20 November 2010

Something a Little Different

Let me start by wishing all my Moslem friends a belated happy and blessed Eidul Adha and all my Hindu friends a belated Happy Diwali. Hope you guys had a good one.

It's still terrible at the office, but am happy to report that we're surviving so far. It doesn't help that Boss has gone on long leave, leaving us here to hold the fort. I'm usually happy when he's not around. You know what they say about the cat being away and all that... But I must say I've never been so desperate for him to come back to work, hee hee.

Anyways, since we got the day off for Eid this last Wednesday, Yummy Hubby and I went back to visit Nenek* B. We haven't seen her for a few months now, so the trip was long overdue. Nenek B lives with As, an Indonesian lady, who helps around the house and garden. In between running after Nenek B and her many chickens and turkeys and pottering about in the garden, As likes to sew. And I notice that she likes to sew one item in particular: Floor mats. Little rugs.


Everytime I visit, I usually buy one or two of these little rugs from her, so there's always one on display in my house. As gets scraps of fabric from the kampung's dressmaker, and turns them into these babies. I've always admired her work. I've noticed that over time she's become very good with details like colour. 


Basically, a rug is made of many, many small pieces of scraps, each folded into a triangle-type shape, sort of like a prairie point. These little triangles are then arranged, slightly overlapping each other into rows on a fabric base.


You can just about make out the hand stitching at the back in the picture above.




Truly a work of art, don't you think?


* Nenek - Malay meaning grandmama.
Kampung - village.

9 comments:

MyBotanG said...

very nice, indeed.. growing up, I'd see these type of rugs in my granny's home, but never really paid much attention to them :(
Love the colour combo in the second piece, and I am grateful that you've included a peek at the back.. (I love turning everything to admire the details on the back)

Rosh said...

It is! It reminds me of my late Tok & her floor mats. Should learn the skills from her..(sigh!)

Zara said...

Rosh and Sue,

I know exactly what you mean, it's so easy to overlook things that are right under your nose isn't it? Nowadays we can buy similar rugs cheap at markets, but they're mass produced in factories and lack the old style charm.

We really should learn these crafts before they become a dying trade.

There, that's my schoolteacher speech for the week, heh heh.

Mila@Rimbun said...

you remind me of my late aunty..

MamaDaniel said...

WOW... hand stitched pulak tu... kagum saya... :)
another recycle/repurpose project yang boleh dicuba nih.. tq for sharing.. :)

Zara said...

Hi Mila!

I'm wondering if its a good thing or a bad thing to be reminded of your late aunty... :-)

MamaDaniel,
I'm all for recycling, especially when it comes to fabric. You'd need a BIG needle for this project though, sewing through many layers...

Mila@Rimbun said...

Zara... nothing bad.. only good thing hehehehe.. I used to saw this kind of alas kaki at her place... made from scraps

Unknown said...

salam zara,

i can picture the rug in my home. what a focal point!

1. mmg kena handstitch je ye through all those layers? and do you really need a big needle?

2. i have so many bajus that i put in boxes, just in case a project like this would bring them to worth again.

nice blog la zara! and i noticed you have cats at home, just like me!

Zara said...

Hi AAW!!

Yes, you do have to handstitch through everything - such patience! The needle just needs to be big enough to make sure you can go through all layers (4 or 5) comfortably... I've never actually attempted to make these little rugs myself, but next time I visit Nenek B's house I'll be sure to pay more attention to the process.