Challenge: What can you create from leftovers?

The Stitching Ladies of Nayi Asha create and sell handbags to help support their families. My hope is that by taking time to "play" with fabric, they will feel free to tap into their creativity and begin to think of themselves as artists as well as seamstresses

Today was all about fun.

I distributed different 4-inch fabric squares to the stitching ladies and asked them to come up with a pleasing design. Sounds simple enough for those of us who are quilters, but for the women of Nayi Asha, the sewing cooperative that has been part of my life during my stay in India, it’s not easy for them to think creatively.

The challenge left them giggling, especially when I said they each should exchange (just grab) one square with another person to create a more pleasing design. Oh, the banter exploded as they offered advice to each other, and some tried to protect their own design from pouching.  To finish the project, I asked them to find sashing material, sew the squares and sashing together and return in a week with a perfect 14-inch square.

Thanks to the generosity of my U.S. stitching friends, I was able to purchase
and give he Nayi Asha members new irons.

Today’s exercise, besides the fun part, was meant to build teamwork, improve stitching and pressing skills, but most importantly, tap into their creativity. My plan is to take the squares and make a table runner. I’m so looking forward to seeing their creations.

The Stitching Ladies previously used irons that were heavy, clunky

and not suited to the fine detailing there handbags require when pressing.

These women have never viewed themselves as artists. Women of the villages work hard. The handbags they create are simply seen as a means to add funds to the family’s coffers. Rarely do they get positive feedback.

My role is to help them tap into that available resource of ideas and translate that to creations and help them build their business. Through this process, I am hoping to boost their confidence.

Oh, just to let you know, I finally gave the stitching ladies the new irons that I was able to purchase thanks to the generosity of my stitching friends and their friends.

Follow The Stitching Ladies of Nayi Asha on Facebook @stitchingbringsnewhope; or on Instagram at nayi.asha

Does everyone in India have 20/20 vision?

It turns out that three of my stitching lady friends needs "cheater" glasses. 

Few people in India wear glasses. I suspect that it’s not because they don’t need them, it’s because the cost of having your eyes checked and then purchasing lenses is pretty steep for many people.

I don’t see a lot of people squinting here, so I wonder if they just don’t know how poor their eyesight is and how much more it would be improved if only they had glasses.

I read somewhere that, until the invention of the printing press, people didn’t know they couldn’t see. But when trying to read the new documents made available by the invention – well, they couldn’t make out the letters.

Well, that’s sort of my experience here.

Last year. I watched some of of my stitching lady friends struggle with some tasks, such as sewing a straight line. I wondered if maybe the problem was their eyesight. So, with the money I raised in the U.S. for their tools, I purchased four pairs of “cheater” glasses – something we take for granted in the states, but here they are at a premium. Out of the seven Stitching Ladies, three saw their vision improve to the point that threading a needle, even the old-fashioned way, was a simple task.

Oh, by the way, I also brought along self-threading needles. No more licking the end of a thread and trying to carefully poke it through the eye of a needle. Yup. You just lay the thread horizontally over the top of the needle and gently pull down – voila – you’ve thread the needle. Just like the seam ripper, they were amazed at what’s available out there.

Chan spent some time with the women talking about the importance
 of keeping good inventory records. They may not use Excel, but their method
 serves them very well, he said.