Let's Do The Time Warp Again...

So, assuming I haven't lost you all with my highly edited but still opinionated mini rants, Ready! Set! Go! now rewards you with the lost entries of South Africa.

Has sort of an Allan Quartermain feel to it doesn't it?

OK, lets all hop in our blog powered time machines and go back to a simpler time. A time when lunch often consisted of dry cereal and soda. A time when we had to watch out for monkeys/donkeys/cattle/chickens/roosters/goats walking in the middle of the road.

A time roughly a month and a half ago.

Most of this was written while on the road, late a night in hotel rooms with no internet. (see how much I love you? say you'll forgive me for the last week's posts.)

So now we travel back.... back... back.... to Johannesburg, South Africa.


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OK, I can go back to Botswana... I'VE BEEN TO A SOUTH AFRICAN QUILT SHOW!!!!!

Happy dance! Happy dance!

Oh and we went to a military history museum where we learned tons and Lance got his "History Guy" thing on. See, here's a picture:

BUT THEN WE WENT TO A QUILT SHOW!!!!

South African quilters got it going on. The theme was "Shosholoza" which is a Zulu word meaning to "go forward" or "make way for the next man." Many of the quilts had a we are on the right track or South African pride feeling to them. As you can see below. I'll be posting all the pictures I took here:


Here is a link to the whole album if you would like to take your time... I had just over 2 hours to do the whole show which is why some of the photos are a wee bit blurry and off center.

South Africa Quilt Show 2008

Much to my dismay you were not allowed to take pictures of the Tri-Nations quilts (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia) or Japanese quilts. I was actually given stern talking to by one of the ladies doing white glove duty for "accidentally" taking a photo in the Tri-Nations area. A word to the non quilting community: don't tick us off... we deal with rotary cutters on a daily basis.

Notable things at the show:

1) A Dear Jane display by one of the local guilds. Wow! Gorgeous! And what a great way to take advantage of all the different German Prints or ShweShwe as it was originally called by the locals.2) I learned a little more back story about the ShweShwe: The name comes from the sound the new fabric would make as you walked.

Shwe.

Shwe.

Shwe.

Like corduroy.

When European settlers and missionaries came to what would become South Africa they were taken aback by the ... ahem... limited clothing worn by the women. Specifically they seemed to only be modest about the bottom half of their bodies. Telegrams were sent back to England asking for affordable cloth thus you have the introduction of ShweShwe to Africa.

3) Japanese quilts are breathtaking. I am in awe. I am humbled. I am motivated to get sewing!

4) I was on the lookout for a uniquely South African take on quilting. I'm looking for a perspective that is as unique as say Japanese quilts compared to Amish or Gees Bend or traditional stars and squares. Definitely they draw from a much warmer pallet which makes sense given the landscape. I hope my photos give you a sense of this.

5) One thing is certain, South African quilters take a great deal of pride in simply in the their existence. It was hard to take up quilting in the 1980s when there wasn't much fabric coming into the country. As pretty much everyone I spoke with pointed out, they have done a lot with a few hundred quilters whereas the US has thousands and easier access to resources. My feathers ruffled a little bit at that (not that it's false) but I really enjoyed their work and thrill at South Africa's desire to grow as a quilting community.

5) My favorite quilt. Photos don't do this one justice. Real pattern paper is layered with fabric, lace and buttons to for the girls. It's called "Some Are Born Old." Sad inspiration. Amazing quilt.
Now you can't end on that somber of a note so I present to you two very happy vendors. Why are they happy? Because I have just spent a lotta rand on their hand dyed fabric. It was the only thing in the whole vendors area that wasn't imported and therefore really expensive. Actually it was pretty darn cheep. With currency conversion and all it ended up being a little over $1.25 a fat quarter. Oh yeah. I did some shopping here. He is actually a former chemist (very handy knowledge when you are creating dyes) and she is a former social worker. She had some really interesting stories and perspectives on what has worked and what hasn't when it comes to aid programs. Lance took mental notes. I took home two bags of fabric.