Skip to main content

E is for Embroidery

Although I can barely thread a needle, there are several people all over the world who turn to embroidery as a hobby that gives them peace and also some income. Many run their businesses on Facebook pages using Facebook Marketplace or on Etsy. My mom has always been good at embroidery and so has my maternal grandma. Some people just seem to have a knack for it and pick it up easily.

My mom considers embroidery a stress-buster. She says she always feels good after doing embroidery since she feels creative and fulfilled. I found that it added to my stress. We had SUPW as a subject in one of the schools I attended, but since I was so bad at it, I dreaded it. My mom says every country has different types of embroidery, and, in India, every state has some speciality. In Bengal, they specialize in Kantha stitch. My mom has a lovely Kantha work saree. Kashmiri embroidery is colourful and elegant. Hand embroidery is considered more valuable than machine embroidery. My mom has done stem stitch, blanket stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch, lazy daisy, bullion stitch, and many others. Embroidery can be done all over the fabric or in just one place, like one little rose or flower. Cross-stitch/tapestry is another type of embroidery. It needs a special type of cloth. My mom has done several tapestries of Anchor Quick Stitch Kit. She says one needs a lot of patience and time to do it. I had started one such kit in 2014, which is still unfinished. In Ooty, they make embroidered bedspreads. I bought an embroidered bedspread from Benares in 2014. I simply loved it. My mom has bought several cut work bedspreads from Kolkata. Bangkok is famous for its embroidered cutwork shirts. My mom remembers the embroidered cushion covers she saw in Belgium when we were on our  Europe trip. Some Indians spend exorbitant amounts for their embroidered lehengas/Ghaghra cholis, especially for their weddings.







Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 6, 2020 at 11:39 AM

    Hi Aishwarya, I love embroidery of all kinds. The mention about Anchor Quick stitch kit brought back so many memories. I guess I will restart :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MyMewseApril 6, 2020 at 8:41 PM

      Yes, with the lockdown in progress in most parts of the world, it is good to turn to hobbies as a stress buster:)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I is for 'Insect Collecting'

Yes! Insect collecting is a hobby. People do collect insects and preserve them in chemical solutions. A former colleague and friend from Hewlett-Packard used to do it. She was even featured in 'The Hindu' for her unusual hobby. She said her parents always told her stories of insects while she grew up, so she did not consider them icky or creepy. Now, I’ve got arachnophobia that’s been passed down from my maternal grandmother, so the thought of collecting any insect gives me the heebie-jeebies. I do like ladybirds and butterflies although I don’t really want to collect them. Here is an article on ‘How to start a proper insect collection’ from the Internet in case you want to explore your options. If you enter ‘insect collecting supplies' on Amazon, it throws up a list of supplies like ‘insect collecting net’ ‘insect display case’ etc. Maybe once we are rid of COVID -19, you can look it up.  Children interested in science can do it as a school project for t...
6 comments
Read more

How hobbies can enrich one’s life

Everybody needs a hobby. Some people are naturally more predisposed to boredom. These are the creative ones that if encouraged and nurtured can go on to change the world. But before they save the world, they need to save themselves. As the saying goes, no one can pour out of an empty cup. Many artists and creative folk are prone to listlessness and depression. They need hobbies to keep them afloat in choppy seas and help them tide over challenges. Sometimes, they are prone to dark moods and anger, too. The only way to heal is through staying engaged creatively. What will help is to stay amidst verdant surroundings in a peaceful place with few disturbances so that one can delve into one’s artistic self and draw from the wellspring of creativity that lies within. It must be tapped because unless one uses it, one loses it. It’s just like one’s grey cells. It needs regular honing and application. Creative people owe it to themselves, if not to the world, to try to create, even through th...
7 comments
Read more

N is for 'newspaper clipping collection'

People have collected newspaper clippings over the years and stuck them onto their scrapbooks. My dad cuts out a newspaper clipping, of say, a book review, and keeps it inside the book in question. My dad tells me an anecdote of the time he was a student in IIT and one of the boys he met during an inter-university student leader’s conference had a huge collection of newspaper clippings on Kamaraj. The boy had collected news clippings of every news item pertaining to the Tamil political leader and arranged them chronologically in his scrapbook. Others collect pictures of strange UFO sightings, criminal cases covered in the media, favourite cooking recipes, pictures of touristy places and music festivals. I’ve not been in the habit of collecting newspaper clippings, and now with print editions rapidly folding up, it doesn’t seem like a good time to start. I just add sites I want to go through later to my Bookmarks. These days, people do online scrapbooking. I’m plann...
8 comments
Read more