A New Grandmothers' Quilt

Earlier this week, I had a visit from Margaret, Maria and Florence - all quilters who are involved in making pieces for the second collection of quilts for a local group of Grandmothers to Grandmothers, raising funds for the work of the Stephen Lewis Foundation; and all quilt artists in their own right. Margaret and Florence gave me permission to photograph this first piece, which they made collaboratively, using pre-printed fabric from Africa. I love it! The main reason for the visit, though, was to select scraps of African fabrics from my collection, for possible incorporation into the "Turning the Tide" quilts. ("Turning the Tide" is the theme for this year's quilts for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.) It was great fun upending a box of leftovers onto my table, and going through them. Ideas for new quilts were flying around almost as fast as the tidbits of fabric. Then Margaret produced a quilt made from another collection of African fabrics. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderfully all these wild fabrics work together. And the great news is that she's donated it to the Kitambaa Sewing Project, and once it's been quilted, we will start selling "opportunities to own" this quilt, with 100% of the proceeds going to our work with the Bitengye Designers in rural Uganda.

Thank you, Margaret!!!

Kitambaa Sewing Project Update

What do squash have to do with the Bitengye Designers? Well, everything. Joanne Colleaux, an enterprising fund-raiser from the Salmon Arm area, had an abundance of spaghetti squash in her garden this year. Joanne was already a supporter of the Kitambaa Sewing Project. So one Guild meeting she took an Alice bag packed with a squash, and a set of Bitengye placemats, set as though the squash was the main course, for her "show and tell". She then sold all of the squash, and is donating the proceeds to the Sewing Project. This is certainly one of the most enterprising fund-raising efforts I have heard of to date! But there are generous people all over Canada who are once again donating to this project, and making our second workshop with these remarkable ladies possible (less than 6 weeks now until we fly!)
This week we have tremendously exciting news, in that we were able to let her know that we have now raised enough money for her to begin building the classroom for her Sewing School.
(she has plans to add a dormitory at a later date, so that students from afar can board with her while they study). She had already earned enough to have the land levelled and to have the bricks made, so now she has enough to begin putting up the walls. So all of you out there who have purchased one of her now-famous bags, or one of her other items, know that you have been part of seeing this happen. A huge thank you to everyone, particularly to those who have made a direct donation to Alice's school. I can't wait to see it, and will be sure to send you photos once in Uganda.

Africa-inspired Quilts

One of the delights of our trip to Uganda earlier this year, was collecting some remarkable batiks in the craft markets. In some cases we even managed to meet the artists responsible for making them. We sold out of all that we brought back with us fairly quickly, but kept back a few for ourselves to work with. These first two wallhangings are the work of Joan Darling, who has added free-motion stitching and beading as well as borders to the batiks. The first wallhanging of two women carrying pots on their heads is part of our fund-raising efforts for this year's trip to Uganda, and is for sale for $125. The second wallhanging of a woman walking in the rain, is not for sale. Aren't they delightful?

The quilt below is made by Ann McLean, owner of The Country Quilter in Richmond, Ontario. The Richmond Guild made all the blocks for their October block-of-the-month challenge, and Ann put all the blocks together with African fat quarters from Kitambaa Designs, as well as from her Ugandan friend, Petwa. I love the colours in it. There's nothing quite like silouetted animals against a sunset sky to evoke the feeling of Africa. Except perhaps the music.

It is six weeks today that we fly to Uganda, and preparations are well underway for the next workshop. Thank you to so many of you who have collected unused embroidery floss for us to use with the ladies, as well as all the other miscellaneous supplies we will be taking with us. Now we're busy making samples up of "new designs" to take with us, and filling totes with fabrics, particularly the black fabric that is so hard to find in Uganda. We'll be sourcing out local supplies for this once we get there, but have no way of knowing how successful we will be.

Visits on the Sunshine Coast

I have just returned home from a teaching visit to the Sunshine Coast. This is a euphemism, you understand, at least 8 months of the year. And being November, I was not disappointed, but enjoyed the sighing and moaning among the tops of the Douglas firs, the crashing of waves on the rocky shore, and the sound like breaking glass, as sheets of rain slammed into windows. But what better time to be snug inside and enjoying a quilting retreat?
The two groups I spent time with are known as "The Halfmoon Crazies", and "The Off the Wall Quilters". That should tell you something right there. They were willing to venture into unknown territory, to learn both new techniques and a new way of designing. And here is a glimpse at their works in progress, as they participated in Ferns, Flowers and Other Follies; and The Joys of Journalling. There was lots of laughter, lots of encouragement, and a huge willingness to enjoy the process. The third class - African Sunshine - was a joy to teach. Colourful "arcs" appeared up on design walls and blocks too, as this enthusiastic bunch of women worked into the evening to continue what they had learned in class. I can't wait to see the finished quilts! And I have a confession to make - I was so inspired by the African Sunshine class that I came home to work on a new sample for this for myself. Now I can return the original sample to my daughter, who has been threatening to abscond with other quilts of mine, at least until African Sunshine was returned to her.

And the Winner Is . . .

So many of you bought tickets for this year's Grandmothers' Quilt - at $5 a block we were able to raise more than $1500 towards next year's Kitambaa Sewing Project Workshop. Thank you - all of you - so very, very much. The winner of the draw for this year's quilt is Susie Schneider, from Grand Forks, BC. Susie is a new quilter, who bought a block from us when we were at their Guild Show in September. She was thrilled when I called to ask her how to go about shipping the quilt to her. She told me that my call couldn't have come at a better time, when they had just lost someone dear to them, and could do with a little good news and comfort. May this quilt comfort you for years to come, Susie.

More Quilts from Houston

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you a few of my favourite quilts from Houston, with the promise of more to come. Well here they are. (Ever get the feeling that you can't quite catch up to your own life?!)This first one is a close-up, and even so it doesn't do justice to the exquisite work involved in making it. Applique was done with satin stitching with silk thread around each and every piece. It is called Hearts and Garlands, and was made by Liz Jones from the U.K.

This next quilt is called African Adventure, and was made by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga from the Netherlands.

This one is Spring Field, made by Akiko Kawata, from Japan.

And this last one is Butare Star, made by Canada's own Ann Bird. She is without doubt the queen of medallion quilts, and this one was inspired by fabric she purchased in Rwanda, when her husband was teaching at the university there, as well as some wild and crazy bird fabric, from Kitambaa Designs

Back home from Ottawa and Beaconsfield

I have just returned home from a two week trip back east, during which I taught several workshops both in Ottawa area and Beaconsfield, Quebec and presented three Trunk Shows on my adventures in Africa, particulary with the Bitengye Designers. I thought you would enjoy seeing a few photos taken during one of the Journalling workshops. It never fails to amaze me how creative women are, and during this workshop that creativity bubbles to the surface. Asking the question "what if I . . .?", and then doing it is so liberating. It made me itchy to get back at making some journal quilts again myself.

The time spent in Ottawa was particularly sweet, as it gaveme the opportunity to see some old friends, and to make the reacquaintance of others. Ann McLean, of The Country Quilter in Richmond, just outside Ottawa, is someone I first met when we lived in Ottawa in the late 80's. When we met up again in Portland last year, she invited me to come and teach at her shop. We learned that we not only have a shared interest in quilting, but also in work in Uganda. It's a small world, as they say. A huge thank-you to all of you who made my journey so enjoyable!