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African Threads

Valerie Hearder's African Threads

African Threads
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Category Archives: Musings

November Light

African Threads Posted on December 21, 2018 by Val HearderDecember 21, 2018

                      It is Solstice, our darkest day and yet my soul still lingers in November light. It was a month of renewed creative energy for me. The darkening monochromatic landscape … Continue reading →

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Posted in Creative process, Inspiration, Musings, natural dyes, Nature, Uncategorised | Tagged blakc wallnut ink, gold, light, natural dyes, November, retreat, saffron.linen, Solstice | 6 Replies

Healing cloth.

African Threads Posted on January 22, 2018 by Val HearderJanuary 25, 2018
wool cloth dyed with tumeric spice

I recently made my first natural dyed fabric. I used fresh ground turmeric roots and Dorr Wool. Links below. This colour enlivens me in the dark of winter. What to do with this rich cloth? It will be stitched upon, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Fabric, Musings, natural dyes | Tagged Cloth, Dorr, dyepot, healing, natural dyes, saffron, turmeric, wool | 11 Replies

Slow golden autumn.

African Threads Posted on November 14, 2016 by Val HearderNovember 29, 2016
Autmn colours on Maggie-Maggie brook

We’ve had a most glorious, golden autumn weather here that’s gone on and on. These photographs are of our daily walk along wooded paths and the Maggie-Maggie Brook. They were taken about a month ago, so there’s still quite a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Musings, Nature, Uncategorised | Tagged autumn, daily walk, fairy ring, mushroom | 1 Reply

Market Morning.

African Threads Posted on November 10, 2016 by Val HearderNovember 10, 2016

Thursday morning is market day for me. I fill up my African market basket with fresh, local, organic veggies. This is today’s haul. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Musings | Tagged farmer's market, local, organic, veggies | Leave a Reply

Stony Spine

African Threads Posted on September 20, 2016 by Val HearderSeptember 20, 2016

The stony spine of the river is exposed. The Maggie-Maggie is a torrent gushing through Mahone Bay in the spring and fall. In summer it is a lazy stream. But this is the worst drought since they started keeping records … Continue reading →

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Posted in Musings, Nature | Tagged drought, gravity, river, standing stones, stones

San Rock Paintings

African Threads Posted on May 7, 2016 by Val HearderJune 25, 2016
Rock Painting of figure

The San left their mark in these fascinating, vulnerable paintings. Priceless treasures, they are our earliest human art and speak of a cohesive culture connected to nature. Many of the paintings are fading due to lichens, weathering time and sometimes senseless vandalism. I found it profoundly moving.

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Posted in art, Inspiration, Musings, Nature, South African Tour, Travel | Tagged Botswana, Cape, Cederberg, Clanwilliam, frack, Kalahari, Khoisan, Namibia, paintings, rock art, rooibos tea, San, South African tour | Leave a Reply

Textured Tuesday

African Threads Posted on February 29, 2016 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

Whalebone vertebrae, many hundreds of years old. I found this at Red Bay Labrador at the earliest known Basque Settlement in North America. the Basque hunted whale and returned to Spain with the oil. There are 9 holes drilled in the centre of the vertebrae, perhaps made by researchers looking at the DNA of the whale, I don’t know.

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Posted in Inspiration, Musings, Nature, Textured Tuesdays, Travel | Tagged Basque, Labrador, Red Bay, vertebrae, Whalebone, whalers | 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

Tuesday Textures

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

Cabbage field, Second Peninsula, Nova Scotia. This farm at the very end of the Peninsula is a sweet spot. I took this photo many summers ago when I spotted this field of crinkly cabbages, so like crushed velvet.

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Posted in Inspiration, Musings, Nature, Tuesday Textures | Tagged cabbage, crushed velvet, Nova Scotia, Second Peninsula, summer, textures | 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

Gathering

African Threads Posted on October 28, 2015 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

To gather with friends is a simple, rich experience and, when women gather to stitch, it is particularly special. Last week began with two days with my dear friends, Judy and Margi at Penny’s house in Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia… always a treasured and affirming time.

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Posted in Community, Embroidery/Stichery, Musings, Quilts | Tagged gathering, Judy's Journal, mantra, meditation, stitching, Tanglewood Threads, women | 6 Replies

Tulips

African Threads Posted on February 19, 2015 by Val HearderJuly 8, 2016

There is something about tulips in all their stages of bloom, that I love. Buds, gently opening, fresh and offering hope for spring. Then, gradually, their stems lilt over the vase edges, and the whole bunch splay and droop. Still, I hold on to them as they start to wither and dry.

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Posted in Musings | Tagged dried flowers, Lunenburg County, snow, tulips, willow basket | Leave a Reply

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