Newgrange Quilt

Quilt of Newgrange with a green mound, white quartz-style facade, glowing entrance, Irish chain sky and field, and a dark blue border stitched with spirals, lozenges and wavy lines.

Newgrange winter solstice quilt by Rozemaryn Van der Horst.

An online quilt group set a challenge on the subject of the winter solstice. The quilt had to be no larger than 160 inches (400 cm) around, it had to contain a traditional block, and certain techniques had to be used. Rozemaryn Van der Horst lives in Hawaii, where the winter solstice is of little significance, so she looked on the internet and found Newgrange.

The quilt was started at the beginning of September 2004 and the front was finished by the winter solstice 2004. Except for the mound itself, it is made of quilting blocks named "Irish chain". The border has some of the petroglyphs found on the kerbstones around the mound. The quilt is 55 x 25 inches (137 x 62 cm).

Close-up of the quilted Newgrange entrance with beaded white stones, a yellow glow in the doorway and a brown fence strip in the foreground.

Detail of the quilted Newgrange entrance.

See also Art Works and more on winter solstice at Newgrange.