African Embroidery: The Rejected Wife

On January 15 and 16 I wrote about the African embroideries I had received from Ina le Roux who is working with a group of Venda women in South Africa. Ina has taught the women to embroider and now they can sell their work and have funds to support their families.

This design is called "The Rejected Wife" and was created by Sani.

I added a simple border of African-style fabrics to the embroidery to create this little wall hanging.

Each embroidery comes with the complete Venda folk tale and a picture and story of the embroiderer. I added a fabric pocket on the back to hold this information.

"The Rejected Wife" is the story of a woman who was sent away by her husband and his second wife because she had 5 sons. The husband knew the sons would marry and leave his farm and would not be of any use to him. The wife started her own farm with the help of her sons and soon had a more profitable farm than her husband. Although the husband tried to win her back again, the first wife just said "Phfutseke" , a Venda word which means "Get Lost!".

More South African Embroideries

Here are 3 more of the small embroideries, 2.75" x 3.75" made by the Venda women in South Africa. There is more information about this group of women in yesterday's post.

The Dancing Elephant was made by Ema. You can read more about her in yesterday's post.

Tshimbeloni was made by Eni. She is the supervisor of her embroidery group. She hands out yarn and checks quality. In the mornings the women arrive at her house and then they sit together and chat and embroider.

The Lions and the Zebras was also made by Eni.

South African Embroideries

This week I received this parcel from South Africa containing some wonderful embroideries by the Venda women who live in the north part of South Africa. The embroideries are sold through a company called Tambani Textiles and Gifts. I wrote about this organization and its founder, Ina le Roux, in some previous posts.

Each embroidery tells a story that is traditionally told by the story tellers in the area and is signed by the embroiderer. The women use the money to buy much needed supplies for their families. Each embroidery comes with a picture of the embroiderer and a little bit of information about her, along with the story of the embroidery.

The embroideries are fully washable, have been pre-shrunk and come in 2 sizes. I will be selling these embroideries at some shows I will be doing later in the Spring. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about them.

The Rejected Wife: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Salphina. She says "I built my house with my own hands. My husband does not come home anymore. But I know the Lord is my Shepherd.

The Dancing Elephant: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.
This piece was made by Ema. Ema has 5 children to feed. With the money from her first embroideries she bought some mugs and plates. She also built her own house by hand and decorated the outside.

A Hippo Swallowed a Girl: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Sani. She says that when her husband passed away in 2005, life became very difficult. She joined the embroidery group and now gets paid for her work. She says that as the only wage earner in her family, she places all her hope on her embroidery.

The Rejected Wife: 2.75" x 3.75" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Violet. She and her husband have 6 children and because work is very scarce, the money from embroidery helps her to buy essentials for her family.

Click here to read more about Tambani Textiles and Gifts

More from Houston Quilt Market: Ina le Roux

I had the pleasure of meeting Ina le Roux at Quilt Market in Houston last week. Ina is from South Africa and she has a company called Tamabani Textiles & Gifts. Ina has been teaching the women of Venda in South Africa how to embroider and create little pieces of art that tell the folk tales of their tribe. The embroideries are used as applique blocks and have been marketed around the world. This work allows the women to have an income with which they can help to support their families.

Here is Ina, on the left, and her helper at Houston Quilt Market.

Ina's poster showing the women of Venda

The embroideries are beautifully done and each one tells a folk tale of the Venda tribe. When you purchase one these panels, you also get the printed story and a picture of the woman who did the embroidery.

More embroideries on display in Ina's booth