Thanks to my lovely hubby, my computer and internet are now back and fine and dandy. Now we can continue the bingo and as an extra extra treat I've got not 2, not 3, but 4 numbers for you today!!! (courtesy of my daughter CJ)
#1: Ashanti
I love this piece mostly because of the colours - and if there's one thing I remember from my Mum's travels in Africa it was all the different coloured treasures she came home with. I think here love for the people and the culture rubbed off on me to a certain extent, but even from an artistic perspective, this is a beautiful piece and would be beautiful stitched, especially if you love Africa.
As usual I did a search on the name, and wiki have a whole page on the Ashanti people. I was really interested when I read that the Ashanti are a matrilineal tribe:
"Ashanti are one of Africa's matrilineal societies where line of descent is traced through the female. Historically, this mother progeny relationship determined land rights, inheritance of property, offices and titles. It is also true that the Ashanti inherit from the paternal side of the family. Property is defined as something inherited from the father, hence the name "agyapade", meaning inheritance from a good father. Normally, a poor father has nothing to give their children, and often marry into a family which has wealth from ancestors.
The father's role was to help the conception and provide the nkra or the soul of the child; that is, the child received its life force, character, and personality traits from the father. Though not considered as important as the mother, the male interaction continues in the place of birth after marriage.
Historically, an Ashanti girl was betrothed with a golden ring called "petia" (I love you), if not in childhood, immediately after the puberty ceremony. They did not regard marriage "awade" as an important ritual event, but as a state that follows soon and normally after the puberty ritual. The puberty rite was and is important as it signifies passage from childhood to adulthood in that chastity is encouraged before marriage. The Ashanti required that various goods be given by the boy's family to that of the girl, not as a 'bride price,' but to signify an agreement between the two families."
Here's a
link if you fancy an interesting read.
#13: Africana
My daughter must have a sixth sense for things related to Africa! For the same reason above, I love this because of the colours, but I also love the simplicity of it. It's something that I can imagoe being made out of banana skins, and again, from my mum's travels, looks like it depicts something from the Kenyan region (don't quote me cause I'm probably wrong but it's very similar to some art I've seen on postcards and banana leaf paintings she's bought home with her.) If yo've never seen art made from banan leaf, I urge you to
check it out - you'll be amazed!!!
#22: Pandora
When I was younger, Pandora's box was one of my most favourites tales - it still is to a certain extent. Just incase you don't know the tale, in short it's about a girl who was given a box by her father and told never to open it - of course, like they say, curiosity killed the cat - and she opened it only for the terrors and horrors of the world to come out of the box and ravage the earth. She regretted it instantly, and snapped the box shut, but it was too late as all of the evil things had escaped. But when she opened it again, the last thing flew out - it was hope.
Marta Dahlig, the original artist of what is now this HAED, perfectly captured for me the relief, promise and belief Pandora had when she saw that all that was left was hope in her rendition of this timeless tale - I fell in love with this, as I did most of Marta's pieces of work when I found her on the
deviantArt website - and this is a must stitch for me - in fact it's next on my HAED buying list
#12: Bouquet
I have loved Spain since I was introduced to the language back in school when I was 13 (that makes me feel old) - when I was 16 I got a chance to do an exchange and stayed with a lovely family - I loved it there, and haven't been anywhere abroad since, but if I went anywhere it would be Spain - the people, the country, the culture is just lovely. Anyhoo, I love this picture because this lady
really does look Spanish, and the whole vibe of the piece fills me with nostalgia and memories and all sorts of squidgy smoodgy feelings which I like
Good luck ladies
Next numbers tomorrow
xx
Losing computer time and your work is such a drag. Do hope all is well for you soon.
Still, I have a faboo hubby who managed not only to fix the net connection and my computer, but who backed up my work only a few days agao, so I've not lost a lot of what was on here 
5/10 so far, Ashanti was my fifth one. I really like the colors in Ashanti, but my favorite Lady is Cleopatra. I love her softness, youth and innocense in this portrait of her which is so unlike how she is depicted in films and documenteries. 
love Bouquet!
