Palestine and Cross-Stitch Embroidery

My husband and I were fortunate enough to pilgrimage to Greece, Jordan, Palestine and Israel in 1995 with a group of people from our local Lutheran church. It was a pilgrimage because the trip met the criteria in it was a conscious choice of a place to be; cultural differences were encountered which caused disorientation; we had shared reflection; there were common rituals and spiritual disciplines; and the group came to have a sense of community and leadership.

Among many things, I learned that the Palestinians have a lifestyle that I would not want to trade for living in America. Money is scarce, and women have unique challenges in this society.

Women in Gaza have been bearing an increasing burden of supporting their families. Although it is labor-intensive and time-consuming work, thousands of women are willing to embroider as many stitches as they can while juggling household responsibilities, in exchange for a wage that would afford basic subsistence for their families’ survival.

Sunbala is a Jerusalem-based nonprofit Fair Trade organization that supports 14 different craft producers. Sunbula helps Palestinian artisans to be economically empowered, and supports the preservation of the cultural heritage. The Sulafa Embroidery Project aims to provide income for the Strip’s refugee women and to ensure that the traditional art form of embroidery is kept alive. Women, by receiving the embroidery work, earn an average of $40 per month, a significant amount in the area where a majority of people live below the poverty line ($2/day per household).

The UNRWA Sulafa Embroidery Project is located in Gaza City and provides income generating opportunities for hundreds of refugee women through a network of 9 community centers across the Strip. Sulafa is a nonprofit project established by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) in 1950 as a part of the Social Service Programme. Sulafa’s shawls, with their elegant style and striking geometric patterns, have been the top-sales item at Sunbula for many years. Gazan women’s artisanship and resilient spirits against all odds are reflected in the beauty of their products.

Once a traditional craft practiced by village women, Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery has become an important symbol of Palestinian culture. Embroidered pieces can be found in the homes of most Palestinian families in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel and the Diaspora beyond, adorning the walls of houses in Jerusalem, villas in the Gulf, suburban homes in the United States, and cement block houses in refugee camps. In addition, cross-stitch embroidery is given as gifts and worn by Palestinians worldwide on festive occasions.The handicraft also symbolizes the traditional rural lifestyle of Palestine, much of which was lost after the 1948 creation of the state of Israel.

All proceeds from purchases directly benefit Palestinian craft producers, and help to carry out their mission to support women, refugees and people with disabilities.

While in Bethlehem, I purchased an embroidered eyeglass holder shown on the right. After 13 years, it still looks as fresh and bright as it did when we were in the Holy Land.

It was definitely a good investment for a small price, and proceeds from sales helped defray the Palestinian women’s expenses in producing hand made products.

Making Your Own Footstool

My dad had given me a framed piece of needlepoint several years ago that his aunt had made in the 1920's. The glass was cloudy and the frame was in pretty bad shape. It was definitely not something I would use as it was put together all those years ago. But the piece of needlepoint using deep shades of greens and reds was beautifully executed and in perfect condition under the glass.

Isn't that pretty?

To preserve that nostalgic old piece of needle crafted art, I decided to make a footstool and place on the top of it the rose needle-pointed in wool.

I measured the unframed piece of work, discarding the glass and frame. Those measurements determined what size box was needed in order to have an adequate base for the footstool. Then I determined how high the footstool should be in accordance with my favorite reading chair. My father-in-law made a hollow pine box base, so half the battle was over.

Coordinating upholstery fabric in reds, greens and blues was purchased. Bagged polyester filling was place on top of the box, and then the needlepoint rose was secured to the top of the box with a sturdy staple gun. I bought fabric three times the diameter of the box and the appropriate height of the box. It was all fairly intuitive after that as far as cutting, hemming, gathering the fabric and sewing the skirt.

The skirt was also attached to the box by staples. Where the edges of the top and skirt came together, I hot glued a length of cording all around it and attached tassels to each corner.

The dogs immediately destroyed the cute corner tassels, but it still looks nice enough to use and display that vintage piece of fiber art.

After the first footstool turned out so well, I decided to make a more simplified one without fabric on the bottom. Instead, a nicely crafted pine box supplied by my woodworking friend was used for the base. I stained the wood and put a quick acrylic spray on the wood when the stain dried. The top of the box was covered in the same manner previously described, but using a striped fabric for the top.

There was even enough fabric left over to make a matching pillow.

Only after making these two footstools did I find an article from the Carol Duval television show that explained how to make a footstool step-by-step. Those directions can be found at Carol Duval.

Another footstool using a metal planter as a base is shown with directions given by DIY, DIY Decorating & Design host Nancy Golden. All the tools she used are included at that site.

I was pleased with the results of making these two footstools, and happy to preserve my Aunt Lula’s needlepoint. To sum up, who could say it better than Mark Twain?

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.--Mark Twain

Word Game and FREE RICE

Do you like words? If you DO like words and word games and are willing to help The United Nations World Food Program in a small way, there is a fun site called Free Rice.

Free Rice rules are simple: Click on the answer that best defines the word. If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word. For each word you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program.

A Player says:

They give you a word with four possible definitions; pick the right one and they donate ten grains of rice to a hungry person through an aid agency. (Don't say "why don't they just give the rice," because the rice is funded through ad revenue which they get by hits, and each time you move to the next page of choices they get another hit and can buy more rice. No game, no views, no ad revenue, no rice.) As you get words right, you move up to higher levels; the highest is Level 50, and I've managed to stay there for fairly long periods... but then they stump me with a word like nisus (yes, I should have studied harder in Latin class) and I drop back down. WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance…

I played for five minutes and answered about 50 word definitions (with several mistakes, but don’t worry, the program gives you back the same word to answer correctly when you least expect it).

Give Free Rice Game a try, but be sure and keep your coffee hot and the phone muted, because this game can be addictive.