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Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Patrick J. Finn, a scholar and writer whom I’ve mentioned before on this blog, has set up his own blog to show photos of textiles made in India and to provide information about them. He is currently writing a book on this topic.

We are happy to share his link with you in the interest of public education about textiles.

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Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

When Judith Kaplan wrote to ask my thoughts about a Crazy Quilt that she’d just purchased, my first conclusion was that it is not a “Crazy Quilt.” That term does not refer to just any quilt that appears to have haphazard designs but rather to a specific effect achieved by asymmetrical piecing and certain kinds of patch edge stitches that belong to a family of stitches known as Surface Embroidery. Here are some photos of the antique textile found in a “junk shop.”

Shredded silk
The first clue that this might be a late 19th century textile is the presence of silk that is shredded.

bundled threads
Some of the sections are divided by what appear to be bundles of dyed wool fibers that have been “couched” with perpendicular stitches to connect them to the surface of the textile.

scotch tape
I love it! When in doubt about what to do about shredding silk, just get out the scotch tape! This could be the answer conservators have been seeking!

Shisha
Shisha (mirrors) that are affixed via a special sequence of embroidery stitches point to an origin of India.

final image
Final image of this textile

Many thanks to Judith Kaplan for sharing her excitement about this discovery! I have seen a few other Indian textiles in antiques shops with very intricate and time-consuming stitches, yet they appear to have been abused and ultimately, any known information about them has evaporated.

I am very eager to read Patrick J. Finn’s book about Indian textiles that is to be published some time this year. He is a scholar who has lived in India for some time now, researching every facet of Indian textiles. Perhaps with more images to view, a specific region of India could be pinpointed as the origin. For now, all I can safely say is that this piece does not fall within the category of “Crazy Quilts.”

Patricia Cummings

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Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Rosemary Stieg of Pennsylvania has visited Egypt on two occasions and has the following comments:

Having been to Egypt twice – once in 1985 and again in 2009, I too have a fascination with the appliqué of the tents and panels. On our most recent trip, I was determined to find ‘tent street’ on our last day in Cairo , for we had a free afternoon. My husband, another quilter in our group and another lady intent on having this adventure with us, all piled into the world’s tiniest cab and set off from our hotel out near the airport for the 45 minute ride into the heart of Cairo. I had an Arabic translation of where we wanted to go but alas, our cabbie let us off perhaps 1+ miles from where we wanted to be. We trekked on by foot through town asking as we went along until a very nice woman, in traditional garb, who was a professor at the university, took us in hand and went out of her way to get us within blocks of where we wanted to be.

Tent Street Egyptian textiles

A view of some stunning Egyptian textiles. Photo courtesy of Rosemary Stieg

Tent Street is part of the Khan Khali – the huge souk that meanders for miles in a labyrinth that must take years to learn. We were far from the touristy section but persevered through the underwear section, the ladies dress section, the linens and bedspread section (covering block after block after block) until finally, at the gate of Bab Zuwayla, we made it to the most fabulous block of all: tent street. This area is shop after shop of every inch of every wall covered in the fabulous appliqué work the Egyptians are known for. Bed sized quilts, wall hangings of every size and all sorts of motifs – birds, flowers, geometric and sometimes religious designs were everywhere. It was almost too much to take in.

What I actually gathered was, while they were happy to sell to us – and we were the only foreigners in the area, they are like distributors selling their wares to shops throughout the country. It seems that mostly they have succumbed to the times – most of the pieces are not tents but small salable pieces. The traditional workmanship, whatever the size, is amazing. I took quite a few photos; some of my favorites were of MEN sitting cross-legged in their booths actually doing the appliqué work. The designs and colors are breadth-taking. They would take many blue ribbons at any quilt show in our country. One style I particularly loved was of elaborate Arabic script (Arabic calligraphy) and the script became the design – (boats, birds, etc). It was my best afternoon truly :+)

Thanks for this first-hand account, Rosemary!

Pat Cummings

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Friday, February 11th, 2011

Recently, when Kathy Rushing of Silver Spring, Maryland read she was inspired by what I said about future scholarship relying in part on the provenance of these objects. She decided to share some images of three items of this type that she inherited from her aunt.

egyptian panel - Kathy Rushing

Egyptian panel 2

egyptian panel 3

Kathy sent along this very interesting note about the former owners of these works. They were given to her accompanied by a note from Kathy’s aunt’s best friend, Ida D’Idri, who died about ten years ago at the age of ninety four:

(This message is slightly reformatted for the purpose of easy readability).

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Kathy inherited the panels from her aunt and subsequently gave them to one of her sons.


What an interesting story, Kathy! Thanks for much for sharing this information and photos with us!

Patricia Cummings

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Sunday, February 6th, 2011

We are always happy to receive mail even when it is sent to correct a misstatement. Yesterday, we received the following note from Nancy Sreenan:

Hi Pat,

I think you wrote the following on quilter’s muse:

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The underlined claim above is order xenical online pharmacy–the only way to harvest the wool from the Tibetan antelope, the chiru, is to kill the animal. The soft fleece is still highly prized and is part of an illegal trade which threatens the chiru with extinction, despite the chiru’s status as an endangered species. I’m afraid that such misinformation contributes to the extinction of the chiru. See the following sites for more info:

Thanks for reading this.
Nancy Sreenan

We are happy to know the difference, Nancy, and have corrected the file about the where you found the misstatement. We would certainly never advocate killing an animal that is on the endangered species list, just for its fur. It is good to know the difference and I am ALWAYS happy to correct the record. Thanks again!

Patricia Cummings

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Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Hmong people make beautiful textiles. While they were held in relocation camps after the end of the Vietnam War, both men and women passed the time making exquisite embroidered pieces that depict either peaceful or combative scenes. The tiny stitches used and the tiny figures that are sewed to perfection demonstrate skill, patience and talent.

A few years ago, Jim and I were privileged to visit the Rhode Island School of Design’s graduate department where an exhibit was mounted. We went there not only to enjoy the work but to photograph items for an article which was published in magazine. The pieces ranged from quite small to wall-size huge (8′ wide), and mostly represent items that were brought home by a missionary nun who is associated with the Genesis Center in Providence.

Hmong purse

Hmong shoulder purse, close-up. Gift of James and Rebecca Gorham

Knowing of my love of Hmong work, the beautiful, too-good-to-use, zippered purse seen above was a birthday gift last year from my son and his wife. I love it!

To read more about the history, culture and needlework of the Hmong, please visit my web article. One graduate student references this article in her master’s thesis. I hope you will enjoy reading what I wrote and will follow up by reading more about the special people called the “Hmong.”

For scholars: A list of the details of all of my published articles are listed in a file that is mentioned on the front page of our main website:

Patricia Cummings

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Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

arpillera

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This exquisite little embroidered and appliquéd textile is typical of those made with a Guatemalan woven-fabric background. I was delighted to see the scene which includes a flowering Saguaro cactus, an alpaca, flowers, and happy sun and drops of rain descending from a cloud. There is also a girl who is wrapped in cloth that has blue anchors on a white ground. For centuries, the anchor symbol has stood for Christ himself, among Christians.

Indeed the women who make small wall quilts with similar (raised) figures may feel in need of order xenical online pharmacy from above. You see, many of their husbands are among those taken away during the night, never to return home, imprisoned and tortured for their political beliefs. There are so many of these kidnappings, the men are referred to simply as “los desaparecidos” – literally, “the disappeared ones.” The women are left to eek out a meager subsistence through their needlework. Ironically, with needle and thread, they always “paint” a picture of earth as a happy place with gardens, trees, and the perpetual sun, as well as people and animals.

I came across this example in an antiques store (although it is NOT an antique) and count myself lucky to have found it. I treasure products that show the resourcefulness of women in the face of almost unsurpassable adversity. This item seems to have never been “used.” For now, I will collect it, pondering every stitch in full appreciation of this piece of folk art.

Pat

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Monday, November 8th, 2010

Anyone who knows me, also knows that my criteria for collecting any textile related book is that I do not already own it. That aside, I must say that I am fascinated with news coming out of the UK that a catalog is available from the new “Threads of Feeling: The London Foundling Hospital’s Textile Tokens 1740-1770″” exhibition. By the way, print matter under 100 pages is called a “catalog.”

In the mid 18th century, mothers who could not care for their infants brought them to the “Foundling Hospital” and were encouraged to leave behind a small textile to identify the baby should they ever be able to reclaim the child. The result is the collection of an amazing number of fabrics of all kinds that represent what was sold for textiles in England, at that time. The “catalog” is 72 pages long and has 60 color illustrations. The price is 11 pounds. If ordering with a Paypal account, one can convert the type of currency easily. I believe the cost translates to about $17. USD.

I am eager to see this catalog as I had recently purchased a book about clothing of ordinary people in the 18th century, by the same author, John Styles. The amazon.com site in the United States lists the item but says it is unavailable/ out of print. It was first published in October 2010 and is easy enough to order directly from the UK. The exhibit will be available until March 6, 2011.

Here is order xenical online pharmacy to read the that Kathryn Hughes wrote in “The Guardian.” Enjoy this wonderful article!

Patricia Cummings

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Thursday, October 21st, 2010

New book about toile fabric to be available on November 1, 2010:

Sarah Grant has written a new book about French Toiles du Juoy fabrics that looks very promising!

I was delighted to learn the identity of an English toile that was published in this column in early October. Key in the word “toile” in the search box, to revisit the file and read the update.

Toile is so classic! I saw a lady buying some blue and white floral fabric that reminded me of toile, the other day. She plans to make a tablecloth with it and has blue and white dishes. Her table will look elegant! Blue and white are always wonderful colors together!

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Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

This morning, I was so happy to open my e-mail and read the following letter, sent from India.

Dear Ms. Cummings,

In my continuing research for order xenical online pharmacy I came across your blog dated Saturday, July 25th, 2009. The appliquéd quilt you display is a kanduri from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA. The kanduri is used at the tomb of Salar Mas’ud also know as Ghazi Miyan; the saint slain in battle on Krishna Janmashtami (Krishna’s Birthday) in 1033. Hindus and Muslims consider Salar Mas’ud a saint and over one hundred thousand people attend the annual celebration in Bahraich during the Hindu month of Jeth or Jyestha (May – June). The devotees, mostly marginalized castes and tribes, attribute various healing powers to the saint. Kanduri literally translated means tablecloth and offerings are made on this cloth.

Recently, some older kanduris were sold in Jaipur, Rajasthan and many knock-offs began to be made. I include a photo for your comparison.

All the very best,

Patrick


Patrick J Finn

Textile Specialist and Photographer
140 Chaitanya Vihar – Phase 1
Vrindavan, Mathura Dist.
UP INDIA 281121
gangapat@gmail.com
+011 91 976 000 4108

Former research fellow at the
International Quilt Study Center & Museum, UNL USA

Here is a photo of the textile I posted in July 2009:

my Indian textile

This is a photo of the kanduri that Patrick sent:

photo of a kanduri courtesy of Patrick J. Finn

We are grateful to Patrick for this information (and photo). It is always fun when others share information. Now, I can’t wait for his book to be published! Will be watching!

Patricia Cummings

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Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

During the early 1990s, as a member of Area 2 of the Northern New England Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, I prepared a series of five monthly lectures that centered on the culture, history, and needlework techniques of Japan. One type of stitching that was new to me, at that time, is called “Sashiko.” This type of needlework had its roots in the utilitarian need to mend and reinforce everyday clothes by using a large running stitch. Soon, Japanese women were creating family crest designs, depictions of cranes, and foliage like Ghingko leaves and Cherry blossoms. Typically, thick white thread was used on an indigo background because cloth dyed with indigo was the material from which laborers’ clothes were made.

Within the last 20 years, Sashiko has seen a tremendous revival due to the number of books that have been written about the technique. Perle cotton #8 is the preferred thread. The challenge is in finding a needle with a large eye that will accommodate the thread and feel “just right” in the hand. , who is based in North Carolina, is a Sashiko teacher who is working with the Colonial Needle Company to offer a Sampler pack of needles, specifically geared toward use in stitching Sashiko designs, as revealed yesterday on Pat Sloan’s “creativetalk” Internet show: . The needles should be on the market soon.

I hope to do more Sashiko embroidery in the future. Sometimes called the “Big Stitch” technique, it is very enjoyable. Here is a sample of a miniature quilt I completed some time ago. The alternate blocks are fish “batik” fabirc and the border is a Momen House (Japanese) print, the gift of a friend.

A Taste of Japan Sampler Sashiko quilt

Quilt made by / photo by

Last week, Jim and I visited a display of quilts by a New England quilt artist who came to this country from her native, Tokyo, Japan, twenty years ago. She incorporates Sashiko into all of her work, and certainly utilizes more colors than just white. I would happily provide a link to her website(s) but I have subscribed to an automatic alert system that indicates when a site has been hacked and is considered dangerous because of a potential virus transmission. I was unable to access her articles or her ordering page for kits. I have alerted her and when the coast is clear, I will post a link at that time. By the way, her work is lovely.

If you are looking for a new-old technique, Sashiko might be just the type of embroidery you’ll love. Personally, I love Japanese design. Although I own a huge stack of books on the subject, I will recommend one that was published not too long ago and is sure to be available.

Enjoy the day!

Pat

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Monday, September 27th, 2010

When U.S. Marines entered the palace of Saddam Hussein in 2003, they decided to send home a trophy: a silk flag that is hand painted with symbols, and most likely a gift to him.

According to the website that features photos of this item, of the 14 men who signed the flag, only four survived their war experience. To see the flag, visit: and click on “Featured Items.”

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Saturday, September 25th, 2010

As part of the permanent record of 4,000 babies left at a foundling hospital in the United Kingdom, between 1741-1760, snippets of their clothing or other small items were attached to paper records about each baby. This fabrics have been preserved and will be shared with the public in a rare exhibit of these 18th century textiles. The exhibit is curated by John Styles, a professor of History at the University of Hertfordshire.

See his website: http://www.johnstyles.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

To view a slideshow of snippets of fabric visit:

To read more about the items, please visit: http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/future_exhibitions.php
.

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Friday, September 17th, 2010

Knowing my love of order xenical online pharmacy of the Kuna Indians, and how extensively I have written about them, a dear friend sent the following exhibit link to order xenical online pharmacy currently shown in the Textile Museum of Canada. The name of the exhibit is: “Drawing with Scissors – Molas from the Kuna Yala.” Pieces will be on display until Feb. 13, 2011 in Toronto, Canada.

At the present time, there are two long articles about the history of order xenical online pharmacy on our main website: . Key in the word “molas” in the search box, accessible on the front page. Enjoy!

mola reproduction - in progress

This is an image of a order xenical online pharmacy that I reproduced, yet to be embroidered. I replicated the details exactly as they are in the original. Will finish this… someday! Needlework by Patricia Cummings; photo by James Cummings

Patricia Cummings

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Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Rubia, an organization that has 501 (c) 3 status as a non-profit, is dedicated to increasing the literacy of the women of Afghanistan. They raise funds for education mainly through the sale of embroidered goods. A few years ago, we had the opportunity to write an article for order xenical online pharmacy magazine, based on a meeting with Hafiza Malikbaba and Rachel Lehr, (one of the American founders of Rubia, a fluent linguist who knows all of the Afghan dialects).

small embroidered bag

Small bag or embroidered purse made by a member of the Rubia organization in Afghanistan. Photo taken at Rachel Lehr’s home.

Today, I received notice that Rubia is offering their annual calendar, priced at only $10. each ppd. This year, it features the photographs of Afghan children, taken by Rachel and others. The Internet site for Rubia is selling some very sweet-looking, lavender-filled, 5″ embroidered hearts made of either silk, wool, rayon, and cotton, in other words, whatever fibers were available to the women when making these objects.

Please take a minute to visit the Rubia site:

To read more about Afghanistan and Hafiza, please read our online file:

This announcement is brought to you as a courtesy of