Exhibition “Kirikirjad kindalt seinale”

The idea for the exhibition began with the mittens knitted as part of Merike Saaremets’s bachelor’s thesis in national handicrafts at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, “19th-Century Mittens from the Suure-Jaani Parish: Techniques and Knitting” (supervisor Kristi Jõeste, MA). These mittens, along with mittens knitted in the North Viljandimaa style while preparing a follow-up master’s thesis on North Livonian mittens, inspired the acclaimed patchwork artist Mall Vesilo. Based on seven pairs of mittens, she made seven wall hangings from recycled materials. The exhibition presents these textile works alongside mittens knitted after the patterns of mittens and fingerless mittens collected from the Suure-Jaani parish and North Viljandimaa, now kept at the Estonian National Museum and Viljandi Museum. The mittens were knitted by Anneli Kundla and Merike Saaremets. In 2016, Merike Saaremets made an entry in the intangible cultural heritage inventory maintained by the Estonian Centre of Folk Culture, titled “Knitting Parish Mittens in Suure-Jaani,” which has helped raise awareness of mittens from North Viljandimaa.