African Treasure

This winter my friend Julie mailed me a quilt of hers she bought in Africa that needs some help. Julie is a friend from high school, and it's fun to have kept up with her over the years (hi, Julie!). She's a jet setter who lives in Washington DC (one of my favorite cities!) and works with the President's AIDS foundation. She's really into germs and disease and thus, has been to Africa more than once. She visited me a few years ago with her mother, and it was so interesting to hear about a trip she took where educating tribal women to keep breastfeeding was her big job. Many women there fear passing HIV to their babies through breast milk, so they feed them formula with polluted drinking water, which is much, much more dangerous for them than the small chance they'll pass HIV. So interesting.

I digress. (African tribal women have always fascinated me.) In Mali, I believe, she bought this absolutely beautiful quilt. It doesn't have any batting in it, and the front and back are so different. I love how the top showcases so many different native fabrics. It's a little worse for wear, because the light fabric was so thin and it's been well loved since. I told Julie I'd rebuild it for her. So far I've just taken it apart and repaired holes in the back seams. I'm planning on completely unpicking the triangles and replacing the light fabric with something very similar, but more durable (read: Korean made). I wanted to show the before, before I get to work. So exciting to be a part of. Plus, Julie sent me a beautiful purple piece of fabric that's almost too cool to do anything with as an unnecessary, but appreciated gift. Score!