Oh! How I Love The Rain!

 It's a really cozy evening, and it's raining outside. It reminds me of the humid, cold rains back home in New Orleans. I really missed the weather and atmosphere there, but I can deffinently say Ankara is like a home away from home for me. Currently I'm listening to music tracks by The Hush Sound, and Iron and Wine.
 Today I didn't really get as much done as I was hoping to, though I managed to do the finishing touched on one piece of a set of bead embroidered earrings. I hate that I'm so ADHD when it comes to sitting down and getting work done. One moment I've got everything spread out on my bed, I've go the creative juices flowing, and I have my tea and cola both next to me with a snack so I can stay glued to my work.

  Next thing I know I'm half-way through a project, unfocused, and thinking about something completely different that I'd like to do. Most of the time this means cleaning up, leaving the project incomplete, to go off and be bored elsewhere because I had the sudden urge to do something else which was unatainable. Therefor, I end up pulling out my work again, just to wash, rinse, and repeat.

 So, when I accomplish something and it turns out exactly how I imagined, it's a completely rewarding experience. I realized I do best just by forcing myself not to leave the project until it's complete, whether it takes 30 minıutes, 7 hours or 12 hours. Yes, I've gone, at the least, on an 8 hour, no break stretch with bead embroidery.

 I don't know what I feel like making tonight, but it will come to me. Either I will work on some new obscure project that's rain inspired, or I'll finish those darn earrings!

Where It All Began

When I came to Ankara, Turkey to marry my husband 1.5 years ago, his cousin gave me a beautiful gift that I have treasured ever since. It was the most beautiful black cotton scarf with white flowers, but the thing that made this scarf remarkable was the lace trimming, which her mother had made by hand. I know it seems a bit dense and naive, but I never knew ladies still made lace by hand. In fact, I didn't know there was any other form of lace making other than bobbin and machine made. Now that I look back I realize I was really so uncultured, and lacked so much knowledge about things in the world. Ever since that day I became obsessed with handcrafts, and different forms of obscure art.

 The lace she made has several names and styles. The type of lace she made was tatted lace, and she made it with needles. The Turkish call tatted lace Mekek, which uses a shuttle or needle, and specific weaving hand movements to form the lace. The Turkish also vary between the two styles of Turkish Mekek and Kaydırma Mekek, which is the American style. The difference is the way the hand looms the lace, and the versatility of it.

 For example, Kaydırma Mekek transfers the knot from one piece of the thread over to the other to allow the thread to move over a thread ring, which holds the lace together. Tatted lace is believed to have been formed originally by ladies that had watched fisherman tie knots. These knots were then formed to create intricate lace designs hundreds of years ago. As time passed the technique progressed from having to cut and individually tie each attaching piece together, into forming picot hoops and joins to attach the pieces together and create more intricate designs.

                                      Emma Everman's hands; tatting lace with a shuttle she's had for over 80 years.
                                                                                              By: John Flavell
 It took me a while to learn the technique from researching online because the way Americans do this is different than the way the Turkish do this, yet it's a more versatile form. Also, most written and video tutorials online made it very difficult for me to see and realize that their was a knot being transfered from one thread to another. Thankfully one lady explained this in her blog. She even commented that many tutorials forget to explain this very crucial piece of information, and it is necessary in order to be successful at forming the lace.

 Once I mastered the technique my mother in law invited her mother to come over and see how I was doing. Her mother has been doing tatted lace since she was very young, and is an absolute master at Turkish Mekek tatted lace. Her trims are so precise, crisp, colorful, and beautiful! When she came over I was so nervous, yet I wanted to see if I was doing Turkish and American style right. When I showed her, she was amazed. I was too by her reaction! She told me I had managed to master both forms in a short period of time, yet it is known in Turkey that if a person learns one it is rare that they know the other. Learning both forms are an achievement.

 This was a heavy compliment; a great honor to receive it, and I hope hope I make her proud with continuing this handcraft for the preservation of it. Not many women outside of Turkey do tatted lace, and even less with the shuttle. There is shuttle tatted lace, and needle tatted lace. I haven't yet mastered needle tatted lace, but I find that I am more comfortable with the shuttle and have more control over joins and picots.

I started adding bead word to my lace shortly after I learned the technique, and have since made jewelry, brooches, and even started on a doily. I thank my AnneAnne (Mother in laws Mother) for guiding me, and passing a piece of Turkish culture onto me. I also thank my husbands cousin for giving such a personal gift to me that inspired me to learn such a wonderful art form. I hope to help preserve tatted lace, as this form of lacemaking has become more obscure over time due to cheapness, and availability of machine made laces.

The Trip To My Awakening

 A little over a year ago I left my home in New Orleans, Louisiana to come visit my Turkish husband and his family here in Ankara, Turkey. It was only meant to be a 6 month visit until we managed to both arrive back to the USA together, but fate took another turn. Though we have the unfortunate delay of returning back to my country I have to admit it's been a major learning experience, which has given me the time for personal growth which I had never experienced before.

Since I have been in Turkey I have visited some remarkable places that have deeply moved my soul, and influenced me in life-changing ways. One can sense the history in the architecture and landscapes, feel the loving connection during the warm embraces of family and friends, and for those quiet moments when I'm sipping my tea on the balcony while watching the sunset hit the mountains and reflect gold off the buildings, I can feel a certain peace in my heart that makes me thank God for this life. Turkey is magical, mysterious, and en captured my heart.

I never took the time to stop, and focus on what could possibly enrich my life in a different way than the obvious. My life is already rich because of my faith, my husband, my daughters, and my family, but I mean in a way that gives me depth as a person. I never before stepped outside of the familiar, never stopped to learn a new skill or art form, and never took the time to look around me. I never saw the world for how truly wondrous it is because the world always seemed so small from my window. Silly huh? I didn't realize how vast the world was until I left my own doorstep, my own state, my own country, and even my own comfort level.

Now I know what I was lacking. I learned so much since I have come here, and gained so much from the skills I developed. I never pushed myself to better myself, and expand my mind until I came here and saw what the women could do. This is where the creation of Crimson Petal Couture all begins...

A Tsumami Kanzashi and Bead Embroidery Piece I created.