Thursday, November 1, 2018

Anita's Silk Road Adventure

Anita recently returned from a trip to Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan; two countries on the traditional 'Silk Road'.  She gave a presentation about her adventure to the DCWS guild.  It was interesting to learn about the culture and history of this region and the guild members were especially keen to hear of the Fibre industry. Kyrgystan is known for its Margelan silk, produced in the Fergana Valley and Ikat woven cloth. There are plenty of sheep about for the felt makers to continue working in their craft, producing traditional cloth for Yurts and wonderful items for tourist & export. Interesting, the principal crop in Uzbekistan is cotton, a hold over from days of Russian rule.   Lucky for us, Anita purchased a good selection of items on her journey and had a great show & tell table for us to view.  Thank you Anita for sharing your amazing adventures on a bit of the Silk Road

The stitching on the pillow
is an example of what is done on traditional Suzanis
(blanket like hangings that were used to decorate Yurts)



Handspun Silk Embroidery

This type of hand stitching is often found on men's felted hats

Felting - now a cottage industry


Wood Block Print on Silk



Ikat weaving with silk
Silk Paper

Nuno Felting
Artist:  Aidai Asangulova
(her website is interesting)