What If Tatreez Isn’t Just Memory, but a Way to Decolonize the Future?
Photo by @asheh
A Quiet Shift
Lately, I’ve been feeling something shift—subtly, but deeply.
For a long time, my work with tatreez has centered around reconnecting to Palestinian memory, land, and identity through thread. But recently, I’ve found myself less focused on the stitches themselves, and more on the spaces they open up. The ones where people grieve together. Where we remember together. Where we imagine together.
Tatreez has always held our history. But what if it also holds a blueprint for something ahead?
Pressing Pause, Turning Inward
If you've been following my work, you might know I had planned a summer stitch-along—an invitation to embroider wildflowers on denim as an act of resistance and revival. I was excited. Many of you were too.
But the truth is: the thread pulled me in another direction.
Because of what’s been emerging in recent community spaces and personal reflection, I’ve decided to press pause on the summer stitch-along. This decision wasn’t easy—but it felt right. I want to move at the pace of integrity, not urgency. And right now, that means creating room to ask harder questions, hold deeper conversations, and stay close to the root of why I started this work in the first place.
Worldbuilding Through Thread
This week on Tatreez Talk, we released an episode that sits at the heart of what I’m feeling. It’s about worldbuilding through tatreez—not fantasy or escapism, but real, grounded imagining.
Together with my co-host Amanne and our guest Razan, we explore:
How tatreez can help us dream beyond survival
Why stitching together isn’t just restorative—it’s political
What it means to decolonize not just materials, but our relationships, time, and imagination
“As an indigenous person, you’re rooted to land…[what if] we imagine a decolonial future [through tatreez]…”
If you’re feeling tender, tired, or unsure of your role in these times—you’re not alone. This conversation is for you.
🎧 Listen to the episode → Available on Your Favorite Platform for Podcasts
What Comes Next (I Don’t Fully Know)
I’m beginning to explore tatreez not just as a cultural practice, but as a healing modality. A possible tool for coping, grieving, and grounding. It’s still early, and I’m holding it gently, but the seeds are there. And I wanted to let you in on that.
I don’t have a new launch or offering to announce.
Just a deepening.
A re-centering.
A willingness to follow the thread wherever it leads.
For You, If You’re Wondering Too
If you're someone who's been called to this art form, or you've picked up a needle lately not just to make something beautiful—but to feel something—you’re already doing the work.
Keep stitching.
Keep asking.
Keep imagining.
The story isn’t over. It's still being embroidered.
