1st Embroidery Motif Complete!

So I did decide to fill in the flowers and not leave them plain, the gold around the leaves was annoying to do, and I think the blue flower looks more "normal" now that its been filled.  As I've previously stated I'm not an embroidery expert, I have very very basic knowledge, But I think its a good start for a first try!

Embroidery: Not a good idea when you're tired- For obvious reasons.

So I started this at 12am and its now 4am, I dont usually embroider (avid embroiderers will notice lol) however I've always wanted to do my own embroidered prayer mat (Seccade)  So this was my first motif (one of many =[ )  and as you can see its unfinished, I still need to do the other gold bits around the leaves.  And the photo really does this no justice.  It looks like I've joined the pink in the middle underneath the bead but I haven't, and I'm not sure if I should shade in the flowers or not...Anyway I'll give this some thought tomorrow.  Goodnight!!

Some Oya Stitch Names

I've provided some stitches here, and a written piece (by me if you can't tell lol)  Of course there are many more stitches, which I'm sure you'll come across and learn just like I did 

Straight Legs



Rabbits Ears

Devils Legs

Parsley

Kucuk Yapragi



My array of Igne oyasi stitches that I've written down.  I have a full book of all my ideas to
do with Oya lace (needle, crochet, shuttle) Crochet patterns, Embroidery designs, its my
big book of ideas!

More on the secret language of OYA

So these examples of oya (except the biber oyasi, pirpirli and sumbul oyasi) are very hard to find anywhere on the internet.  I also have not found any "decent" examples of the Mezar Tasi (Tombstone Oya) or the Cayir Cimen (Meadow Grass Oya) So I guess I'll just have to provide examples of those 2.  The Mezar Tasi is quite easy to whip up though, it consists of 5, 6, or 7 increased rows (depending on how big you want them obviously) and then about 5 or 6 non increased rows ( to form a rectangle and then to finish you decrease until you have 1 loop left.  Cayir Cimen I have not been able to find an example of so I'm thinking of giving the sources in Turkey (My partners mother ;) ) a call this week to find out how thats done.  I'm also thinking of posting the stitch names of oya here aswel, as many people claim that Armenians and Greeks (No offence to either, I'm not Turkish so you can't accuse me of being biased) invented oya and whatever, however many of their books, resources fail to provide names for the stitches.  However in Turkish, they do have names!  I believe its so much easier to know the stitch names, especially if you're speaking to someone half way around the world whos telling you how to do it using those stitch names!   Enjoy the pictures peeps, I'll be back soon! xx



Biber Oyasi (Pepper/Chilli Oya)



I call this one "pirpirli" which just describes the long loops (pirpir being the name for them)

Kaynana Dili (Mother in laws tongue

Cinar Yapragi (Sycamore leaves)

Sumbul Oyasi (Hyacinth Oya)

How to make the pyramid in Oya Lace

Heres another one of my videos guys, this is how the pyramid in oya lace is formed. 

OYA: the secret language of Turkish women.

So theres no doubting that I'm an Oya Lace fanatic, and I want to know everything there is to know about it.  I guess having a Turkish partner is a big 10 points to me, especially when I get him to call his mother every 5 minutes to ask her questions.  I'm not saying I'm anything like an expert or anything, however I think I know enough now to divulge more information about this almost lost art. 


We've all gone through google typing in words we dont know the meaning of to find more about this artform, however all I ever came across was "meadow grass is good, tombstone is bad"  keeping in mind that these oyalar have probably stayed in the time when they were most popular; when Turkish women were basically bored with no TV and open to a good bitch session with the neighbours about how their husbands had pissed them off for not chopping enough wood or something.


So I've put together my knowledge of this artform to extend to you for you to now know like I do, and to save yourselves all the trouble of contacting people you dont know trying to learn something that nobody is willing to teach (sadly.)  So we know the basics of Oya, it has a knot, and is done with a needle- but I intend to go further than that some lets begin...


OYA USES:For personal use: as an embellishment, as jewellry, on head scarves, as bracelets, as neck scarves, on dresses, handkerchief edgings and  various prayer items.
In homes: Table cloths, doilies, other home decor such as: bed sheet edgings, towel edgings, knapsack edgings, pillow edgings.
Other uses: Wall hangings, decorations, on top of doors, in vases, in a frames,treasury boxes: items for the new brides home, henna glove edgings, edgings on anything really.


So as we can see, Oya definately has a broader spectrum than one might first think.


TYPES OF OYA: Needle (igne oyasi) employs a needle and usually nylon thread.  Knots are made to form 2D and 3D oya.  This is deemed to be the hardest of all the Oya groups, as the loops that are made need to be the same size to ensure the work is not lop sided.
Shuttle (mekik oyasi) Easier than needle, but harder than hook, I was told by my partners mother that one wouldn’t make overtly large motifs with a shuttle due to inconvenience. A shuttle (or 2) is used to make knots and chains which form the motifs that are sewn onto the item.
Hook (tig oyasi), with crochet hook that is small, often .6 or .7 is used. Some of the motifs have multiple yarn overs and then the empty spaces are filled. More often than not the motifs made with a crochet hook are either made by making a chain first and then completing the motif, or doing the chain and motif together, or completing the chain last.  Beads, sequins, rings may be also employed in this oya.
Hairpin (firkete oyasi) can employ beads or sequins. When the lace has been completed another form of oya  (usually crochet or shuttle) may form the last row.
Cocoon (koza oyasi)  Very rare.  This oya employs either hook or needle, and sometimes they dye the cocoon to suit the colour of the item, apparently extremely difficult.
Wax (mum oyasi)  Very rare.  Motifs are made out of coloured wax and are mostly done for the head of a bride on her wedding day.
Wool (yun oyasi)  Very rare.  To give shape to this oya, glue or wire may be used.
Cloth (kumas oyasi)  Pieces of fabric are cut and usually crocheted onto a scarf.
Bead (boncuk oyasi) May be made with either 4 of the main oyas (needle, hook, shuttle, hairpin)
Sequins (pul oyasi) Is usually made with needle, hook or hairpin.


What oya means what:A bride before marries sends to her mother in law “meadow grass” (cayir cimen)
it means we’ll get along well and peacefully like meadow grass.


If a bride wasn’t happy or content with her mother in law she wears killi kurt (hairy worm)


If shes not happy with her mother in law she sends gravestone oya (mezar tasi) and it means that
their animosity will continue until death.


If a wife cant get along with either husband or mother in law she wears chilli oya (biber oyasi) to
signify we are as hot as chilly, we’re fiery.


Sycamore leaves (cinar yapragi) means the wish of long life and wisdom to whoever the scarf is given to.


Portakal Cicegi (orange flower) being next to an orange at the same time it refers to birth and death,
or being young/mature.


Zilli masa (bells) Anonymous kind of oya, it symbolizes the people who are ill tempered and tend to
fight, its believed to chase bad temper away.


Carkifelek (wheel of fortune) a woman who has divorced due to unhappiness.


Kutule oyasi (Wild flower ) after wedding ceremony its given to the sister in law to symbolize the wish of their relationship resembling a flower.


Sumbul oyasi (hyacinth) Hope love and virginity.


Kaynana dili (mother in laws tongue) a mother in law who talks alot and in a harsh manner


Otel odasi (hotel room) Signifies the hospitality of the Turkish people


Cakir Dikeni (Burdock) A bride will give this oya to her mother in law signifying not to prick her like a thorn


Bamya Cicegi (Okra Blossom) Symbol of virginity and beauty


(Theres alot more than this but these ones my partners mother has told me about)



Motifs used in OYA:Vegetal motfis: flowers leaves, trees, fruit
Geometric Motifs: squares, triangles, lines, etc
Abstract motifs: signs, symbols
Nature motifs: mountains, hills, sun, moon, rocks
Figurative Motifs: birds, butterflies, fingers, hands, eyes






-I hope the following information has been of some help.

Knitting. My Arch-Nemesis.

Lets be honest..It looks nice, it keeps you warm, but its a drainer and if you dont know it well enough, you waste 3 hours on something you just have to undo.  I hate knitting.  Atleast with a crochet hook you can hold the stitches without them falling off when you're about to make a stitch.  When I say I hate knitting, I mean I hate the act of knitting, not the finished product.  So I decided to indulge in knitting as usually I like to atleast say I can do it and then just not do it unless I need to.  I bought a pair of circular needles a while back and just discovered them stashed in the bottom of one of the many bags of hoarded items I have.  I remember trying to knit on them the first time and not understanding why that long annoying cord kept bending back and twisting my stitches, I knew that 5dpn knitting was hard but this was something else!  So I ended up throwing them over in the corner but then being the stubborn person I am I decided to look at a couple of youtube videos to get a basic idea of how to knit toe-up socks on ONE CIRCULAR needle (as online you cant find many patterns that just use one circular needle, they use two to get two socks at a time, but they dont really take into consideration that maybe you dont want to do that?)  So heres the video I started watching (theres I think 8 in total, but it really got my head around the how whole circular needle thing works)

Likes of the week

I found these wondorous things during my travells through the many web pages on the internet.  I do not take ownership of any of these items, although most of the Oya examples I am able to do.




I love filet cushion cases



Embroidered Crochet Baby Slippers! I LOVE THESE!

This oya is fairly easy

Nice and Simple Oya

Cute Boncuklu Oyasi

Crochet + Beads

I love this one

Loving tablecloths!

Elegant.

I've made similar flowers to these on my oya scarves.

Igne Oyasi

This is made with a Firkete or a hairpin.

Cute and Simple

I love this table cloth

Colour makes the world go around.

This is a technique called Sis oyasi

My obsession: PINWHEELS

Curry for Iftar!

So i know its been a while since i've blogged, but i'm sure you all know i'm only one person and have so many things to do!  Tonight we're having a sri lankan curry for Iftar (breaking fast) which was of course made by me lol.  I was trawling on facebook today and came across a group on facebook which MAY assist me in selling some of my items!  "Craigieburn area buy swap sell freebies" is a group that you have to be invited to, and since I kinda live in the Craigieburn area I thought I'd apply to join to see how my luck goes with selling some of the stuff I make!  Fingers crossed of course. 

No breakthrough with the phone company, they still are offering me a 50% discount, even though the bills at 1,044 dollars now lol (I swear its not my fault) so the manager from priority care advised me to wait for the resolution team to contact me because they have the ability to rectify the bill- thank GOD.

I'm working on some oya scarves at the moment, finished the baby items and still the person who ordered them hasnt contacted me back- so bad luck, they go to someone else!

I'm off to prepare for dinner, Catch ya later bloggeroonies! xx

Final Stages of the Baby Order.

Heres the final stages of the baby order.  I still have the Igne Oyasi border on the Bohca to finish (4 more motifs to go I think) and then just the rest of the booties. I'm very happy with the result.

10x hats, Crib Blanket, Cocoon thing, 2x Booties

The Bohca (napsack) with all items inside, and with Oya edging

Oya edging

Close up of oya edging.

I cant believe I was DISCONNECTED.

So i've come to the conclusion that all phone/internet providers in Australia, are thieves.  So this jerk off tries to accuse me of using over 1 grand worth of data on my iphone, when i have the internet at my house? does this make sense to anyone? So i disputed the bill and got the ombudsman involves.  But I just cant believe the call centre people over in india, theyre SO rude.  One woman even felt the need to speak to me in a condescending manner to which I basically told her to go and get f***ed.  So they disconnected me, but I got them to reconnect it because I said there was a chance of a medical emergency lol.

So I've been pottering around doing some things here and there, done some knitting, some oya work, some blanket work, its all happening.  Now i know I promised you lovely people a picture of the booties I've made, and here it is!  I've just made the same style bootie, but in different colours.  Enjoy! :)

The knitting begins

So I've made 3 booties for the baby order so far, even though i cant stand knitting lol.  I intend to make 10 ( same amount as hats ) and finish the blanket and the bohca (napsack) and the orders finished!

Today ramadan began.  And I'm very thirsty and working on my oya as to block out the thirst and hunger, on top of that I;m watching Dr Phil lol, very interesting.

Tonight I wont be home til late because my grandma and I are going to my Auntys to have a feast when the sun goes down with the family. 

I'll be sure to upload photos of the booties in the next couple of days.