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Quilting
The oldest products of this type of embroidery technique were found 3400 years BC in Egypt and later throughout Europe. But nowadays this type of handicraft has become very popular in America and also in UK.
I started to focus on this sewing technique because it gives a second life to clothing or textiles. I had sun-drenched garden chair mattresses that didn't look very good anymore, but still good enough to sit on. From my old curtains, my old dresses and my husband's old shirts, I made these new colourful chair covers.
Quilt with Latvian sign - Mara's cross
One of my ideas to make the quilt more Latvian, was to add an ancient Latvian symbol to it. This is how my first quilt was made from a design idea to a finished product.
It depicts the Cross of Mara. It is said, that the special energy around
it protects, heals and brings good luck. This is a symbolic sign of protection by Mara, in exchange for her
blessings and supervision over a person’s life. Sometimes this cross is also
called the Cross of Laima. This cross is also widely used in women’s clothes
and jewellery.
Quilt with Latvian sign - Firecross
Fire
cross is related to Sun, Laima and Thunder, so this sign was popular to cut
into the beds of children and to interweave into belts for new-born children to
wrap them in. In Latvia, up to this day it is used for shirts, gloves, socks
for protection against evil eyes. I used it as a design element in this blanket
as it was my tribute to my granddaughter with the hope that this quilt cover will
protect her from all evil.
