We have a nail salon on every commercial block in the area. Most are staffed by Vietnamese. In the salon I frequent, the girls fill their down town with their I-phone, I-Pad or handiwork. Last year they were knitting scarves. This year, they are doing cross stitch. The kits are purchased in Vietnam. Orders are placed with staff, husbands, or friends traveling to Vietnam. The cross stitch fabric has a 1 inch grid which is suppose to disappear when completed work is submerged in water. The design is "painted" onto the fabric. Leann is the most ambitious of the stitchers'. She purchased 3 kits approximately this size for $100. She has been working on her piece since November. She completes about 1 square inch an hour. She uses 3 ply of the floss. Leann has to live a very long life to complete her work! I was envious of how the kits are packaged. Each looks like a suitcase with a clasp. The kits originate in China.
Leann also told me that in Vietnam if a village has a "cottage industry" the entire village participates in that industry. If they embroider tablecloths, everyone in the village participates. In areas where coconuts are available, they make things out of coconuts. They are also doing two sided embroidery in Vietnam. She showed me a You Tube Video of the two sided embroidery. It was in Vietnamese so I have been unable to locate it. You can see samples of Vietamese Two Sided Embroidery at www.flyicarusfly.com .
Expressing gratitude for my " smaller" needlepoint project.
Tisha Shaski
www.needlepointtooltime.com
