| By Weft and By Warp! Ikat to die for from Indonesia and Thailand | | |  WARP IKAT FROM SUMBA
In November, Jim and I finally got to Sumba - an island in Indonesia which I have long wanted to visit. In many ways it was better than even my fevered imaginings. The warp ikat weaving (the main reason for going) certainly lived up to expectations! We ended up spending quite a lot, justifying it by telling ourselves that we may not ever come again.
Sumba is not everyone's cup of tea but if you're a textile addict, its worth putting up with the searing heat and basic accommodation. And if you prefer being an armchair traveller (much more ecologically sound) there's more about Sumba and its warp ikat weavings in my blog, which is HERE. You'll find it, if you scroll down past the Bangkok rant!
The good news is that all those lovely weavings we bought are finally back home and Jim has been hanging some in our shop in Bishop's Castle and I have put most of them on the website. TAKE A LOOK! | | | | WEFT IKAT FROM THAILAND (Part 1) So, while Jim has been looking after things at home, I've been out in Thailand stocking up on lovely textiles and clothes for the year ahead. I've also been meeting up with old friends. In Chiang Mai I was very happy to see Mon who runs Kompor Textiles. I ordered two more 60 metre bolts of her fabulous indigo handwoven fabric with ikat. The yarns have all been dyed and the weavers can devote themselves to their looms once they have harvested their lychee so it should be ready by the end of the month. By a series of strange coincidences I also met up with Siripan Kidd, a Thai quilt artist extraordinaire who I last met at least 12 years ago at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. She took me to a small exhibition by the Chiang Mai Stitchers quilt group. | | | | WEFT IKAT FROM THAILAND (Part 2) At the moment, I'm in Nongkhai in the north-east and have caught up with another old friend, Khun Nisachon who I haven't seen for years - and who by another strange coincidence went to college with Siripan 50 years ago! What a small world it is.
Nisachon has taken me in hand and I have just spent two days being taken to villages to meet weavers and indigo dyers. Nisachon as a "5 star OTOP Champion" (this probably translates as a craft "National Treasure") was overseeing workshops for older rural women to pass on their traditional skills . OTOP is a superb Thai initiative which markets and promotes the crafts and products of Thailand through grants and sales at it's shops and fairs.
Is there any group of people more funny and kind than a group of working-class elderly women without their husbands and out on a jolly? They were an absolute joy. They didn't stop laughing, they cooked enough food for a whole village, they patted me to sit next to them as they got on with their sewing, weaving, spinning or yarn winding and they accepted my every attempt at Thai with delight. At the end of it I was asked to make a speech about selling Thai textiles in the UK and presented with a scarf made by the group!
Anyway... another great reason for catching up with Khun Nisachon was to get my hands on some more of her jackets, which I was very pleased to find she is still making even though she is well past retirement age. These perfectly designed jackets made from perfectly beautiful fabric, woven by perfectly wonderful women will be at our 2018 World Textile Days while stocks last! | | | TALKS AND EVENTS COMING UP IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH.
Wed. 21st Feb at 5pm Jim is giving a brand new talk at Bishop's Castle Town Hall
Sat. 24th Feb at 2pm Talk for Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers in Cambridge
Sat 10 March at 2pm Talk for Ceredigion Weavers, Spinners and Dyers near Lampeter, Wales
Sat. 17th March 10 - 4.30pm Our first World Textile Day of the year in Llanidloes
Wed 21st March Talk for Wombourne Quilters in Birmingham
For more information on all these talks CLICK HERE | | | |
