New Projects: Part 2

About 3 years ago I purchased this batik panel from my friend, Pippa Moore, of  Kitambaa Designs. I am using leftover fabric from my African Safari design to make some pieced blocks to complement the panel.

 

I purchased these 2 panels when I was in South Africa 4 years ago. Again I am using leftover fabric to make some pieced blocks. Maybe all 3 panels will end up in one quilt? Maybe I will have 3 separate quilts? Sometimes these projects take on a life of their own, so who knows what may happen!

Another African Adventure

Here are some pictures of the last design I am going to put in my new "African Adventure" pattern. The picture is removable, so you can change it whenever you like. I have done a series of these "Pop-Out Picture" quilts. You can see more information about them on the "Pop Out Picture Quilts" page on my web site.

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Now you can make just 1 quilt and change the picture when you want a new look!

African Adventures

Recently I have been making small wall hangings using the embroideries that I purchased from South Africa. Here are some pictures of 2 of them.

Yesterday I put this picture in the Daily Photograph section of my Blog. The picture was taken from the bus window during a recent trip to South Africa. The child was standing on the highway in the Soweto area of Johannesburg.

Now I have made a wall hanging using the same design that I used for the embroideries. This project has taken on a life of its own!

I have decided to make these designs into a new pattern that will be available soon on my website. (Suggestions for a title for this new pattern will be gratefully received!) I will be adding one more design that uses a photograph that will fit in a little pocket on the front so it can be changed whenever you wish. This will be similar to the "Pop-Out Picture Quilts" that are on my web site now. Watch for more information coming soon.

The Dancing Elephant: An African Folk Tale

I have just finished another little quilt using the African embroideries that tell the folk tales of the Venda people. This story is called "The Dancing Elephant". You can read this story here. This embroidery was done by Heleni who has 9 children. The embroideries are the main source of income for this family.

Each embroidery comes with a printed copy of the folk tale and a card telling a little bit about the embroiderer. I made a pocket on the back of the quilt to hold these items.

More About Pippa Moore

My friend, Pippa Moore, has arrived safely in Africa. Make sure you look at her Blog to see the pictures of the wonderful fabric shop she visited. I want some of everything from that shop!

Pippa Moore and Kitambaa Designs

My friend, Pippa Moore, from Vancouver Island is leaving for Africa this weekend. While there she will be teaching women how to sew and make small items that they will be able to sell in order to generate a small income for their families.

Pippa has just started a new Blog and she will be writing about her African adventures over the next 6 weeks. Be sure and read her story - she is doing amazing work! The link to Pippa's Blog is in my "Favourite Blogs" section on the right-hand side of my Blog.

This wonderful wall quilt by Pippa is now hanging in my home. It was a Christmas gift from my husband last year.

More South African Embroideries

Here are 3 more of the small embroideries, 2.75" x 3.75" made by the Venda women in South Africa. There is more information about this group of women in yesterday's post.

The Dancing Elephant was made by Ema. You can read more about her in yesterday's post.

Tshimbeloni was made by Eni. She is the supervisor of her embroidery group. She hands out yarn and checks quality. In the mornings the women arrive at her house and then they sit together and chat and embroider.

The Lions and the Zebras was also made by Eni.

South African Embroideries

This week I received this parcel from South Africa containing some wonderful embroideries by the Venda women who live in the north part of South Africa. The embroideries are sold through a company called Tambani Textiles and Gifts. I wrote about this organization and its founder, Ina le Roux, in some previous posts.

Each embroidery tells a story that is traditionally told by the story tellers in the area and is signed by the embroiderer. The women use the money to buy much needed supplies for their families. Each embroidery comes with a picture of the embroiderer and a little bit of information about her, along with the story of the embroidery.

The embroideries are fully washable, have been pre-shrunk and come in 2 sizes. I will be selling these embroideries at some shows I will be doing later in the Spring. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about them.

The Rejected Wife: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Salphina. She says "I built my house with my own hands. My husband does not come home anymore. But I know the Lord is my Shepherd.

The Dancing Elephant: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.
This piece was made by Ema. Ema has 5 children to feed. With the money from her first embroideries she bought some mugs and plates. She also built her own house by hand and decorated the outside.

A Hippo Swallowed a Girl: 7" x 8" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Sani. She says that when her husband passed away in 2005, life became very difficult. She joined the embroidery group and now gets paid for her work. She says that as the only wage earner in her family, she places all her hope on her embroidery.

The Rejected Wife: 2.75" x 3.75" with a .75" black fabric border all around.

This piece was made by Violet. She and her husband have 6 children and because work is very scarce, the money from embroidery helps her to buy essentials for her family.

Click here to read more about Tambani Textiles and Gifts

Thanks For The Memories: Australia

I recently finished this quilt incorporating pictures of my trip to Australia in 2005. I used my pattern #330, Thanks For the Memories and fabric that I purchased in Australia. Working on the quilt brought back some wonderful memories of that trip. As I look out at my snow-covered yard, I think how great it would be to be back on those beautiful beaches, enjoying the heat and sunshine!

The first time I made this quilt, I used pictures of my trip to South Africa in 2007. The quilt was given to one of my travelling companions as part of our Fibre Friends' annual quilt exchange. You can read more about this quilt exchange from my posts on December 13, 14 and 15, 2008 and February 21, 2008.

Christmas Surprise

For Christmas I received two wonderful quilted wall hangings that are now hanging in my family room. Both quilt artists are friends of mine so this gift was very special.

Bearded Iris by Janet Rice Bredin from Sudbury, Ontario. Be sure to visit Janet's web site to see more of her work.

Joy (an art deco inspired work) is by Pippa Moore from Comox, BC. You can see more of Pippa's work on her web site.


Pippa will be travelling to Africa soon to help teach the women to sew as a means of making an income. One of her quilts was recently purchased by the Stephen Lewis Foundation, a Canadian-based foundation that provides support to African women who are ill and struggling to survive; assists orphans and other AIDS-affected children; reaches heroic grandmothers who almost single-handedly care for their orphan grandchildren; and sustains associations of people living with HIV and AIDS. You can learn more about the Stephen Lewis Foundation here.

More from Houston Quilt Market: Ina le Roux

I had the pleasure of meeting Ina le Roux at Quilt Market in Houston last week. Ina is from South Africa and she has a company called Tamabani Textiles & Gifts. Ina has been teaching the women of Venda in South Africa how to embroider and create little pieces of art that tell the folk tales of their tribe. The embroideries are used as applique blocks and have been marketed around the world. This work allows the women to have an income with which they can help to support their families.

Here is Ina, on the left, and her helper at Houston Quilt Market.

Ina's poster showing the women of Venda

The embroideries are beautifully done and each one tells a folk tale of the Venda tribe. When you purchase one these panels, you also get the printed story and a picture of the woman who did the embroidery.

More embroideries on display in Ina's booth

Portland Quilt Market - Almost Ready!

I have just finished a smaller version of my Thanks for the Memories pattern (#330) for my booth at Quilt Market in Portland. This quilt has removable pictures so you can change the photos whenever you like. The photos in these pictures were all taken during my trip to South Africa last November. You can see how versatile this quilt is because you can change the pictures.




Here is a picture of the large quilt made from this pattern. The pictures in this one are all printed on EQ Printables fabric.


Here is a picture of the blocks that didn't work! I really wanted to use this bright, colourful fabric to show off these wonderful houses in Capetown. Unfortunately, the fabric design was too large and busy, and the pictures just seemed to disappear.

Thanks for the Memories!

Last November, I traveled to South Africa with my quilting friend, Colleen. At Christmas, we were part of a quilt exchange group. I had 3 weeks to design and make a quilt for Colleen using fabric that she had given me 10 months earlier. We had shared so many wonderful experiences on our South Africa trip, that I decided to use some of my pictures in her quilt. The quilt is 41" square and uses 20 photographs that were printed on EQ Printables fabric. And yes, I did get it completely finished in 3 weeks! It’s amazing how the job always takes the amount of time you have.

This quilt then became my newest pattern called Thanks for the Memories (#330). It is now ready to be printed and will be available on my website at the beginning of March.

When I wrote the pattern, I also included instructions for using removable paper photographs instead of printed ones. This makes the quilt even more versatile because you can change the pictures whenever you wish.

Close up views

Photographs on Fabric

Printing photographs on fabric has never been easier! Many of my patterns feature this technique and I will be giving you more information about it in the next few days.


If you can print from your computer on a piece of paper, then you can print on fabric. Specially treated fabric is available in many quilt shops. The fabric comes in a variety of sizes, but 8 1/2" x 11" seems to be the most common, and, of course, is the same size as a piece of letter paper.


My favourite product is made by the Electric Quilt Company. It is called EQ Printables and comes in 3 different weights. I use the Cotton Satin most of the time because of its high thread count.


Be sure to look at the EQ web site for more information and also check this blog as well. I will be giving you lots of hints for printing on fabric in the next few weeks!


Here is a picture of a photo quilt I just made for a friend who travelled to South Africa with me in November. More information about this quilt will be coming soon too.

More pictures from South Africa!

These quilts were being sold by street vendors outside the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. The workmanship was not of the best quality, but they did portray some traditional African lifestyles. We saw many of these quilts on our travels, so they must have all come from a central distributor.