of travels and textiles

 This is a cotton  warp ikat from Flores island in the Indonesian archipelago, bought in Bali during our trip there. A difficult choice as there were many beautiful ones in  one of the government run craft shops that we visited. Those shops have very high standards for their purchases thus helping to create a win win situation for everybody.
The craftspeople are fairly paid, the standards are maintained and crafts are not banalised to meet the tourist market. And you get quality craft.

The sales lady was very helpful and gave me a crash course on Flores and its textiles.  But as all my trips include a textile component- why travel if you're not going to see textiles- :)  i had also done some homework reading this book which is still one of the most comprehensive books on traditional dyeing and patterning methods.
 The  warp  ikat  patterning is symbolic and includes stylized trees and animals. The dyeing, i  was assured,  was done with natural dyes.
The piece rests on our sofa and has faded a bit, but it has that look of used and enjoyed that i like.It  is also a reminder of that wonderful trip.

On the home front  i still have one meter to weave to call it done well, better woven, as  it needs wet finishing  and cutting and  sewing and...

neki desu

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