4/5/2005

Filed under: General by site admin

I spent less than $200 in my six weeks of travel on souvenirs. Part of it was due to not being healthy but also I think that I am becoming more selective on what I want to have hanging around my house. One of my purchases that thrills me is my tuskiiz from Kazakhstan. A tuskiiz is a quilt but they call it a wall carpet. It has amzing chain stitching on it and is made by a girl for her dowry. It is used on the bed or hung on the wall in a yurt. Mine smells of lanolin from camel. And while I had my choice of fancier ones, I choose this one because it’s used, kind of funky, signed and dated. The outer edges have been quilted by machine too. I have spent hours looking at it and am trying to find a place where it can be featured in my home. I wish I could say that textile artists and others were outraged that I was taking this piece home with me but again I am finding that people don’t value their past. I do plan to use this piece to help people here understand the rich textile history of Kazakhstan. I also hope that maybe I have planted the seeds for the artists of Kazakhstan to appreciate their hertiage and begin building on it. It took me almost 18 months to accomplish this in Georgia. I’m proud that I have been able to make small positive changes in the world with quiltmaking. Quiltmakers unite! Hugs, Karen