Global Estonian embroidered into the Book Year tapestry
Kadri Linnas writes about how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department for the Diaspora and Cultural Diplomacy visited the National Library and embroidered the Global Estonian into the historic Book Year tapestry.
Together with my colleagues, we had the exceptional opportunity to embroider the historic tapestry of the Year of the Estonian Book. The embroidering took place in the newly renovated building of the National Library, which made the experience even more special. Around ten women were embroidering in the room, most of whom did not know one another. The quiet hum accompanying the work reflected the intense concentration required for such delicate craftsmanship — especially as, for most of us, our last experience of embroidery dated back to school handicraft lessons.
Embroidering on the front of the tapestry carried particular responsibility. Professional embroiderers had already completed their work there, but we were invited to add something to the blank spaces. So we embroidered an eight-pointed star, a fish, stones and a wolf.
A colleague had the idea to embroider the Global Estonian into the tapestry as well. No sooner said than done. It could not be placed on the front, so the embroidery — together with our names — was added to the back of the tapestry, more precisely into its lining. The 17-metre pictorial tapestry has images on the front depicting the story of the Estonian book, while on the reverse side all the embroiderers have stitched their own names or the names of collectives in a free form.
For clarity, this refers to the tapestry currently travelling around Estonia. Another identical 17-metre tapestry is circulating among Estonian communities abroad. That tapestry has been divided into five sections, which are currently travelling around the world — in Canada, Australia, the United States, Finland and several parts of Europe — where they are being diligently embroidered. You can read more about the adventurous journey of the tapestry abroad here.
If any of the embroiderers of the travelling tapestry read this abroad, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to embroider Global Estonian — as well as the names of Estonian organisations, publications and societies abroad — into that tapestry too, if there is still time.
Embroidery will continue through February, after which the sections of the tapestry will be sewn together. While the tapestry embroidered in Estonia will find a home at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu, the tapestry that has travelled among Estonian communities abroad will be housed at VEMU in Toronto.
Enthusiastic embroiderers Liina Viies and Rea Rannu-Ideon
