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African Threads

Valerie Hearder's African Threads

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Category Archives: AfricanThreads

Telephone Wire Basket

African Threads Posted on April 26, 2016 by Val HearderJuly 7, 2016

We saw this large telephone wire basket at the African Art Centre in Durban, South Africa. Vibrant colour and textur

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Posted in AfricanThreads, art, Inspiration, South African Tour, Textured Tuesdays, Travel | Tagged basket, Durban, South Africa, telephone, wire | Leave a Reply

African Beaded Skirt

African Threads Posted on April 19, 2016 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Detail of a beautifully textured Shangaan beaded fertility apron, Limpopo Province in South Africa.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Inspiration, Social Commentary, South African Tour, Textured Tuesdays, Travel | Tagged beaded, fertility apron, Limpopo Province, Shangaan, South Africa | Leave a Reply

Indigo and Clay

African Threads Posted on April 12, 2016 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Deeply textured hand built pots by a Zulu craftsman paired with indigo dyed cotton. Love being in South Africa.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Inspiration, South African Tour, Textured Tuesdays, Travel | Tagged cotton, indigo, pottery, South Africa, Zulu | Leave a Reply

Textured Tuesdays

African Threads Posted on March 16, 2016 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

This stack of folded kuba raffia cloth exudes texture, colour and energy. Abstract designs are appliquéd on to a background fabic. The colours suggest the essence of Africa. I spotted these fabrics when we visited Kim Sacks Gallery in Johannesburg on our last tour to South Africa.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Fabric, Fabric shopping, South African Tour, Textured Tuesdays, Travel | Tagged African, appliqué, Cloth, fabrics, kuba, raffia, Textured Tuesdays | Leave a Reply

Textured Tuesday

African Threads Posted on February 23, 2016 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

I photographed this detail from a piece of handwoven raffia cloth in a shop in South Africa. Decorated with beads and cowrie shells. Some of the squares are dyed with indigo. It has a kind of pom-pom edging.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Fabric, Inspiration, Musings, Nature, Textured Tuesdays | Tagged cowrie shells, hand woven, indigo, pom-pom edging, raffia | Leave a Reply

Stitched into this place.

African Threads Posted on November 17, 2015 by Val HearderJune 27, 2016

Today, when some in our world seem hungry to divide people violently along racial and religious lines, I find myself thinking about growing up in Apartheid South Africa. In Durban in the late 60’s, I was not supposed to go alone to the Indian Market, in the heart of the city. Here I found community and my world grew bigger.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Community, Fabric, Fabric shopping, Musings, My history, Social Commentary, South African Tour, Travel | Tagged African medicine, Apartheid, bunny chow, culture, curry, Durban, fabric shopping, Hindu, Indian Market, Madrassa Arcade, Muslim, South Africa, tour, Victoria Market | 3 Replies

Judy’s Journal: I feel as if I know her

African Threads Posted on October 31, 2015 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Judy Martin wrote a lovely piece about some embroideries I’d bought on my recent tour to South Africa. These highly expressive pieces were made by women in the Isipethu Sewing Collective in KwaZulu Natal. We visit this group each time we take our tour to South Africa.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Community, Embroidery/Stichery, Grandmothers of Africa, South African Tour | Tagged embroidery, Isipethu, KwaZulu Natal, sewing collective, South Africa, tour to South Africa | Leave a Reply

More fabric shopping in South Africa! Part 2

African Threads Posted on June 11, 2015 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

I’ll write more about the various adventures we had in South Africa including more in depth information about shwe-shwe fabric pictured above, which is the iconic fabric of South Africa. I want to tell you about the herd of elephants that surrounded our safari trucks, the leopard we saw and the Zulu baskets and beadwork!

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Fabric, Fabric shopping, Grandmothers of Africa, South African Tour, Travel | Tagged African trading store, elephants, fabric shopping, iconic fabric of South Africa, Limpopo, printed blouses, safari trucks, shwe-shwe, South Africa, Venda | 8 Replies

Fabric Shopping in South Africa.

African Threads Posted on June 10, 2015 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

When we visited Limpopo Province this past April, our tour group was thrilled to stop at an African trading store. Three generations of an Indian family had owned the store supplying fabric to the various groups in the area: the Shangaan, Tsonga and Venda.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Fabric, South African Tour, Travel | Tagged African trading store, elephants, fabric buying, leopard, Limpopo, safari truck, Shangaan, shwe-shwe fabric, South Africa, tour, Tsonga, Venda | 2 Replies

Visiting a Zulu village

African Threads Posted on May 30, 2015 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

In April I led an arts & culture tour to South Africa. Here I am, second from the right, sitting with our tour group while visiting a Zulu village near Eshowe, KwaZulu Natal. Behind us are traditional bee-hive huts.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, South African Tour, Travel | Tagged arts & culture, bee-hive huts, Eshowe, KwaZulu Natal, South African, tour, village, Zulu, Zulu dancing | 3 Replies

Embroidery Bearing Witness

African Threads Posted on September 4, 2014 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

On September 7th, a fascinating exhibition of South African embroideries will open at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles. It’s called, Bearing Witness: Embroidery as History in Post-Apartheid South Africa It will feature the work of two groups that I’ve been closely connected to over the past 10 years through my fair trade imports, African Threads and my cultural tours to South Africa.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, art, Embroidery/Stichery, Grandmothers of Africa, Social Commentary, South African Tour, Travel | Tagged African Threads, Bearing Witness, Cultural tour, embroidery, Fowler Museum, Kaross, Mapula, post-apartheid, South Africa, textile tour, UCLA | 2 Replies

150 pairs of Granny Glasses

African Threads Posted on February 22, 2014 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Thanks to the Lunenburg Rotary Club and the Tantallon Bay Grans for donating 150 pairs of reading glasses. This wonderful pile of glasses is headed to South Africa with me next week. The glasses will be given to women artisans in South Africa.

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Grandmothers of Africa, Travel | Tagged African Grandmothers, artisan, economic empowerment, glasses, South African tour | Leave a Reply

Grannies in Solidarity

African Threads Posted on February 27, 2013 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

This hand embroidered square was made by the Intuthuko Sewing Group from Etwatwa Township near Johannesburg. There is wonderful solidarity between Grandmothers in Africa and Canada.  To learn more about the remarkable Grandmothers Campaign to support African Grannies, check out … Continue reading →

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Ndebele village Scene

African Threads Posted on January 24, 2013 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Intuthuko comission tapestry full size
It’s January, and freezing cold here in Nova Scotia. So when this tapestry arrived from South Africa the other day, it felt like a gift of sunshiny heat.

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Posted in AfricanThreads | Tagged African Threads, hand embroidery, Intuthuko, Ndebele village, South Africa, tapestry | Leave a Reply

Art of the Grandmothers

African Threads Posted on January 20, 2011 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Bonnie Samuel asked me to write a guest blog about one of the stitchery groups that I buy textiles from in South Africa. I chose to talk about Isipethu – Zulu for “going to the fountain” – as this group makes the most fascinating collages in appliqué and embroidery.

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Posted in AfricanThreads | Tagged African Threads, appliqué, Art of the Grandmothers, Bonnie Samuel, collage, embroidery, Valerie Hearder, Zulu textiles | Leave a Reply

Soccer and those vuvuzelas!

African Threads Posted on June 28, 2010 by Val HearderJune 28, 2010

Love those vuvuzelas no matter how loud they are – gotta love that soccer!

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Posted in AfricanThreads | Tagged appliqué, collage, FIFA, soccer, South Africa, vuvuzelas, world cup | Leave a Reply

Mapula Cloth by Elizabeth Mogano

African Threads Posted on June 16, 2009 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

> Mapula Cloth by Elizabeth Mogan Originally uploaded by African Threads I’ve just returned from 6 weeks in South Africa. It was a truly rich and fascinating time. Veryan and I visited 9 women’s groups in various parts of S.Africa including … Continue reading →

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Posted in AfricanThreads, Embroidery/Stichery, Mapula Embroidery Group, Social Commentary, Uncategorised | Leave a Reply

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