Stitches with Portuguese soul

Olá! My name is Gabriela (but you can call me Gabi) and I have a story to tell. A story made of history, culture and tradition, made of many stitches with Portuguese soul.

Map of Portugal embroidered
in flag colors by Soraia

I come from Portugal, “a little spot planted by the seashore”, the most western country of Europe. A really small country, but independent since the 12th century and claiming to be the oldest European nation-state.

Our history is a story telling of what we now call globalization. We were occupied by Celts, Romans, Visigoths - only to name some… And we started an age of adventures sailing through Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America. It’s cool to think we were the pioneers of globalization…

Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with embroidery stitches… Someone explained it better than me: “What may seem like a simple piece of decorated fabric is, in reality, a summary of a fertile culture that has a million stories to tell, all born from its rich and colorful history.”(1)

I invite you to come this year round and get to be familiar with the stitches of this “melting pot” country. Stitches that claim to have a Portuguese soul, though I cannot assure that this soul is more Visigothic, Moorish or Indian...

Our stitches can be popular and colorful…

Embroidered typical costumes by Rosino

Charming and sober…

Madeira embroidery by Madeira Islands Tourism

Or sophisticated and silky…

My own piece of Castelo Branco embroidery - a wedding gift

Share and enjoy this journey with me and I’ll try to show you old time and modern stitches… Proving that we can be inspired by tradition and still be fresh and original as long as we remain true to our soul… In my case, a true Portuguese soul…

Did you notice? I started this post teaching you what might have been your first word in Portuguese, “olá”, meaning “hello” in English... You can step by every Thursday and I’ll teach you many more. You’ll have a whole year to learn Portuguese...