...being inspired by a little hat!

In my ever-growing collection of tribal textiles...

...I have a child's hat...

...that is gorgeous....and fascinating!

I have done some research and think (only think mind...no proof!) that it is probably from the area around Karakalpakstan (or Qaraqalpaqstan) where it borders Turkmenistan (or the other way around!). The colours suggest Turkmen, but the decoration suggests Karakalpak. There is such a crossover of peoples around the countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan etc,  that geography is a bit difficult to pin down.

If anyone has any opinions, please let me know.....

The stitching is superb...

...and the decoration sumptuous.

It jangles like crazy and is very heavy. No evil spirits would have attacked the wearer of this head-topper!

An inspired tri-fold has begun....

x C

...indulgences....

As always...

...whenever I get across to ARTIQUE...

...I indulge my passion for tribal textiles.

Not a huge blanket this time ...

...rather some delicious small pieces...

...little gems every one of them!

First up .... a couple of Banjara stitched bracelets.

...with lots of bobbly tassels on them....

This one is looking very much like a snake...

...with it's lozenge patterns in red, yellow, green and white.

A gorgeous little stitched amulet (only 4 inches across)...

...with lovely dangly corner thingys.



But the most beautiful is this Turkomen child's hat.

Just look at the stitching and embellishment on it!!

Cowries and King George V  coins ...

Exquisite stitching...

...with long dangles....

...and topped-off with a beaded diamond.

Take a look at the inside to get an idea of the density of stitching on this piece. :-o

(I'm STILL looking for a little bit of SOMETHING from Kohistan though....

......just have to keep my fingers crossed I guess!)

...textile fix at Artique...

It came as a lovely surprise...

...to find myself driving through the Gloucestershire countryside....

...en route to Tetbury!

What with Bloke hobbling around in flip-flops, I didn't think we'd be going anywhere this side of the new year. But, it was forecast to be "not too cold"...and, more importantly "dry"....so, with a virtual guarantee of no cold wet socks....off we went.

It's so easy to convince oneself that one ABSOLUTELY NEEDS some new pieces of inspirational embroidery/textiles in order to prepare workshops (or anything else) isn't it?

Therefore, Artique became THE destination again....

...the last trip out in 2011 providing delightful piccies for my last blog post until January....

Sit back and drool!





















(I'm saving the rest for 2012!)


Have a wonderful festive period...

...keep happy and safe....

See you next year :-)

x Chris