published in Meie Maa (Estonia)<\/a><\/p>\nHaving married a local man, Sirje has long been welcomed into the Muhu community through her dedication and presence. This can be assumed even without conducting a public survey. When trying to reach her by phone, Sirje happened to be in Liiva, attending a gathering of the Oad ja Eed handicraft society, where she was formally presented with an honorary certificate and a monetary award for her contribution to developing handicrafts. A gift that, in a way, also served as a Women\u2019s Day present. Upon hearing this, her five-year-old granddaughter in Tallinn cheerfully exclaimed, \u201cGrandma got a poster!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big surprise for me, as I\u2019ve always thought that thank-you notes and honorary diplomas are given for truly special achievements, but handicraft is just part of my everyday life,\u201d said Sirje, describing her astonishment. \u201cBut maybe they\u2019ve noticed some of my new ideas? Perhaps that means the people of Muhu have accepted me. When it comes to learning and teaching, passing on local folk traditions and skills to the younger generation is extremely important\u2014so that this beautiful heritage won\u2019t be lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
The craftswoman shared that a few years ago, while touring Saaremaa, she didn\u2019t notice any embroidered handicrafts in the tourist shops. \u201cI thought to myself\u2014there\u2019s definitely room for growth. And today, I can say that many Saaremaa locals want to learn embroidery. It\u2019s not rocket science\u2014if you\u2019ve got the interest and the will, it\u2019s absolutely doable. But it takes an enormous amount of time. You have to practise and practise. Embroidery is much like top-level sport\u2014if you want to reach the top and stay there, you have to train every day. Your wrist must always stay warm. I embroider every day. Sometimes I get told off\u2014\u2018Hey, it\u2019s Sunday!\u2019 But I can\u2019t help it\u2014I love it so much.\u201d
\n
\nWeekends are for new things <\/strong><\/p>\nThese days, Sirje uses weekdays for commissioned work and weekends to embroider for herself. That\u2019s usually when she embarks on something new and exciting. \u201cI always want to try new things, to explore and experiment\u2014there\u2019s so much room for growth. I fear one lifetime won\u2019t be enough. There are so many flowers around\u2014I want to try embroidering all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sirje came across an inspiring embroidery book from which she\u2019s learning new techniques. She is currently experimenting with how to recreate dimensional embroidery\u2014typically done with fine thread (moulin\u00e9)\u2014using rustic wool yarn and satin stitch, while still achieving the same effect. She shows a so-called \u2018sample patch\u2019, which in reality is a large quilt, onto which she has embroidered many different flowers\u2014both wild and cultivated. It\u2019s like a beautifully designed floral alphabet\u2014perfect for teaching children to identify flowers.<\/p>\n
Creating recognisable flowers in embroidery isn\u2019t as simple as it may seem. A small example: to successfully embroider globeflowers, Sirje and her husband T\u00f5nis went into the forest, picked a bunch, took photographs, and then Sirje painted them on paper\u2014only after that did she begin stitching them on fabric. \u201cI had to get the feeling just right. Marigolds were another challenge\u2014it took some effort to make the flower recognisable. In fact, this quilt began with a pansy, as I wanted to see how well it could be rendered in wool thread. With thick yarn, you just can\u2019t blend tones in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
This flower-rich quilt is Sirje\u2019s third. She refers to her quilts as her fourth pension pillar, since they\u2019re so time- and labour-intensive that she couldn\u2019t bear to sell them. \u201cMaybe when I\u2019m old and frail, and I no longer remember how much time and how many pricked fingers they cost me\u2014maybe then I\u2019ll be able to let them go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of Sirje\u2019s embroidered pieces\u2014sofa cushions, table runners, and more\u2014have been professionally photographed and then digitally printed on fabric at a factory in Tallinn. This method allows her to offer beautiful designs at a more affordable price. For photography, she collaborates with Karli Foto and Andi Roos; for the actual production, she works with other Muhu artisans. Sewing work is handled by Triinu Traumann from Net Tikand, and Piret Lember provides slipper soles\u2014whom Sirje says even outperforms her in that craft.
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\nA look back at youth<\/strong><\/p>\nSirje was a 17-year-old city girl when she and two friends decided to apply to Tartu Art School. They needed to submit a sample piece. A friend\u2019s mother suggested Muhu Island\u2014a beautiful place with beaches, stone fences, and windmills. \u201cWe packed our painting supplies and headed to the island. We pitched our tent at Koguva beach, but word spread quickly that there were three girls camping there. That\u2019s where I met a young man from Koguva, who drove his tractor to the beach before Midsummer\u2019s Eve and invited one of us to help gather firewood. I agreed,\u201d Sirje recalled the happy coincidence that shaped her life.<\/p>\n
As a result, although she passed two entrance exams in Tartu, she chose to start a family instead and lived in Koguva for a while, where her first child, daughter Kristi, was born. Sirje was 18. Later came her son, Mihkel. \u201cI started embroidering out of necessity\u2014there were no jobs. When I lived in Muhu for nine months at 18, I started embroidering traditional slippers for the Uku company. But I also experienced emotional trauma. After moving back to Tallinn, I didn\u2019t touch a needle for a long time. I had to meet production quotas while caring for a small child, often sacrificing sleep. Years later, when I returned to Muhu at 26, I first took up rug weaving, not embroidery. But people started asking, \u2018Why aren\u2019t you embroidering?\u2019 And so it began. Now I think embroidery has become an addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now been 11 years since Sirje left Tallinn behind. She raised and educated her children in the city, but every summer they spent holidays at her husband\u2019s family farm in Koguva, where the to-do list was longer than the people. Upon returning to the island, Sirje was sure of one thing\u2014she would never again take on salaried work, even though she didn\u2019t yet know what she would do. Before moving, she had taken a variety of courses in Tallinn\u2014learning weaving, silk painting, and ceramics.<\/p>\n
In Muhu, she began with rug weaving, soon followed by silk painting. Both have since faded into the background. \u201cSilk painting has been replaced with another kind of painting\u2014on doors, window frames, planks of wood. Luckily, T\u00f5nis lets me cover everything,\u201d said the artistically inclined craftswoman. Her husband added that Sirje also paints ornaments and flowers onto the furniture he and his partner build\u2014tailored to each client\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n
Sirje sings her husband\u2019s praises\u2014he built their home, handles all the work, and lets her keep on embroidering, uninterrupted. It\u2019s not unusual for him to cook and invite her to the table. \u201cI\u2019ve really struck gold with my husband. He can do everything. We\u2019re both masters of our own time\u2014we do what we want, when we want.\u201d T\u00f5nis compliments his hardworking wife, which has spared him the nagging found even in some posh households. So, daily life in the T\u00fc\u00fcr household is like a constant celebration of Women\u2019s Day and a festival of flowers.<\/p>\n
To end, here is the heroine\u2019s own view on handicraft and Muhu Island:\n\u201cI really only came into contact with handicraft here, on Muhu. It\u2019s a fantastic place for creative work\u2014a peaceful environment where you can think and create. I feel like it brings out something hidden in a person\u2014something you wouldn\u2019t have imagined possible. It\u2019s just so cool!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Muhu tikand v\u00f5ttis s\u00fcdame See, naistep\u00e4evaks \u00fchele virgale naisele p\u00fchendatud lugu on Koguva k\u00fclas M\u00e4nniku k\u00e4sit\u00f6\u00f6tuba pidavast tallinlannast Sirje T\u00fc\u00fcrist, kellest n\u00fc\u00fcdseks on saanud usin Muhu tikandi tegija ja selle kauni kunsti edasi\u00f5petaja laiadele rahvahulkadele. Loo autor: Vilma Rauniste, Meie Maa Koguva k\u00fcla mehele l\u00e4inud naine on oma senise tegevusega ammuilma muhulaste kogukonda vastu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1036,"featured_media":4608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,61],"tags":[173,217,239,324,356],"class_list":["post-4888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elu","category-muhu","tag-koguva","tag-manniku-kasitootuba","tag-muhu","tag-sirje-tuur","tag-tikkimine"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",340,597,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi-171x300.jpg",171,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",340,597,false],"large":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",340,597,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",340,597,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",340,597,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",7,12,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg",340,597,false],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Rauno Lopp","author_link":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/author\/ekursusit\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Muhu tikand v\u00f5ttis s\u00fcdame See, naistep\u00e4evaks \u00fchele virgale naisele p\u00fchendatud lugu on Koguva k\u00fclas M\u00e4nniku k\u00e4sit\u00f6\u00f6tuba pidavast tallinlannast Sirje T\u00fc\u00fcrist, kellest n\u00fc\u00fcdseks on saanud usin Muhu tikandi tegija ja selle kauni kunsti edasi\u00f5petaja laiadele rahvahulkadele. Loo autor: Vilma Rauniste, Meie Maa Koguva k\u00fcla mehele l\u00e4inud naine on oma senise tegevusega ammuilma muhulaste kogukonda vastu…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1036"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Sirje](\"https:\/\/muhutikand.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tuur2_veebi.jpg\" "\\"Muhu")
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