Scottish Diaspora Tapestry - Portuguese Panels

Olá! Two weeks ago I introduced you to the Scottish Diaspora Panel and promised to show the panels that were sent to Portugal.

George Sandeman's panel

We received two panels designed and drawn onto linen, a colored pattern and wool thread. We should choose our own stitches to bring the design to life. Both designs represent the Porto Wine industry. There is a third panel, depicting Sir John Drummond (John of Scotland, Joao Escorcio) in Madeira in the 15th Century, but it is being stitched in Scotland.

The panels are very different from each other, which happened to be a great way of creating different experiences around them.

Port Wine families' panel

There is a panel representing George Sandeman that was sent to the North, the region of Porto wine. The panel has a much more intricate and detailed pattern. The North of Portugal is the region where we find most of Portuguese embroidery traditions...

So we decided to have it embroidered there, in the North, in a more traditional way, using the stitches more common in our regional embroideries.

Méri Almeida from the blog agulhas da méri became responsible for this panel, coordinating a team of volunteers that have been gathering on a daily basis...

Lovely details including the mustache using velvet stitch from Guimarães embroidery

Méri was the best choice I could have ever made... She knows all the details of our traditional stitches, she loves to use embroidery technique at a high level, and puts her heart into each stitch. The photos showing the team working tell us that this is the spirit being lived there... 

The hair is growing day by day with incredible "canutilho"stitches (bullion knots), the soul of Guimarães embroidery

In the North we have the panel of the technique and rigor... But the door is always open and whoever wants to help or see the panel will be welcome.

The grapes are finished and the first vine leaf is almost done...

The other panel represents many of the Scottish families related to Porto wine industry and the design is simpler, not giving opportunity for using many different stitches.

Using "ponto frouxo" or Castelo Branco Stitch to fill the wine barrel

And the simplicity of the design was used with mastery by Sofia, from the blog Tayari, a borboleta serrana. Instead of a very technical panel, in Lisbon, we have one in which many participate.

A group of volunteers, in Lisbon, stitching the outlines using stem stitch.

For several days Sofia received volunteers in a public space in Lisbon, where they gathered to embroider all the outlines in stem stitch. In a weekend she traveled to Sintra in order to work with another group of volunteers, including a Scottish lady. She was in an Embroidery School, where a teacher of the Castelo Branco embroidery began filling the wine barrel at the centre. And she managed to take the panel to a public school where a group of 10 year old students experienced the joy of embroidering for the first time... Next weekend the panel will travel to a rural region of Portugal and there some very skilled embroiderers will also be able to participate.

The panel at the school, where students learned history, geography and embroidery technique

Sofia is coordinating all these different volunteers and at the same time ensuring the quality of the stitching. The stitches that have been chosen are giving the panel such a textured touch... That's not an easy job and Sofia is coordinating it always with gentle words and a smile on her face...

One of the four corners of the Port families' panel. 

This is an incredible experience for all of us... A truly feeling of celebration inspires all the volunteer embroiderers, regardless of their age and experience... We are celebrating our "global village" in this journey between Portugal and Scotland on the tip of a needle! 

Portugal - a living museum of embroidery part IV

Olá! This week I remembered that I had some photos that I've not showed yet.

So... come with me and accept my invitation to continue our visit to a very special museum... to Portugal, a living museum of embroidery...

As I told you in our first visit it is very common in antiques and flea street markets to find someone selling vintage embroidery. These photos are from a street market in Estremoz, but all around Portugal you'll find the same... from the North to the South of our country... this happens in the street... but indoors it is no different. I believe you'll find a piece of embroidery almost in every single home.

And this makes me think of all the women that embroidered these stitches that lasted until today... Can you imagine so many hours? So many women...

If it is still possible to have all these in our days, I can't avoid thinking of how different life was those days when these treasures were stitched...

I really would love to know if in your countries it's as easy to find a piece of embroidery as it is here, in this very special living museum of embroidery.

Beautiful key chains from Portugal

Olá! Today I'll continue on last week's Portuguese blog, cesto da roupa, from the hands of Isabel Jardim. And this week I tried to learn a little bit more about Isabel's relationship with embroidery...

Like many of you (I believe...), Isabel's first stitches were at school, embroidering perforated cards.
Her love for embroidery is an old love. And for a long time she embroidered and sold many, many commemorative (birthday, marriage...) cross stitch works.

Winter look...

She likes to see motifs gaining color and volume. Often she does not use a pattern, especially with floral motifs - Isabel embroiders freely, until the whole piece looks balanced and harmonious... and she certainly has a gift for creating charming flowers!

In blue...

As the photos of last week show, she believes that a small embroidered detail makes a piece of work really unique!

Pastel...

I decided to keep these photos for last, since I'm completely crazy about them... These key chains won my attention when I saw them in a craft fair and I decided that I had to show them here...

So delicate...

I was not expecting it to be so difficult to choose the photos... I like each and every one of them...

Red, red, red...

Green and pink...

Do you know what Isabel's family name, Jardim, means in Portuguese? It means "Garden"... and that's what this post looks like!!!

Cesto da Roupa...

Olá! The first weeks of this year I'll be showing some more works from Portuguese embroiderers. I believe it is a great way of beginning the year... isn't it?

And let's begin with Isabel Jardim and her blog "cesto da roupa"... I would translate it as clothes basket... Because I believe she did not mean laundry basket... but maybe the real problem is with my English. :)

I got to know her work three years ago and I loved the originality and freshness of how she worked with fabrics... so different from what I usually see. But I only discovered embroidery on her work very recently...

Some years ago Isabel begun publishing beautiful painted  laundry bags and bed sheets but soon her charming bed covers became a success and I believe that was when she started showing her embroidery stitches... soon delicate stitches began embellishing many of Isabel's works. And she brought them from the bed to the table. Later, her doll lavender bags with cute embroidered faces were the confirmation that embroidery was there to stay. :)

Today I bring you some photos of more recent pieces of work with embroidered details that make them so special and unique... 

Photos from Cesto da Roupa

Photo from Cesto da Roupa

Isabel's bunting banners and this beautiful bag embroidered with little birds show her inspiration from vintage motifs...

Photos from Cesto da Roupa

 And this toilet bag surely shows Isabel's preference for floral patterns...

Photo from Cesto da Roupa

Lately, Isabel has been dedicating some of her stitches to our little friends... and she embroidered a beautiful collection of pillows for pets...

But I will leave the best for last... so don't forget to pass by next week. I'll show you my favorite works from "cesto da roupa" and you'll learn a little more about Isabel and her relation to embroidery.

New life for old embroidery

Olá! This week I bring you a very inspiring and simple story about very simple and inspired people. This story begun more than 50 years ago in Paredes de Coura, a municipality in the North of Portugal, Minho Region, near form the frontier with Spain.

All around our country, fifty years ago, unmarried girls prepared their bridal trousseau with their own hands. In this big family living in Paredes de Coura, sisters gathered at night after work to embroider, make lace or spin... The images I show you are from a linen bedsheet embroidered during those late sessions by one of these sisters.

Old embroidery

Reproduction of old embroidery

These girls were not experts... And there were no patterns (riscos as it is said in Traditional Portuguese embroidery) to follow. Paredes de Coura is not a place especially recognized by its embroideries like other municipalities from Minho Region are. So these girls used a pencil and by their own hand traced the motifs without having to respect any rules... only as their hearts dictated. And I believe that's the reason why these motifs are so incredibly naif and beautiful.

Old embroidery

Reproduction of old embroidery

This bedsheet was embroidered with the monograms of the embroiderer and her fiance "B & N". As you can see in the photos, the "old stitching" was not perfect... And I even cannot recognized some stitches... I believe they were guided by instinct instead of being "official" stitches (maybe I did not made myself clear...).

The imperfect stitching, the lack of rules in tracing the patterns and the color choice (green for flowers) in my opinion, make this piece of embroidery absolutely charming, showing what happened late at night in many, many Portuguese homes fifty years ago...

Old embroidery

Reproduction of old embroidery

But this story doesn't end here...

Many years later the artist of the original piece of embroidery made it a gift to her niece, Maria Alice, knowing that she would appreciate it. Besides being a great embroider, Maria Alice belongs to a traditional folklore dancing group (rancho folclórico) and she could use it to recreate traditional costumes.

But Maria Alice came out with better idea... She decided to make a reproduction (or maybe a recreation) of the original embroidery using the same linen of the bed sheet. And she gave the original piece and the recreation to both daughters (her cousins) of the embroiderer from 50 years ago. I believe this was such a surprise for them...

Original and reproduction

This is a very simple story, but I believe that it tells a lot about our (simple) country... And stories like these are the reason why I always say that Portugal is a living museum of embroidery...

Inspired by olives?

Olá! I truly believe that traditional embroidery from Portugal tells the history of our country… And you already know how much I like my patterns to be inspired by Portuguese traditions and culture… Of course I love many other types of embroidery motifs, but I have to say that the ones rooted in the “Portuguese soul”  inspire me the most…

I believe you also have those unique kinds of patterns that are special to you… Haven't you?

The pattern I bring today is not a traditional one but it reveals a bit of Portuguese history and a lot about Portuguese culture.

It was inspired by a pottery piece from Alentejo and embroidered by Maria Alice. And it was the perfect tip to show you a little more about my country…

Olives and Olive trees

The olives reproduced in that simple and beautiful embroidery takes part of our gastronomy, agriculture production (Portuguese olive oil is among the best of the world), crafts - using olive trees' wood or ceramic  - and even popular music (one of the most traditional songs here sung by Portuguese singers)...

Traditional Pottery Inspired by Olives...

Our Mediterranean type climate is very supportive of the growth of olive trees and olive oil, obtained from the fruit of the olive tree, has been produced in Portugal for many, many years. There is evidence that olive trees existed in Portugal back in the Bronze Age and the exportation of olive oil dates back to Portuguese maritime explorations.

Did you know that an olive tree can live thousands of years? And that Niel Armstrong left a golden olive branch on the moon as a symbol of peace?

Olives embroidered by Maria Alice

As you see a very simple pattern can be full of meaning... That's another reason why art, in this case, embroidery, makes our lives so special...

Poetry and embroidery

Olá! Portugal is not only a country of embroiderers... It is also well known for being a country of poets... And I believe that embroidery and poetry make a unique combination...

This week I leave you with my stitches, using a pattern from agulha não pica inspired by Viana do Castelo Regional embroidery - a beautiful flower known as "japoneira", and the words (in Portuguese) of Fernando Pessoa - one of the most famous Portuguese poets.

In Portuguese the words sound very popular and sweet. In English it does not sound so beautiful, it is very difficult to translate such graceful words...

I dedicate it to each you...

Japoneira, my photo

 
Tome lá, minha menina,  
O ramalhete que fiz. 
Cada flor é pequenina, 
Mas tudo junto é feliz. 
                  Fernando Pessoa

Take it, my little girl, 
This bouquet I made.  
Each flower is tiny, 
But joyful when together. 
                  Fernando Pessoa

AMOR - My best wishes for 2013

Olá! I'm passing by only to wish a great 2013 and to offer you a late Christmas gift...

After reviewing the book "Traditional Embroidery of Portugal" I begun adapting and recovering some vintage patterns that came in the design sheets. To end 2012 I decided to share with you one of my favorite patterns, already embroidered in my cork fabric book cover...

This pattern belongs to Azores embroidery (that I will review soon), called the Long and Short stitches embroidery, usually embroidered with two shades of blue.

Embroidery pattern adapted from "Traditional Embroidery of Portugal".

Design sheet from "Traditional Embroidery of Portugal"

Book: Traditional Embroidery of Portugal

I believe that in 2013 "all we need is love"... And as the Portuguese word for LOVE is AMOR, this is my way of wishing you all the love in the world!

See you next year!

Portugal - a living museum of embroidery - part III

Ola! This week we'll continue indoors near Estremoz, as it happened last time... You'll see why I say that Portugal is a living museum of embroidery. I've chosen the most colorful pieces of embroidery for this week. Hope you like them!

I found many similar table doilies, all using the same colors but with different patterns. So simple and beautiful...

Very simple piece of embroidery, photo by ZPmoreira

I believe that the photo of this bedside table cover perfectly describes the atmosphere that we live in a "Monte Alentejano" (a farm house from Alentejo)... Of course it is old... And very simple. But so colorful and cosy...

Vintage bedside table cover, photo by ZPmoreira

This tea tray cloth set is one of my favorites... Love the colors and the mixture of free embroidery and cross stitch are simply perfect! I've never seen it before.

Vintage tea tray cloth, photo by ZPmoreira

Do you recognise the stitch used in this colorful table doily? I believe it is bullion knot, embroidered using a traditional technique typical in the North of Portugal and applied when a larger bullion knot is needed. Follow the link and learn how to do it with avo Meri.

Embroidered table doily, photo by ZPmoreira

I end this trip with a very simple embroidery piece... A bread drawstring bag where you can read "Pão" (bread in Portuguese). It's close to another bag, a drawstring patchwork bag, very common in Portugal. Although many Portuguese people never heard about its popular name, in rural areas it is still known as "taleigo" (with some differences on the exact word, depending on the region it belongs to).

This photo was taken at the front gate. And as it happens in many Portuguese homes you are received with a welcoming message in ceramic tile.

Bread drawstring bags, photo by ZPmoreira

"Dá-nos Senhor o pão nosso de cada dia" - "Give us Lord our daily bread"

*See you next week... Don't forget to pass by... I have a surprise!

Portugal - a living museum of embroidery - part II

Olá! This a week we'll continue on our trip through Portugal, a living museum of embroidery. Today we'll be indoors, visiting an old family house near Estremoz, in the Portuguese region of Alentejo. Rural houses in the Alentejo countryside are called Montes. Monte means a small hill, an elevation, and in this region, very well known by its vast plains, usually houses were built on small hills. 

These photos were taken on a rainy day, like today... Which is not very typical once Portugal is a shining country!! But I believe this transmitted a special and beautiful light to the photos. Hope you like them!

I believe that most of the embroidery pieces pictured were made by the grandmother and the great grandmother of the actual owners of the property, but I cannot be sure. I know both were great embroiderers since they have some signed beautiful pieces of embroidery. Most probably the photos show some designs and technique inspired by Portuguese Traditional Embroidery, but in this case again I cannot prove it. Beginning with this dresser cover, that I believe was inspired by Alinhavados from Nisa...

Vintage embroidered dresser cover, photo by ZPmoreira

This floral silk embroidery is of unique beauty and, believe me, no photo would be able to show the richness of the stitches and all marvellous details. It is framed and signed by the grandmother of the actual owners.

Beautiful framed piece of embroidery signed by the owner's grandmother, photo by ZPmoreira

It's easy to identify in these blue stitches the influence of Azores embroidery. And there were more similar to this one... All charmingly beautiful.

Inspired by Traditional Embroidery from Azores, Photo by ZPmoreira

I can't describe the singularity of this extremely little and exquisite piece of embroidery. I believe its inspiration comes from Madeira Embroidery. Check here and here to delight yourself with some details.

Inspired by Madeira embroidery, Photo by ZPmoreira

This dresser cover with floral design is so colorful... I find some resemblances with a specific type of Madeira Embroideries, but in this case I would be much more careful to make this association... Charming, anyway.

Floral embroidered dresser cover, Photo by ZPmoreira

Some of these embroideries were being used, but many others were kept in drawers. As it happens in many Portuguese homes. I really would like to shout out loud: "Embroideries out of the drawers"!!

Portugal - a living museum of embroidery

Olá! Today we'll have another small break in our historical reviews on Portuguese embroidery... Well... Maybe it won't be a break. Consider it instead as a visit to a living museum of embroidery.

Yes, I believe that Portugal can be seen as a living museum of embroidery... In every home we find beautiful stitches and even in the street you would be surprised at the pieces of embroidery that are being sold.

Last weekend I was out for a weekend near a beautiful town in Alentejo, Estremoz. As always I visited the Antiques and Flea Street Market and my favorite stall that sells vintage embroidery. And this time I asked my husband to take some pictures...

Antiques and Flea Street Market in Estremoz, photo by ZPmoreira

It was great to have all these beauties nearby... But, at the same time, it made me wonder about what happened to all the families that have sold their treasures. All the embroiderers that worked these beautiful stitches never imagining that they would end up in a street market... As we would say in "good Portuguese", É a vida! "That's life!" And at least these embroidery pieces will end up in the hands of someone who will find them precious!!!

Beautiful stitches, photo by ZPmoreira

Each piece of embroidery was more beautiful and colourful than the other...

Beautiful embroidered tablecloth, photo by ZPmoreira

I asked the seller if she could tell me where the embroideries came from. But I obtained no answer, once she was more interested in assuring me that they were not stolen :)

One of my favorites, photo by ZPmoreira

I promise I will make my research work... I would like to be sure that these stitches have Portuguese Soul...

Beautiful flower embroidery, photo by ZPmoreira

It was so difficult to choose the photos... I would like to show you all of them, but as it is not possible, I hope you like my selection!

Vintage and colorful stitches, photo by ZPmoreira

Next week I'll show you more of this living museum of embroidery...