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Many of us remember meeting Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson when they were in Kenya in January 2011. Few, if any of us will have an opportunity to study with either of them. This video, suggested to us by Princess Mutero, may be as close as we come! Find other wonderful quilting techniques on video at YouTube.com.
On Thursday morning, January 20, 2011, the Kenya Quilt Guild received quiltmaking visitors from overseas, courtesy of Jim West’s Sew Many Places. Accompanying the 50 tour participants were quilting superstars Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, hosts of The Quilt Show amongst all their other many activities. What a great time we had!
The event was hosted in the East African Women’s League headquarters at WEAL House on Bishop’s Road in Nairobi. Our guests, who were lodged at the luxurious Nairobi Serena Hotel, arrived promptly at 10:00 a.m. Pulling up in three shiny new buses, the safari participants debarked and moved into the hall and auditorium of WEAL House where they were warmly welcomed by members of the Kenya Quilt Guild.
With the entire group assembled in the auditorium, a few small speeches were given. Margaret Odera, resplendent in full African dress, shouted “JAMBO! Karibu sana!” and issued a customary welcome to Kenya to our guests. Then, our Lady Chairman, Jasvinder Phull, greeted the visitors on behalf of the Kenya Quilt Guild. Gill Rebelo, our resident quilt and East African textile historian, spoke briefly about the history of the “Settler Tapestries” on permanent display in the hall.
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- Buses
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- Debarking
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- Alex Anderson
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- KQG Speakers
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- Alex and Ricky
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- Settler Tapestries
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- Bitings
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- Social
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- Admiration
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- Display
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- Organizers
Alex and Ricky jointly spoke about how delighted they were to be visiting Kenya, and about all the fun they have working with quilters from around the world. They presented all members of the Kenya Quilt Guild with a gift subscription to The Quilt Show. Our members were delighted!
In return, the Guild presented Alex with a lovely African necklace that we know she will enjoy wearing with great pride, and Ricky with a traditional African “finger piano.” What better gift for a talented musician and entertainer? Ricky promises he will be playing it on his next album! To Jim we presented a lovely ebony “mother and child” antelope sculpture.
The participants of the tour enjoyed proper Kenyan hospitality, taking tea and coffee with us and feasting from a table loaded with cakes, samosas and all kinds of other “bitings.” They wandered leisurely around the building, viewing a fabulous, although hastily hung early that morning, display of quilts made by our members. There were about 45 quilts on display, both indoors and outside, so there was good reason to keep moving about. The visitors introduced themselves and chatted with our members, and vice versa, and a truly good time was had by all!
The buses departed at about 12:00 p.m., and we were sorry to see the party break up as all good things must come to an end.
Thanks go to all those who loaned quilts for display, brought food to share, helped set up the space and quilt exhibition, and especially to Dena Crain, whose idea this reception was, for organizing it with Jim West.
We hope Jim’s safari tour group will enjoy the rest of their time in Kenya as much as we enjoyed entertaining them yesterday morning: “Safiri salaama!“
The 2010 Kenya Quilt Guild Christmas Party was held on Wednesday, December 8, at the lovely home of Bibiana Pereira, Guild member and editor of our Snippets Newsletters. About 30 of our members gathered there for an afternoon of food, fun and fellowship, and they were not disappointed!
Sharing a wonderful pot-luck buffet of primarily vegetarian Indian-style dishes, everyone was well fed and glad they came to the party for lunch. With plenty of punch and gluwein, Bibiana’s wonderful chicken dish (recipe, Bibiana, please?) and cake, the guests enjoyed a real feast.
Members participated in a series of games which entertained and amused them. First was a competition between two teams to see who could unpick a patchwork block fastest. That competition was a “dead heat,” but everyone enjoyed the challenge. Next was a game of charades, played by acting out the names of patchwork quilt blocks, a variation on the game that proved most enjoyable to Kenya Quilt Guild members.
Last was a competition amongst sets of two partners. Each team of 2 selected a few wrapped crayons (so no one knew what colors they would get), and was challenged to design a Christmas gift wrap. This competition explains photos below in which Guild members seem to be drawing on paper. Let’s hope they use their sketches as inspirations to design a few quilts!
We hope those Guild members who were able to attend the Christmas lunch had a wonderful time with their quilting friends. Many thanks go to Bibiana for the use of her home and the pleasure of her hospitality, and to the Guild’s Executive Committee, especially Chairman Jasvinder Phull, for helping to organize this very special occasion. Thanks, also, to Lakhbir Virdee and Natasha Khromov for the photos below.
We know those of our friends who could not attend were with us in spirit; perhaps you can join us next year. For now, we wish everyone a wonderful Holiday Season and patchwork-filled New Year!
Over two weeks in October, the Kenya Embroiderers Guild hosted Mary Hickmott to teach several workshops. Mary Hickmott’s work is well-known in her home country, the UK.
Click each thumbnail image below to see a larger photo.
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- Mary Hickmott Mountmellick Demonstration
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- Mary Hickmott Embroidery Demonstration
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- Mountmellick embroidery by Mary Hickmott
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- Mountmellick embroidery by Mary Hickmott
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- Mary Hickmott Crewel Embroidery Demonstration
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- Crewel Embroidery by Mary Hickmott
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- Crewel Embroidery by Mary Hickmott
Kenya Quilt Guild members were invited to take the workshops to swell numbers sufficiently to make Mary’s trip to Kenya worthwhile. Several of us signed up for and took these wonderful classes that are sure to change our approach to quilting forever. On offer were workshops on crewel embroidery, Mountmellick, gold purl threadwork, canvas stitches and counted thread sampler. Those of us who attended had a most pleasant time learning new stitching methods that we can use to enhance our quilts. We were grateful to be able to participate in this, for us, fantastic opportunity to study with an international embroidery teacher.
During her visit to Kenya, Mary presented a lecture on embroidery to members of the Kenya Quilt Guild as well. Many thanks, Mary, for taking time out of a busy schedule to spend with us!
For more information about Mary Hickmott and her work, see New Stitches Magazine.
