I shared a bit about these fabrics in March, but I only showed them made up into two of my Gretchen quilt blocks. I have a precious group of these Shwe Shwe blues that I pulled out a few years ago and snapped a photo of. I acquired these 44+ years ago when I lived on the Dark Continent in Swaziland. What do you think?
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| Authentic African Shwe Shwe cloth |
I used many of the blues in a class sample for my
Gretchen workshop. I combined them with other red fabrics (also from Africa). I shared these in March.
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| 4 Gretchen blocks in blue |
And the reds:
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| 4 Gretchen blocks in red |
I put my blocks together into this lovely Gretchen quilt and used more precious (vintage) African prints for the borders.
I made a special cloth bag for my youngest daughter several years ago. She scanned my entire stash of fabric and latched onto the blues. I took a deep breath and said: "Yes, of course!" Isn't this a lovely print?
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| Drawstring bag made for my daughter |
I recreated one of my patterns about 11 years ago for Blank Fabrics. Their Ethnic Echoes line begged for some Adinkra symbols. Do you remember this? I made it a Block of the Month awhile back.
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| African Adinkra Quilt. 10" blocks. 60" x 60" |
Here is the first Adinkra quilt I made. Many of these fabrics are authentic and came from Africa. This was published in Quilt Magazine around 2005. I since donated it to an African American museum here in Virginia as a teaching tool for students. I know she's happy to be treasured there!
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| Original Adinkra quilt using many authentic fabrics from Africa |
Hope you enjoyed these vintage fabrics. I still have quite a few and am inspired to use them. I mean, after all: what have I been waiting for all these years?!!
Beautiful fabrics...loved them all.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame your daughter for liking the blues. The print she chose is beautiful (as is the bag).
ReplyDeleteHi Debby! Ooh, I love your Gretchen quilt. Those fabrics!! That block is a variation on the Hunter's Star block, perhaps? And the bag you made for your daughter is gorgeous. I hope she's still enjoying it! ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteI do like those blues! What wonderful fabrics to have. I have some golds and purples from probably 25 years ago. A woman who vended at Road to California used to go to Africa just before, each year, and bring back fabrics and baskets. I have a wonderful framed piece made from very thin wooden strips - it's a brown village with a woman dressed in red walking through. I don't have any idea if she still goes, as I haven't been to that show in at least 15 years, but I have good memories! Thanks for the reminder. And I do remember Adrinka!
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