal

Embroidered jewelry box from Thailand

Felt necklace from Nepal

Nepalese bags

Indian scarves

Panamanian Mola

Peruvian Arpillera

eBay has a new division as well. It looks very interesting: http://worldofgood.ebay.com/home

Have fun shopping! and "do good"!

Shawl from India

This is another shawl from India. This picture does not give a clear idea at all of what it looks like. The gold in this shawl is like blending filament: very shiny. It's not something you can wear and remain inconspicuous.



My former boss, who brought it from India for me, had a bet on with himself as to whether I would wear it. I did, so he decided he needed to get something gaudier! Stay tuned!