One thing I really enjoy about living here is the many beautiful fabrics that are designed and printed in Malawi and around the continent of Africa! I set out to make a quilt/duvet for our bed, but ended up making duvets for the kids first, as they caught the excitement.
A wildlife theme was first up. He wanted a “Malawi quilt” including the Chambo fish from Lake Malawi, the Big Five (elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, and leopard) and, since we had some great zebra fabric, that too!
We also added in an outline of Malawi (Lake Malawi stitched in!).
The flip side features zebras. We couldn’t find a great giraffe print, but he still liked the fabric we found for the edges.
I stitched some full zebras on from another chitenji print for good measure.
He says he’ll take it to college one day to remember his significant time in Malawi. So we made it extra long, because all college beds are extra long!
Pinks and purples were next! I sewed the pink side first because all is is a pink chitenji cut down the middle and sewed on either side of the center print. So quick and easy! Not so with the purple…
One of the fabrics was pretty bold and busy, so I decided to break them up a bit and make it a bit more interesting. Well, I didn’t realize how mathematically exciting this would become! I am not a math guru, so this took some real concentration…and trial and error, but I am pleased with how it turned out!
Now, I’m trying to get my head around the original project – a duvet for our bed! I think a visit to the local market is in order first, though…on the fabric hunt!
