Know my Kantha Story : It started simply with a stitch, and ends with a story.
I remember the day when I received my first quilt, progressed down to me from my mother, hand-stitched by my grandmother. It was filled up with life; her favourite colors, curved lines, witless patterns but a very fine stitch.
It was worn, assembled around the edges but kept its motherly warmth. My grandmother collected all of the quilts she made, and gave these to family members when she left us. I’ve adore mine, knowing that I’ll never get same like it, but still wanting to search something that I could start to collect, just like she did.
I found my halfway when I was first instigate to a few quilts that were labeled as “Kantha from bengal” at my husband’s shop with website https://www.vintagekanthaquilt.com/ I fall in love, It was simply love at first sight; I wanted to grasp anything and everything about these beautiful kantha. Kantha refers to the kind of stitch used in the craft of this peculiar type of embroidery. The tradition began in India, where old sari is mixed and layered with worn recycled fabrics and stitched together, creating a vintage quilt. This distinct stitch gives the sari quilts and various fabrics a textured, wavy, quality. Each quilt is truly unique, and I love how each one feels like it has a unlike story.
So, I’m hooked. Here I am today, gathering and loving each vintage kantha quilt I can get my hands on. It may be the variety of pattern on each quilt that draws me in; how I can link to each stitch, after all, I’ve always been a bit all over the place, a rambling soul, a bit of everything. I fall in love with these kantha quilts, new for a new reason. I feel amazed seeing one side has Ruby red paisley prints with a vibrant patch of yellow florals, and the other has a winter snowy feel. They’re so bizzare, and so me.
Kantha is more or less like home to me. It’s something what I always wish and love to collect; it’s what I wanted to keep near and dear to my heart. Each kantha quilt has a different story, and I’m now making these as a part of my kantha story.