Besides the delicate lace they produce, the women of São Jorge are responsible for one of the most characteristic forms of handicraft in the Azores - the home-made counterpanes which are a patchwork of squares and rectangles, in which red and yellow are the prevailing colours, covering the whole cloth.
These colourful counterpanes are laboriously made on crude wooden looms using ancestral techniques. Made of warm wool to keep out the cold of winter nights, they add a colourful and cheerful note to the simple, whitewashed walls of the houses on São Jorge.
Lace of São Jorge
These colourful counterpanes are laboriously made on crude wooden looms using ancestral techniques. Made of warm wool to keep out the cold of winter nights, they add a colourful and cheerful note to the simple, whitewashed walls of the houses on São Jorge.
Lace of São Jorge
2 comments:
Luis, thank you for posting the information and history of Sao Jorge. Mary
I really enjoyed your site. I have been to Sao Jorge once because my grandmother was born in Norte Pequeno. I was interested to see if you had any pictures of the counterpanes that you mentioned. I remember my grandmother had one on her bed. The colors were red and I believe some yellow. It was so long ago, but I think it had some yellow wool yard between the squares. Palmeda Day
Sebastopol, Ca
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