Monday 16 June 2008

My African Dream

I seem to have an obsession with my little African Tribal Dog, Niyka :LOL. Here is another quilt that she has inspired. For this quilt I have used only African fabrics. The fabrics were either designed and printed in South Africa or West Africa. The basic design is made up of string piecing blocks which are sewn together in strips of 4 blocks across. I have then cross cut these strips with wavy lines and inserted black stripes - to signify Niyka's stripes. I am going to quilt the top with circles signifying the "Circle of Life". The top is no longer square - any ideas how to get it square again? I am not keen on wetting the quilt as the colours might run.......


The quilting is finally done. I quilted spirals all over the top to represent the circle of life. The spirals are uneven - is life ever smooth and even :D
Now I just have to put the binding and sleeve on and then the quilt is done. I am really pleased with the way it has turned out - even if I say so myself :-)



Then it is onto the next project....... if I can get my back to behave.......

This quilt is finally finished!!!! I can't believe it. It is a success even if I say so myself. A celebration of the richness and variety of Africa. I am passionate about Africa.






6 comments:

Mary Johnson said...

I love this! I'm not sure how you'd block this without wetting it or at least using a lot of steam but you could certainly trim up the edges and bind it as is. I think an irregular edge would suit the style of this quilt really well.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary

Thanks - the idea of an irregular edge is awesome. I still think in square shapes :-) It would be good to move away from that.

Margarita Korioth said...

You made a beautiful quilt! I learn from a quilting book that if you cut the fabric for the binding cross grain and pulled a little bit while sewing will lay perfectly straight and minimize the bulk or ripples.That's how I finished my "square" quilts now and works wonderful.

Alison Schwabe said...

You could just leave the top uneven and just 'reshape' the lower edge - then smoothe off the jutting out bits but don't straighten the side edges, bind with a bias cut binding, or a narrow straight one, OR face the edges - don't be afraid of irregular shapes - they're fun and highly individual !

Russty said...

This is beautiful just the way it is! I would bind the edges with it uneven.

Karen Newman Fridy said...

Very nice quilt! I really love the circular quilting against the linear blocks....great colors too!