Do you know Shisha (the Hindi word for little glass) - or perhaps it is known better as traditional Indian Mirror Embroidery?
This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time, but... you know how it is; the quilt bug - or quilt obsession - or quilt possession - name it what suits you the best! :)
I still believe it's going to take me some more time before I put my hands into Shisha, but one never know; have to visit the craft shop for embroidery floss next week - and there they sell Shisha mirrors too! :))
We crafters know there are people who don't value or appreciate handmade things. They have no clue how much time, effort and love we put into what we make. Some even look down on us, because crafting is not worth anything, doesn't have a value, like gold, silver, expensive things etc.
This beautiful woollen, hand embroidered Shisha shawl was thrown in the bin...
This beautiful woollen, hand embroidered Shisha shawl was thrown in the bin...
A while ago MIL rescued this Shisha embroidered shawl from the bin. This shawl - the mirror embroidery - is handmade by an old Indian woman. It was given as a gift, but the person who got it doesn't appreciate it. How much love, effort and time did the old woman put into it? Who cares?!
MIL took care of it, and turned it into a pouffe. Lack of filling made her tired of it - lol - and guess what?! She asked me if I wanted it! Of course I wanted it - so now it is in safe hands! :) I know MIL would never have thrown it! It'll take me some time to fill it, because I want to use small pieces of fabrics. So far I have collected 2,5 huge plastic bags with fabrics cuts, but it won't be enough...
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When I did the previous post, there were some WIP's and UFO's I didn't remember. Now I have updated the sidebar with WIP's and UFO's per September. I don't have photos of all of them, but here's the latest quilt top I finished earlier this week.
Here I have used several Tina Givens fabrics, except the sashing.
Now the "fun" begins; sandwiching the quilt tops - phew! I have yet to decide which one to do first, but I believe it will be either Marion's quilt or the Split Hourglass quilt - I have batting and backing for these two...
9 comments:
That is a beautiful of shawl with Shisha mirror embroidery on it. I love Shisha embroidery and know how to do it. I was shown how to by a lady from S. Africa and she told me I must pass my skill on because it's a dieing art. Sine then I passed my skill on to so many people. I have almost run out of the mirror pieces, but luckily when I was in India at the end of 2008 I found some in Old Delhi wedding market and bought some back. I will post what I have done soon. I can show you how if you want - Hugs Nat
Sounds like the shawl is in good hands now!!! Enjoy...it is beautiful...Dzintra♥x
I have never heard of Shisha embroidery - I will need to look it up to see what you are talking of. Show your progress as you learn.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Wow, that shawl is gorgeous! Why would anyone want to throw such a treasure away?!
The quilt top looks lovely. Very lively colours!
Elzaan
I've never heard of Sheisha. It's beautiful. If/when you decide to do any, please let us see!
~~Lori
I've not heard of shisha before. Very interesting. So glad your MIL rescued that lovely piece.
Pretty, pretty quilt. Love the colors.
I did not know that shisha uses scraps of fabric. I know that its just "glass". I have seen this around here but not as much nowadays. i guess the material is too expensive for people to be making saris and suits.
Astrid your shawl is so pretty, I will also be interested to see how you do this type of embroidery.Your quilt is beautiful, lovely fabrics. Happy quilting!
Astrid, the shawl is so pretty. I really hope you share with us as you learn about this technique. Also, your quilt is lovely! I really like the colors and fabrics you used ... like them a lot!!
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