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.