Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Art of Turkish Needlelace: OYA!

A few commentators on my last post asked about oya...as is in, what is it? (And why would I spend the entire proceeds of the sale of a nice sewing machine on a stash of it?)

For a great introduction, read Barbara Blankenship's article about oya in CQMagOnline here. There is contact information at the end of the article for purchasing oya from our lovely friend Rengin in Istanbul, too.

Here are some pictures of this wonderful and ancient needleart from the villages of Turkey. I love using it, particularly on my floral crazy quilts, because it adds such wonderful dimension and interest.

This is a picture Rengin sent me of some of her stock. Each flower is about an 1" or so in diameter, handmade using simply a needle and thread (rayon, I believe).

Another picture from Rengin. Oya are traditionally worn as borders on scarves. These are for sale.

This is one of several necklace/earring sets that Rengin has for sale...she has found a wonderful artist who makes these. The necklace flower looks to be about 3" wide.

This is all that remains of my personal oya stash. You will notice there is some lovely needlelace trim in the upper left of this picture. Often seed beads are incorporated into the trim as it is made.
Rengin says that this is a dying art, so you can see why I want to stock up!
I also love the idea of monetarily supporting the women in the villages still creating the oya.

If you are interested in purchasing some oya, I encourage you to link to Barbara's article above, read more about oya, and contact Rengin.

16 comments :

Amy Munson said...

Fascinating article from Barbara and the oya flowers are wonderful. I think I need to start a stash of them.

Susan said...

Those are really interesting flowers. I like the needlelace with beads a whole lot. I'll go read, but I'm hoping I'm not *too* tempted!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

Absolutely gorgeous!! That could be addictive. I will send my friend Marilyn in search of it next time she goes over there.

Threadspider said...

Such a lovely artform. We should be concerned about protecting all these dying arts. Think what would be lost if this disappeared. Thanks for the links Allie.

Marty52 said...

Pretty, pretty flowers... I can see why you want to get a nice stash of those beauties. They really do fit in well with your style of crazy quilting!

Granny Fran said...

What a pity it would be if this wonderful artform died out! Those are so scrumptious.

Anonymous said...

I am ISO Oya DIY/patterns and how-tos. I love the look of ALL of it, and I'm interested in getting started with the hook variety (since I'm a crocheter). Any suggestions? I'd greatly appreciate it!

Great stash!

itsmemaven AT [NOSPAM] AIM DOT COM

Rengin Yazitas said...

Oh, Allie, my dear...I've just read your blog...It seems that your stash is getting richer with various oyas. As you said so, I scare so much this amazing art will die on the coming years. Because new generation do not have the necessary interest to learn this amazing art and this strengthens my fear that oya art shall be forgetten by time.
Love,

Semra Merdan said...

OOO.Its very pretty.Im a Turkish knitter and designer.Thats all beautiful.

Donna A said...

This summer I was introduced to
Oya needlelace at a workshop.
Where can I purchase thread & supplies in USA ?
thank you.
Donna a
armstdl@yahoo.com

Donna A said...

This summer I attended a Beautiful Oya needlace workshop. Where can
I purchase thread & supplies, hopefully in US. Thank you
armstdl@yahoo.com

TURKISH LACE-CROCHET WORK BY DEMET said...

Hi,

The very first picture and the necklace made out of raw silk threads. I actually happened to know the people makes this special silk oya work from Ankara. My mother is from there and some of her relatives makes this silk thread ones. They make their own silk threads with silk bugs and dye naturally.

I have some necklaces, broches and tons of edge works. I make some too.

Demet

Vera Lucia said...

amei esta renda, gostaria de saber como faz. É muito lindo.
Vera
swanwoman@click21.com.br

Berceste said...

Thank you so much for mentioning Oya. Which is secret treasure of my homeland.

Also one of my friends sells necklaces made with oya. You can see them on her Etsy page:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48604745/oya-anatolian-necklacess

AnatolianCollections said...

Great post. I'm an oya fanatic, and most of my blog has my oya works on it. Id be happy if you had a look there.

www.couchcrochetcrumbs.blogspot.com

LindaScarf said...

I lived in Izmir, Turkey for 22 years and have a wonderful collection of "oya" and scarves. To see your site and how you are using the oya flowers is amazing! You are doing the oya justice!
Tomorrow I am going for a 10 day visit to Izmir and I cannot wait. I do hope to find some oya, but it is now getting to be very expensive.
Thank you again for your posting these lovely photos!