Dalia Al-Haj Qasem
Palestine: The Land
This is a cross stitch piece that was designed by my late grandmother and stitched by me in 2019. Written in Arabic across the middle of the piece is the word “Palestine”. The bottom three squares cleverly fuse the traditional “Feathers” Palestinian motif with the Arabic phrase “the land”. The two motifs across the top are named the “Moon of Bethlehem”.
The artist, Dalia Al-Haj Qasem, runs Sitti Threads and says:
Sitti Threads is a Sydney-based social enterprise on a mission to preserve, teach and celebrate Palestinian heritage, culture and identity through the art of embroidery. With a fusion of traditional Palestinian tatreez and modern embroidery, we bring you a range of unique embroidered products that share a common thread of Palestine.
As the Zionist Project continues its attempts to erase Palestinian culture and identity, Sitti Threads stands firm in asserting the rich history of Palestinian embroidery that has origins dating back to the eleventh century CE. Sitti Threads celebrates this history and embraces traditional and modern embroidery techniques to create contemporary products celebrating Palestine.
It is our belief that learning the art and history of tatreez and wearing tatreez is, in and of itself, a statement of resistance. Our social enterprise encourages Palestinians and non-Palestinians alike to resist against the erasure of Palestinian identity by learning and celebrating a centuries-old art-form, tatreez.
The word sitti means grandmother in Arabic. At Sitti Threads, we pay homage to the Palestinian grandmothers who have passed down the art of tatreez from one generation to the next.
For me, my grandmother is a huge inspiration in my passion for embroidery. She passed away on 1 January 2023, Allah yerhamha. Despite her old age and persistent hand tremor, my grandmother would continue to celebrate her Palestinian heritage every day by handcrafting some of the most beautiful embroidery pieces.
Sitti Threads is for my own Sitto and all Palestinian grandmothers and mothers who share with them a piece of Palestine every day.
Dalia Al-Haj Qasem is a lawyer and Palestinian tatreez artist living on Darug land, Sydney. She is the founder of Sitti Threads, a social enterprise focused on preserving, teaching and celebrating Palestinian heritage and culture through the centuries old embroidery art form, tatreez. At a young age, Dalia learnt tatreez from her grandmother who passionately reinforced the importance of practicing Palestinian traditions. Dalia embodies her grandmother’s vision to keep tatreez alive for all current and future generations.
