This design started as I was researching antique textiles depicting riders. Horses are such elegant creatures, and after having done one other design featuring mainly horses (Swedish Horses) I wanted to do a 2nd one featuring equestrians. I noticed that on all the textiles that I came across, men were riding the horses, and women looked on, rather docile, in the border of the design.
In my pattern I wanted women to hold the reigns, while smaller men stood around them looking on - a little play on the traditional roles being reversed. Around them are scattered various animals and flowers - all very abstract and primitive in style. To me, they are the Amazon women of Greek mythology - in their day feared for their prowess at war. As there is enough war already, perhaps we, in turn, can be inspired by these women to be fierce in our battles: fighting racism, patriarchy, and defending our beautiful planet.
You can choose to stitch this pattern fully or use its varying elements for smaller projects. There’s a lot to stitch on this design, and it should give you a lot of inspiration to start some smaller projects also!
