Threads of Peru

Fabric is, of course, a key material for most of us on TAFA.  Members use it, make it, cut it, embroider on it, paint on it, dye it, sew it, and transform it into a reflection of their imagination. Fabric has been made historically of plant and animal fibers and today's technology uses a plethora of synthetic materials to create new fabrics capable of functions we wouldn't have dreamed of a couple of decades ago. The topic is immense, so for this post, I am zooming in on our base need for it.

Hoarding

We like to politely call having mountains of fabric in our homes our "stash". We say that we need choices and that someday we will use it in something.  I won't point any fingers except at myself. I am a fabroholic! And, I know that I am not alone. When I lived in Chicago, I would go hunting in thrift stores, especially when I felt blue about something. I loved digging through racks, looking for clothes that could be cut up. There is a chain of thrift stores run by Pakistanis there and there were always plenty of saris and clothing that had hand embroidered parts or were made of handwoven materials. I would come home with bags full and then cut them up, sort them by type and put them away.

Then, I moved to Paducah and worked as a cutter at a fabric store for awhile. They had a remnant table that called to me like a magnet. I had never used new fabrics and most of my paychecks ended up going towards these remnants. I still prefer the softness of used fabrics and can't believe how I got sucked in for all of those new fabrics. I realized that I had a problem and that I cannot work in a supply store. I have not bought any supplies for several years now and have vowed not to learn any new techniques until I use up what I have. I would love to learn how to knit, but just know that I would become a yarn addict and I just don't have the room for one more supply. People give me things and I can't say no.

Yes, this is the mess I live in. The first two photos are in my bedroom, the third one is right next to where I sit right now and the bottom one was taken before I did some rearranging.  Bins piled to the ceiling! There are no closets in this old house, so that could be one excuse, but the truth is that I just have too much stuff. I have started purging and am making progress, but it's tough to let go.

I've started having thoughts about death, practical ones. "What will happen to all of this when I die?" Not morbid, just embarrassment to have to unload the chore of going through all this stuff on someone else. The thing is, all of this is worth quite a bit of money, but only to other people who understand what it is and why it's worth something. Bob Davis of Jefferson Street Studios mentioned once that it's a problem many quilters' husbands face when their wives die.  What to do with their stash? Bob's wife, Helene, had a huge stash, a valuable one, of commercial fabrics. Then, she started dyeing her own fabric and no longer had a use for the commercial stuff. So, they have been selling both her stash and her new fabrics at quilt shows. The photo on the left shows Helene's hand dyed fabrics and quilts and on the right, Bob is selling stash fabric during one of Paducah's AQS Quilt Shows.

Jefferson Street Studios

Fabric needs to be stored in a dry place, be protected from moths, mice and other bugs, and many of us find it challenging to keep our stash organized. I had a couple of metal containers out in the garage which got wet. I didn't realize it for months and when I went to look for something, found that they were destroyed by mold. Into the compost bin they went and months later, all of the natural fibers had become dirt, while the synthetic ones were a disgusting mess of indestructable hair balls, just gross. Never will I buy synthetic materials again!

Storage

I asked some of our TAFA members to submit photos of their stash areas and was impressed by the various storage solutions. It also made me jealous, like I want more, more, MORE!

Boisali Biswas has gorgeous handwoven and hand dyed fabrics from India.  Yummy!

Harmony Art designs organic cotton yardage and has samples stored in her family fridge! That was quite the sensation in our Facebook group! Harmony actively speaks out for the use of organic cotton.

Cindy Grisdela Art Quilts has two walls of these wonderful pull out baskets and Bazaar Bayar stores vintage saris in her antique Istanbul dresser.

Morna Crites-Moore also uses recycled fabrics for her work and has a great yarn wall, or is it a cat gym?

Priscilla Creations keeps her stash in zipped up bags and got her husband to build shelves in the closets she took over.

Finally, Nestle and Soar has some great pockets around her work table and also keeps rolls of yardage:

Industry

What this all means is that we are just a tiny example of who the fabric industry targets for its endless products. They know we are hoarders and that we always want more. We can't help it! We love the designs, the feel of the fabric, the potential of how it will look when we transform it. And, the same goes for consumers who always need new clothes, new fashions, new home treatments. It's part of our creative make-up and for those of us who are concerned about the environment and the industrial side of this equation, it's a big catch-22. I preach about going green, living simply and so on, yet I have a hard time living up to my own desire for sustainability.

It's a big problem! The waste generated by the textile and garment industry floods our landfills!

Without going into these problems, the images above clearly spell out what a crisis our textile industry and our consumerist patterns have created. There is plenty of info online, but here are the image source and other links to get you started:

Infographic

EPA's Stats

Textile Management Facts

Textile Exchange

Friends of the Earth Europe

Ethical Work Wear

There are many, many wonderful efforts out there trying to put a dent in this mess. Worn again is one company that recycles fabrics into new products. This video describes some of the hopes and challenges:

How do we handle the complicated questions our industry and our personal loves hand us?

Here are some tips:

• Commit to using up your stash.
• If you don't like a color or pattern anymore, overdye it or use it where it is not so visible.
• Use your old clothes as supplies.
• Alter your clothes for a fresh look.
• Buy from others who are practicing sustainability with their materials.

I am proud to say that many of our members are actively engaged in this effort and your support of them will help them achieve even more.

TAFA Resources

Here are just a few of our members (not mentioned above) who supply great fabric:

Cat Brysch Creations Studio: Cat weaves yardage for other artists.

Ananse Village: Wonderful African prints

Fabricadabra: Yardage from around the world.

justcolours.de: Uta Lenk hand dyes fabric and has a fabric club.

Darn Good Yarn: They salvage tons of fabric and transform them into yarns.

There are many, many more, all doing what they can to create great fabrics or to keep used fabrics out of landfills. Search the site or look through The List. The thumbnails there will help you see right off the bat what the member focus is. 

We love fabric and hope that you will also love what we do with it!

Happy Birthday, TAFA!

TAFA was launched on a blog format in January of 2010.  The idea was that "together, we can do great things!"  All of us have businesses on the web that have to do with handmade textiles and fiber art.  Most are studio artists, but we also have quite a few suppliers, vintage sellers, other organizations, and indie publications.  Sure enough, three years later, we have grown into something to be seen and treasured!

In honor of our common threads, the video below, TAFA Red 2013, captures a quick impression of our members, their beauty and diversity.  The video moves quickly with snapshots of almost all of our members.

Pause it at any time to take a deeper look:

If you would like to know more about a specific member, you can find all of us on The List.  Both the video and The List are in alphabetical order.  We hope that you will connect with our members, contact them, and find out more about what they do.  Support them by spreading the word, shopping from them, and featuring them in your blogs and social media sites.  We believe that our gifts contribute to making this world a better place and we hope that you will agree!

Enjoy!

Vintage Indian textile, "Toran" (applique and embroidery on cotton) by Coco Kulkarni.

India!!!

There is no way to over-emphasize the importance India has had on the textile industry, both historically and in modern times.  Remnants of Indian textiles have been found in the tombs of Ancient Egypt and it played a key role in the Silk Road routes, with remnants found from the 1st Century, vestiges of it's supplies to Rome, China and the Persian empire with cloth and finery.  (See Hindu.com) Wars, adventures, exotic tales, symbolism, spiritual language, and political intrigue have all woven their stories through India's textile history. It is impossible to even begin to tell that story here, so all I will try to do is to whet your appetite and share a bit of what has captured my imagination and interest over the years.

Quick overview: A nice, short overview of Indian textile history.

Metropolitan Museum article on the history of Indian textiles.

Sir Richard Burton

No, not the actor.  This guy lived in the 1800's (1821-1890) and embodied the spirit of the true Victorian traveler, adventurer and anthropologist.  Said to have had Gypsy (Roma) blood, his looks allowed him to pass for many different ethnicities.  He he would adopt native dress and just mingle right in.  I read a biography about him, a thick, heavy book which I could not put down, many years ago.  Burton was a wild man who loved to travel, learn and write.  He spent years in Africa, India and in the Middle East.  He was a spy!  At that time, Europe traded heavily with Africa and Asia for spices, textiles and other good things.  He worked for the East India Company which basically served to spread the British Empire and keep its colonies in good working order.  

The thing is, Sir Richard Burton thrived on learning about the people he met and documented everything he saw in endless journals.  He wrote, drew, analyzed, learned and went native.  It is said that he spoke over 29 languages and that he also slept with the local women wherever he traveled.  He was one of the first Westerners to record the woman's perspective on life in that part of the world.  Anthropologists before him only had interest or access to what men thought or did.  And, he not only slept with the women, but felt that what he learned through these sexual encounters should be shared and embraced by Victorian England!  Burton had a printing press in his English mansion and he went about translating and printing the Kama Sutra, handing it out in secret to his friends because he felt that they were really missing out on an important part of life.  He also translated and printed The Arabian Nights, was the first white guy, along with John Speke, to find the source of the River Nile, and also snuck into Mecca, documenting it for the West for the first time.  

Burton married an English woman who didn't really get the whole wild side thing and as she tried to keep him in line, he became more eccentric, converting to Islam in his later years and rejecting Victorian life altogether.

How is his story about textiles?  Well, in a nutshell, he represents to me that whole era when England, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands cavorted around, subjugating people and continents, taking resources for their own use, establishing colonies and changing the world forever.  Centuries of Asian history clashed with these new powers, creating animosity and frustration, for sure, but also establishing new influences in all of the arts, including textiles.  While the British imposed a destiny that no Indian would want for themselves, they also brought all kinds of new opportunities and market demands that made a lot of locals very wealthy indeed.  Burton personifies this interest that Victorian England also had with "native" peoples.  Thousands of others like him were off and about, exploring the world and bringing back treasures from far-off places.  One picture I saw of Burton in his home showed that the place was covered with textiles and carpets from the East.  What is a Victorian home without a Persian rug or two?

More information on Burton: Burtoniana.org

British India

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bed Cover (Palampore), early 18th century

India (Coromandel Coast)

Without getting into too much history here, there is a quilting tid-bit that fascinates me.  There was all of this back and forth going on between India and Victorian England.  The quilting ladies in England, especially those of the upper crusts, became enchanted with printed and painted cotton spreads from India such as the one above.  They liked to cut out the designs, turn the edges in and applique them on to tops, re-configuring them into their own designs.  And, of course, cousin Abigail over in the Colonies (the US ones), also just had to have some for herself, too.  So, this big fad happemed where quilters just had to have paisley and other floral designs made in India which they could cut up and sew down to their quilts.  Sound familiar?

Here's another from the Victoria and Albert Museum which was actually made into a quilt:

The Textile Museum has a number of nice pieces from the same period in its collection: Click!  It also has quite a few garments, embroidery and other samples of antique Indian textiles. 

By the early 1900's, the Industrial Revolution had taken over the west, replacing hand weaving with machine made fabrics and it continued on, moving into synthetics in a few more decades.  Industrialization also made its way to the East, but most of the rural populations still relied on age-old techniques to create the same amazing textiles.

Photographers, the new adventurers, ran around the world to bring stereoviews back to the people back home who could watch the world unfold in their own parlors.

Gandhi

Fast forward and there were some wars around the world, some devastation, lots of death, poverty, and depression.  People were really upset and the Colonial thing had gotten really, really old.  Enter Gandhi, the revolutionary spinner who got the Brits to go home.

By no means perfect (Gandhi had some weird needs in my book), this quiet, soft-spoken man practiced peaceful civil disobedience and led India into Independence.  And, at the core of his philosophy was self-reliance: grow your own food, spin your thread and weave it, too.  Be local.  I found a couple of videos of him that really are treasures:

The second one is especially chilling as the interviewer, obviously not too comfortable sitting on the ground, asked Gandhi questions about his planned trip to England along with "Are you willing to go back to jail? To die for the cause?"  Oh, to be such a believer!  Especially knowing that, in the end, Gandhi did indeed die for his beliefs.

But, what was Gandhi about, exactly?  I think we could say that he was the Martin Luther King, Jr. of Fair Trade, before fair trade was even thought of as a concept.  There's a Wikipedia page on Gandhian Economics:

"Gandhi's thinking on socio-economic issues was greatly influenced by the American writer Henry David Thoreau. Throughout his life, Gandhi sought to develop ways to fight India's extreme poverty, backwardness and socio-economic challenges as a part of his wider involvement in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi's championing of Swadeshi and non-cooperation were centred on the principles of economic self-sufficiency. Gandhi sought to target European-made clothing and other products as not only a symbol of British colonialism but also the source of mass unemployment and poverty, as European industrial goods had left many millions of India's workers, craftsmen and women without a means of living. By championing homespun khadiclothing and Indian-made goods, Gandhi sought to incorporate peaceful civil resistance as a means of promoting national self-sufficiency.

Gandhi led farmers of Champaran and Kheda in asatyagraha (civil disobedience and tax resistance) against the mill owners and landlords supported by the British government in an effort to end oppressive taxation and other policies that forced the farmers and workers and defend their economic rights. A major part of this rebellion was a commitment from the farmers to end caste discrimination and oppressive social practices against women while launching a co-operative effort to promote education, health care and self-sufficiency by producing their own clothes and food.^[2]"

New World Textiles follows the Gandhi path and offers spinning/weaving supplies and khadi cloth.

That vision was not a rosy one.  There was a terrible price to pay as lives were lost, not only in conflicts between the British and Indians, but then on into the new Independence, clashes between Hindu and Muslim, blood baths, separation and creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh, political intrigue, and isolationism from the rest of the world.  (See Forbes article.)  Yes, Gandhi inspired and changed his world.  Needs of the poor were addressed, cooperatives and ashrams formed, leadership created, and in the background, hundreds of thousands of workers kept on spinning, weaving, embroidering, catering mainly to upper classes and to the tourist industry.

India shut itself off to the world.  It put huge tariffs on imports, forcing the population to just use what they had. But, even with its back to the world, the world came for India.  The 1960's and 70's, that generation of love, opened all kinds of new interests to Indian handicrafts, textiles, music, philosophy and spirituality.  Yes, even the Beatles trekked on over there in search of that elusive something: 

If you look back at photos from the 1960's and 70's, you will see the paisleys, the khadi, the tie-dyes, beads, and clothing all pouring into the US and Europe from India.  Nothing's gonna change my world?  Change is always happening, but somehow it also seems to cycle around and around.  

India's doors stayed closed to the world all the way up to the early 1990's.  Then, like a kid who has been denied sugar, it opened up (almost at the same time as China) and it just went wild with technology, growth and development.  Gandhi's legacy was not able to address the needs of the poor, but his vision of community and self-reliance did create the right environment for local efforts to organize themselves and to retain the skills, heritage and pride in the handmade process.

Today amazing things are happening with the handmade textile industry in India.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of non-profits work in finding the right models that can use textile production as a significant force for economic development.  After decades of experimentation, we see their ability to both offer the Indian market what they want along with the development of partnerships with Western designers.  Together they are creating a new, fresh and contemporary look that embraces the traditional yet appeals to a modern aesthetic.  Dialogue between East and West is happening all over the world, but in India, this vision has been especially successful.  

TAFA's India

Tilonia Weaver

Indian textiles are represented on TAFA in several ways: 

• Fair trade organizations based in India:  MarketPlace: Handwork of India, Tilonia, 
• Fair trade groups based outside of India that carry Indian products:  Darn Good Yarn, Fabric of Life, 
• Artists of Indian ancestry: Boisali Biswas,  Coco Kulkarni, dharmakarmaarts
• Artists inspired by India: Folkwear,  Lavish Lanna, Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo, New World Textiles, Textile Gems,
• Small importers or vintage dealers:  Loaded Trunk, Rayela Art,
• Informational members:  Design-Decoration-Craft, Hand/Eye Magazine

These are just a few that stand out today, but do a search on the site and see what else pops up.  We even have a member named India!  India Flint, beloved in the dye community for her natural methods, connection to the earth and dancing spirit.

Boisali Biswas

This post is just a teeny introduction into amazing India.  It is an old nation with a cultural heritage that is mixed, complex, and difficult to categorize for an outsider or amateur enthusiast like myself.  My hope is that Burton, Gandhi and the Beatles all open a bit of curiosity towards looking at textiles and India in a new way.  Nothing stands alone in and of itself.  Everything is part of a larger whole and it is all political.  What we make and consume, how we do it, and how we take from and what we offer to the world creates a chain reaction that impacts everybody else.  India is one example of that dance, that great experiment, and it can only continue to unfold in exciting and meaningful ways.  I look forward to seeing where we go from here!

dharmakarmaarts

See Indira's visit to an ikat exhibit in Chennai.

Other links:

• Kala Raksha
• Indianetzone
• Craft Revival
• Maiwa
• Aid to Artisans

Boys knitting during WWII.  Image from an old Life Magazine.

K is for Knitting!

I wish I knew how to knit...  I love it so much, but I just know what would happen:  I would get addicted to yarn and start filling bins with it, just adding to more chaos in my already full house.  I've made a commitment: LEARN NOTHING NEW UNTIL I USE UP MY FABRIC!!!!

So, I enjoy it through others, especially through my friend, Diane.  My house is one of those old, rickety houses from 100 years ago.  Drafty, with no central heating, I really suffered for the first years here.  Diane knit me fingerless gloves, leg warmers, caps, booties and scarflettes, all in gorgeous, yummy wool.  A couple of gas heaters have made winters bearable, but I am so grateful to her for these gifts! 

Need a giggle?  You knitters will enjoy (or shudder) at this one:

Two needles plus some yarn...........  and what can happen with that!  It is just amazing!  The complexity that knitters can achieve with such humble tools and supplies.  All of the cold climates around the world have long histories of their knitting practices and many have patterns that have become a part of their national identity.  My mother is of Icelandic descent and when she was young, her siblings and cousins would get a sweater as a high school graduation present, intended to last for the rest of their lives.  Diane went on a knitting tour to Iceland last year and reported that the yummy yarns were everywhere, even in supermarkets!

Protesting the war in Iraq, Marianne Art.

Knitting has also had a great social history.  Because of its portability, projects can easily go with the knitter to wherever they hang out: meetings, on the bus or train, even walking on the street.  Charity knitting has long contributed to relief efforts around the world.  The boys knitting at the top of this post were part of a Red Cross campaign during WWII to send warm clothing to soldiers and refugees in Europe.  Diane knits for two charity groups, one that sends hats and socks to soldiers and another that sends hats and scarves to orphans, both in Afghanistan.  I teased her about that and said that she was a good example of yin and yang, knitting for both the invader and the victim.  She now calls herself the Yin-Yang Knitter.

Knitters have also taken to the streets with what is called Yarn Bombing among many other labels.  Wikipedia has a list of links and a bit of history.  Organizers can often get participants from all over the world to engage in whatever form of a public message they want to publicize.  The pink tank above is one example of how many people contributed to one project.  Read the story here.  We live in such a fascinating time where all kinds of traditional craft techniques have found new life by artists who push those boundaries into radical action.  Knitting is no longer only about function. It is sculptural, abstract, communal, and up for grabs.

We have some great things happening with knitting here on TAFA, too!  Here are just a few members who knit.  Click on their names to visit their member profiles.  Make sure to explore their links and enter keywords in the search box for more (knit, knitting, knitter will all bring results).

Bazaar Bayar

Catherine has knitting workshops with women in Turkey.

Knittingceleste

Celeste teaches knitting and will travel to your location!

JWrobel

Jess has a precious line of knit infant garments and accessories.  (And, she also knits for big people!)

Zeni Design Studio

Toni likes to use unusual yarns in her work (metals, bamboo, etc.).

Banner Mountain Textiles

Beryl is known for her beautiful weaving, but she also knits!

Wrapture by Inese

Inese has a fun shrug that can be worn in many ways.  Check her Etsy shop for beautiful sweaters, too.

dbk design arts

Stay warm with Debra's hand knit gauntlets!

These TAFA members all happen to be women, but do not think for a moment that knitting is "women's work"!  There are many men's knitting groups out there and this is not a new trend.  Historical articles will point to men knitting in China, Russia, Europe and other places hundreds of years ago. 

There are gobs of cool knitting sites on the web.  Any serious knitter will know of and probably be on Ravelry, a huge knitting community that is amazing.  Here are a couple of other links to get you started:

Knitting Letters: A to Z by UnionPerl.  A fascinating documentation of knitting.

American Red Cross Museum: Get knitting patterns for what those WWII boys were making.

Charity Knitting:  A list of links if you want to help somebody with your knitting.

Happy Knitting!