The Mermaid Trap

Mermaid Tear

The Mermaid Tear with silk embroidery by Safia from Afghanistan for : CREATIVE THREADS -- FROM AFGHANISTAN TO EUROPE 'Afghani women of the Hazara tribe are known for the high quality of their embroidery. Of all the different stitches they have mastered, the Gobelin stitch used to create Bargello has been selected to launch the second embroidery project of the DAI (Deutsch-Afghanische Initative Freiburg). Sadly this tradition is disappearing, as the women no longer embroider for their own use and regard the traditional hand embroidery as old-fashioned. The Hazara women of Sharak, near Herat in western Afghanistan, have taken to needlework again. Now, with their embroidery paid for by the project, the women are rediscovering the skills they had mastered before setting them aside during the past 25 years of war and almost constant displacement. For the project the women stitch 4 x 6-cm rectangles with silk floss. The diamond or rhombus is a basic motif in traditional Hazara embroidery. These special edition diamonds have a surface area of roughly 2.5 cm2 and are made in three different forms. The Afghan embroiderers have completed their stitching and delivered a finished piece of embroidery, but not a finished product. It is now for Europeans to get involved, to immerse themselves in building on the Afghan embroidery and thus creating a four-handed work.' https://picasaweb.google.com/114035957436176535199/HAZARAAiguilleEnFeteCompetitionParis