Now the "Persian Pickles"

The second element I chose to explore for the CQJP2015 is the paisley...  I have done a few here and there but I want to do a lot this year trying different techniques and materials.  I will work them off-block like I do my birds.  This one is a combination of stitching, sequins and beads.

This one is mainly beads...but they were 11s and I think 15s would work better. I could get more colors and more rows.   Notice the trim on this piece with the paisley woven into it.  I like putting the little knobbly things on the outside of the shape.  The variations which are possible are endless which is why it will be fun to follow through the entire year trying different designs and techniques.  I am thinking I will do two each month...use one on the block and save the spare for later.

I really like using them as bird wings or bird bodies as here at the beginning of a peacock.

When I did this peacock on a RR block for Wendy I used paisley techniques for the entire bird.

It is generally agreed that the paisley symbol originated in Persia 200-650 AD The symbol began to appear on Persian fabrics in the early 16th century. From about 1775 travellers, explorers and military personnel brought back the shawls of Kashmir to Europe as presents. In Britain in the 19th century the paisley shawl was the ‘must-have’ accessory of its day, a status symbol worn for important occasions.   From roughly 1800 to 1850, the weavers of the town of Paisley, Scotland became the foremost producers of these shawls and "Paisley" became the generic term for the pattern. Unique additions to their hand-looms and Jacquard looms permitted them to work in five colors when most weavers were producing paisley using only two. The pattern was embraced in America and called "Persian pickles" by American traditionalists, especially quilt-makers, or "Welsh pears" in Welsh textiles as far back as 1888.