H'mong Applique

Pa'ndau, framed at 15" square

I purchased another Hmong applique recently and just got it back from the framer. I now have a nice grouping of three for my studio wall. I have shown the others previously - you can see them at the end of this post. These amazing pieces of handwork are known as pa'ndau (pronounced "pan-dow") by their makers - the H'mong women of northern Thailand where it meets Burma and Laos. Pa'ndau is translated as "flower cloth". This extraordinary needlework has long been a part of that culture, with H'mong girls beginning to learn the stitches at five years of age. The H'mong people have no written language so rituals and artistry have been vital in keeping their culture alive.






I am always interested to see needlework from other cultures - not only the stitches, but the designs, the use of color, etc. I feel very fortunate to own three pa'ndau. I would love to see these being done - the stitching is so fine (both in quality and size). I wonder how long each one takes... what type of needles they use, what conditions they are made under... Wouldn't their "Show and Tell" be an amazing experience??!!!



Peace,
Linda

"What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God." ~  Eleanor Powell

A Few Finishes Feel Fine!

Framed piece is about 5" by 8"

Don't you love seeing projects through to completion? Whether it's a batch of pickles (finished my 14 day crock pickles this week) or a quilt or piece of needlework - it just feels good to be able to cross them off the list!
I have had several small pieces laying around a long while, waiting for me to get them to the framer. When hubby had something he needed framed quickly last week, for a gift, I rounded up some of my pieces and took them along. So here they are - two pieces of cross stitch and two H'mong applique. You may remember me showing the first H'mong piece before here, I was trying to decide whether to border it and frame it, make it into a pillow, or whatever.. I finally decided there was so much "motion" in the piece that it just needed a simple treatment, so I chose a simple black molding for both. These incredible appliques are done by the H'mong women of the Golden Triangle- an area of northern Thailand where it meets Burma and Laos. They call these works pa'ndau, pronounced "pan dow", often translated as "flower cloth" - a style of reverse applique that decorates many items used by

Framed piece is 7" by 8.5"

 traditional H'mong families. The H'mong people have no written language, so rituals and artistry have been vital in
keeping their culture alive. Extraordinary needlework has long been a part of that culture. H'mong girls traditionally begin to learn the stitches for pa'ndau embroidery as young as five years old! (info from Tammachat website and blog here. Tammachat is a Nova Scotia business run by Ellen Agger and Alleson Kase. They import high quality fairly traded environmentally friendly handcrafted textiles from women artisans in Thailand and Laos. Imagine my delight, when reading back through their travel blog, I found mention of  Laurie Swim! How serendipitous! Ellen and Alleson had presented Panmai weavers in northeastern Thailand with one of Laurie's photo cards. They had previously taken several Panmai weavers to Laurie's website to show them why we cut up their beautiful silks into small pieces- for art quilts! )

Framed piece is 9.75" by 10"

I purchased the second pa'ndau this past summer in the Merchant's Mall at Maine Quilts. The workmanship on these pieces is amazing- below is a  photo of the back side. Their stitches are tiny and oh so neat and even! I'd love to know what size needles they use???!!
I am amazed at the precision and perfection of this applique- the very narrow strips of fabric (about 1/8" on this first piece) are so even and straight. I couldn't do this if my life depended on it! Wow!
And the second piece, below, is equally impressive- look at the smoothness of those curves, and again the consistency of the width of the pieces. I'd love to meet the ladies who did these...and know how many years they have been doing this wonderful work...
And you just know they are not working with Ott lights and John James needles....

Framed piece is 10.5" square

Piece,
Linda

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." ~ John Quincy Adams

Baby, it's cold outside!

You know I love getting mail... I've told you that before. Yesterdays' mailbox produced an awaited small parcel. My friend Sandi Mac who is wintering in Florida commented a few weeks ago that she found the perfect fabric to border my H'mong Pa'ndau. It arrived yesterday.... and I think she's right! What do you think? I love the vivid purple and turquoise!! Thanks Sandi!

Our mild spell seems to be over, with the return of bitter cold and wind chills.... too cold to go out.... good weather to stay inside and sew. I made Brown Bread this afternoon and a wonderful hearty casserole for supper, so the house is warm and filled with wonderful smells coming from the oven... - I'll share the recipe with you tomorrow...

Piece,

Linda

"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together." ~ Vista Kelly

The Quest for Pa'ndau

For those of you who enjoyed my post last Monday, showing you this Hmong applique piece I purchased at the Tammachat Fair Trade Gift Show and Sale, I think you would really enjoy reading a recent post on the Tammachat Travel Blog. You will not only learn much more about where these handmade works of art come from and the women who produce them, but also see some interesting photos. Check out the Blog here and read about Ellen and Alleson's quest for pa'ndau in the Golden Triangle (where Thailand meets Burma and Laos).

Piece,

Linda

"Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate." ~ JRR Tolkein

Suggestions welcomed....

My friend Gail tells me I've been much too quiet on my blog lately, and she's right! I guess I've been enjoying some quiet "downtime" or "me time" after all the hubbub of Christmas. I'm always exhausted after the holidays. In my house it's "holidays" for everyone else, and I work harder than ever. Why is it that the women get to do 95% of the Christmas related "work"? Each year I vow it's going to be different , but it never is...

Anyways, I've been "resting".... But Gail is right- it's time I got back to blogging. So I thought I'd show you this little gem. Back in October a pair of women from Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia brought their business to Fredericton for the first time: Alleson Kase and Ellen Aggers presented a fair trade gift show and sale. These two women founded a business two years ago called Tammachat, which means "nature" in Thai . Today they have a fluorishing business which sells handwoven items such as silk scarves, shawls and wallhangings and cotton and/or bamboo hats and bags. Tammachat is a fair trade social enterprise; Alleson and Ellen travel to rural Laos and Thailand for several months each winter to purchase beautiful high quality hand woven goods from local women in weaving guilds. By purchasing from groups, they can be sure that the individual weavers will be paid fairly and receive benefits.

As well as the beautiful woven goods, there were other items for sale, such as placemats, runners and a few pieces of applique. Being a quilter, I immediately was drawn to these small appliques which were done by Hmong women. (The Hmong migrated from Southern China in the nineteenth century to the mountainous areas of Laos, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam.) The women do incredible handwork, mostly cross-stitch embroidery, surface embroidery, reverse applique and applique. Their designs are usually one of two types- geometric or pictorial. I chose this small purple geometric applique piece. The stitches are very fine and the back is as neat as the front. So now I'm wondering what to do with it? It measures 7 1/2" square. The purple applique lines are 1/8" wide! Should I just frame it? It's too small to make into a cushion... Originally I was thinking I would make some small quilt blocks to border it with, but the more I look at it (and admire the handwork in it) I think that would almost be sacreligious! My work would pale in comparison...

What would you do? I welcome your comments and suggestions.

You can read more about Tammachat here and you can follow their travel blog here

Piece,

Linda

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." ~ Einstein