Welcome to Litsy!

- Dozens of embroidery patterns preserved in the Palestinian diaspora, including six complete sets of patterns to create a full traditional dress (chest, sleeve and panel);- Family tea, coffee and quince preserves recipes, passed on through generations of Palestinian women from Safad;- Detailed traditional Palestinian embroidery techniques and rare northern Palestinian Arabic embroidery terminology;- Complete guide to the techniques, meanings and origins of each embroidery thread stitch and color;- Guidance and instructions detailed enough for inexperienced embroiderers, and inspiration ideas for those with needlework experience;- Design histories and meanings of traditional and popular Palestinian embroidery designs in the diaspora, including The Missiles, The Birds, The Snakes, The Ducks, The Scorpions, The Story of Cleopatra, The Gardens, The Tree of Life and The Wheat Harvest.Palestinian tatreez embroidery is a centuries-old folk art, traditionally passed from mother to daughter over a cup of tea. In Tatreez & Tea: Embroidery and Storytelling in the Palestinian Diaspora, Wafa Ghnaim brings traditional Palestinian embroidery to life by resuscitating its roots as a powerful, provocative, and profound storytelling tool used by Palestinian women for hundreds of years to document their stories, observations, and experiences - including those from her mother, Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim. With dozens of design patterns; six complete sets of dress patterns; tea, coffee, and quince recipes; detailed traditional Palestinian embroidery techniques and rare northern Palestinian Arabic tatreez terminology - each design history and meaning is documented and preserved. Wafa guides us through each thread, stitch, and skilled technique used by Palestinian embroiderers, further evolving her voice into a sacred journaling of oral histories passed on by her maternal ancestors. She further unravels the significance of each design by illuminating the experiences of her mother who learned embroidery from her mother and grandmother in mid-century Syria. Tatreez & Tea is far more than a book about traditional Palestinian embroidery - it's a resurrection of tatreez as a source of identity; one that guided Wafa as she created a home in the Palestinian diaspora.Mama, tayta, khaltu, umtuuIn tatreez dresses they never outgrewIt's a legacy I cannot live up toWeaving maroon red and beautiful golden huesHonoring you without the pain of déjà vu.As we pull the waste canvas and tweezeWe earn our right to be adorned in our tatreezStitches as expensive as HermesBut invaluable are our fabric storiesThey will never be lost to the occupation's crisp breeze.- "I am Palestinian," by Wafa Ghnaim