Teaching textile traditions is a gift mothers pass to their children generation after generation. Whether in Mexico or Morocco, Afghanistan or Laos, mothers have been teaching their daughters (ands sons) to weave, to spin, to dye, to embroider for centuries. Sharing these skills with the next generation is practical, of course, because it creates a […]
19
Jun
Jun
Rangina Hamidi is a world-class problem solver. This becomes abundantly clear as you read her personal story in Embroidering Within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future, co-authored with Mary Littrell. When the problem was women in Kandahar, often widowed with no means of support and always sequestered, she founded Kandahar Treasure. This allowed women to […]
17
Jan
Jan
Today is the annual Women’s March on Washington Reading about the scheduled activities reminded me of when our publisher Linda Ligon went to Washington, D.C. for the first march in 2017. She wore, somewhat reluctantly, the signature handknitted “Pussy hat.” Linda later wrote about how the experience of attending the march changed her perception about […]
29
Nov
Nov
We’ve just finished celebrating Thanksgiving, keeping in mind all for whom we are grateful. Our readers are at the top our list. We’re showing our gratitude by offering several book bundles with amazing discounts for you or for the readers, crafters, and travelers in your life, These spectacular deals are only available through the end […]
31
May
May
I’m continually impressed with our authors and their ongoing work. I shouldn’t be. I know how extraordinary they are, but when I receive missives from far and wide, apprising me of their activities, I have to marvel a bit. Deborah Chandler writes from her home in Guatemala City to say that on her way to […]
29
Mar
Mar
The terrific Fiber Nation podcast that aired last week, featuring Linda Ligon’s stories about our authors and their work, prompted questions about Kandahar Treasure and Multicolores. These are two women’s craft cooperatives Linda mentioned in the podcast, and the focus of two of our books: Embroidering within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future and Rug […]
14
Dec
Dec
“Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand, Mine to yours, yours to mine.” Alberto Ríos Catarina spins with a touch that turns clouds into thread. Photo by Joe Coca from the book Traditional Weavers of Guatemala. It’s the gift-giving, and gift-finding, season. Enjoy the bounty of gifts so vivid in each of these […]
30
Nov
Nov
Enjoy this dispatch author Mary Littrell sent us from a textile conference she and co-author Rangina Hamidi attended in early November. Thanks, Mary! Each fall, over 500 university professors in fashion design and retailing gather for their annual conference of the International Textile and Apparel Association. A highlight each year is the Jan Else Distinguished […]
23
Nov
Nov
More than ten years ago, in partnership with Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez and the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, we published our first book Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands. During the last decade we’ve published 15 more books exploring textile traditions from around the world. We’ve brought to life the life stories of textile artisans who […]
22
Jun
Jun
I love this photo by Paula Lerner from the opening pages of Embroidering within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future. The color and determination of the balloon vendor striding down the bleak streets of Kabul reassures me every time I open the book. That idea of living in possibility came back to me several times […]
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