Introducing Kalarahi Quilts

Hello, I just wanted to do a quick introduction of myself. 

My name is Tonya and I blog over at Hillbilly Handiworks. 

(Well I actually have 4 blogs. One other that might interest you is my book review blog. You can find all four of my blogs under my profile or on the Hillbilly Blog.)

I read The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency straight through on New Years Eve. Finished around 1 am New Years Day. I immediately formed a photo in my mind about what I wanted to make for my challenge quilt, but I cannot draw. So I started googling 'giraffes'and 'acacia trees'. I had in my mind this bargello background with a giraffe eating leaves off a tree. Good grief, you are not going to believe what I found:

That pretty much shot down my idea. But I am so glad that I found this quilt. 

I have written all about Kalarahi Quilts, the only quilt shop in Batswana,  on my blog today.

You can find the post Right Here. There are LOTS of Batswana quilt photos. 

Something just might inspire you for your challenge quilt. 

In the meantime..I have to work on my new, non bargello, non giraffe idea.

Tonya

Lover's Knot quilt

I enjoyed reading The Lover's Knot and then also read A Drunkard's Path and The Double Cross by Clare O'Donohue. This is the second quilt I ever made and I gave it to my parents for Christmas last year. It's the Lover's Knot and is quilted on a longarm using the Baptist fan pantos. 

I am halfway through The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and have the next two books in the series to read, too. I already have my next "quilt" in mind.

Blessings,
Sallie

Book for January and February

Meet Mma Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of th No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, located in Gaborone, Botswana.  Mma Ramotswe uses her intuition to help her clients solve all sorts of small mysteries.  This book, and the others in the series, is filled with wit, humor, and an intriguing look at modern Botswana.  Mma Ramotswe is a traditionally built woman who shares her thoughts about her world is changing, and yet the same.  There are now 13 books in the series.  You can read about them at Alexander McCall Smith's web site.  Apparently, there was a television series and a movie, but I have not seen either.

Botswana, the setting for this series, is a medium sized country in sub-Saharan Africa.  It is surrounded by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.  70% of the country is taken over by the Kalahari Desert.  It is the least sparsely populated country in Africa, but it has the fasting growing economy.  Botswana is an independent country (since 1966) that holds regular free democratic elections. Gaborone is the capitol of the country. 

I would like to have everyone read this book, or another one in the series, because the visual possibilities are so wonderful.  From the traditional clothing and architecture to the Acacia trees and the animal life, to the traditionally built Mma Ramotswe, I am excited to see the quilts we all come up with.

Another reason I would like for us to read these books is for the discussion possibilities.  Mma Ramotswe and her friends, family, and co-worker have very interesting ideas about how the world works.  These ideas often generate interesting discussions in the book.  I think it would be fun to build on them here.

I hope everyone is okay with this choice.  If not, please suggest other titles for our consideration.

I would like to work on this one for two months, then start a new book in March.

For those of you who are new to this, here are some guidelines.

1.  Read the book.

2.  Create a quilt of any size and style that brings to your mind some aspect of the book.  This could be setting, plot, underlying theme. symbols, or characters.  Anything that stands out for you in the book.

3.  Share your progress and process here.

4. If you are not a member of the group, just leave a message that you would like to join, and I will send you an invitation.

Happy reading and quilting, everyone.

The next book?

Hello everyone.  I think it is about time to start thinking about our next book.  If you are not part of this group, you may easily join by leaving a comment.  What would you all like to read this time?  I am currently reading books in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and I have been envisioning quilts in each one.  I would love to get us going again right after the new year. 
Joyful quilting, everyone.

Finally started...and almost finished

Good morning!

After re-reading Lover's Knot (I had read it previously), I jotted down several notes.  From the beginning I knew my quilts would be small.  I don't consider myself an art quilter, but it is fun to try new techniques and designs of my own making.  I also knew I did not need any more large UFOs lying around - small projects are fun!

So, here is Nell''s New World -- not quite finished - still needs quilting and a few embellishments.

approx 12x15 inches

It's quite obvious for those of who have read the book.  Nell's new life grows from her heartache of having lost what she thought was a tidy, orderly, and very neutral (LOL), plan of life.

With the exception of the border, it is all fused, according to the Chicago School of Fusing.  Laura Wasilowski spoke to our guild a few months ago and I knew I had to try her technique on this project.

Top is Done

The top is done.  It is called a true lovers knot.  It's kind of a Celtic knot style.  Now I have been thinking on it and have NO ideas of how to quilt it.  So...H-E-L-P!!  I need some ideas...soon.  I thought this could be a pillow, but it is too big, so a wall hanging then. Let me know what ya'll think.  Thanks.

Applique finished

I have finally finished the applique on this piece.  Now, all I have to do is quilt it and bind it and I have a small quilt that depicts my interpretation of the book.  I love the idea of the mythical Phoenix rising from the ashes, good growing out of bad.  That is what I wanted to show with this quilt.  The death of one person leads to a new direction for two people.  I like that idea very much.
I hope the rest of you are enjoying working on your quilts.

A quickie

Just a quick post to say the wedding is past and all went well.  Now I have finally started my quilt and it is going together beautifully.  I thought the fabric choice would be tough, but after I pulled out one, I opened a drawer and the other one was right there and they are perfect together.  I will post a picture soon, once the top is done.  It's small, so shouldn't take too long.  Hope everyone else's is going well.

Book Read and Quilt Done

I finished the book...I think we all have.  And I finished my quilt.

My quilt is small.  It is going to be an AAQI quilt.  In the book, Nell is re-proposed to by the Hudson river.  This is also the spot she goes to to sit on the rock and think.

I machine pieced the background and hand appliqued the tree, leaves and rock.  I also hand quilted my little quilt. 

I look forward to seeing what everyone else is working on.

Hugs, Cathy

Progress

I have been making slow progress on my quilt.  I made the stems out of a red, green, and white paisley.  I wanted the stems to be like a transition from the red "blood" stain to the cream of the new wall paint.  I have started putting the flowers on, but I am just learning how to applique and they are going very slowly.  I added the border to tie in the leaves.  So far, I am pretty happy with where it is going.

How are the rest of you doing?

Starting my quilt

I spent some time today working on my quilt for the book.  I was struck by how the death of one person helped free Nell from her old life to begin anew.  I was also struck by Eleanor's attachment to the quilts of her former teacher and mentor.  I built some fabric for the background of my quilt.  The red represents the death.  I wanted it to look like a stain on a quilt like the one in the book.  Out of this stain will grow beautiful flowers to represent the new life Nell and Eleanor are headed toward.  I know the flowers will be applique but I am still deciding on applique or embroidery for the stems.  The background piece is 15" x 15".  I will probably put a border around it before I quilt it.  I will post my progress as it happens.

Finished it a couple times over

I tend to get engrossed in stories and miss important details. So in order to make sure I've got all the important information, I made sure to read this one a couple times. I believe I've decided on what I want to do with my quilt. It might take me a while, I've never designed one like this before. I am thinking about doing a maze with arrows.  Arrows will represent the "archers",  in the center of the quilt, I'm going to put a panel with a "garden" on it and have that represent the "rest".  The maze is going to represent the complex twists that Nell has to figure out in order to solve the mystery.  Opinions?  Pretty sure I'm going to stick with mostly neutrals and small pops of color.

Enjoyed the book

I finished the book and read the next one in the series, A Drunkard's Path. I'm waiting on the next one, The Double Cross, from the library. It's fun to read and try to figure out a quilt based on the book. I'm keeping pen and paper close by as I read.

I finished the book

I made some time this afternoon, after finishing up some friendship stars, to finish the book.  I am not sure who has finished and who has not, so I won't give away the ending.  I did find so many interesting things about quilting and the philosophy of quilting as I was reading.  I was really struck on page 195 when Natalie explained why quilting helped her deal with stresses of everyday life.  She says:

Nancy says it's a right brain, left brain activity . . . . .There's a lot of math and figuring out patterns and amounts of fabrics, so that's one side, then the other is taken up with the whole creative process.  So when you're quilting, you are completely involved it it.  There's no space in your brain left over for worrying about your problems.

I find that is so true?  How about the rest of you?
I am toying with a couple of ideas for my quilt.  It will be a small wall hanging I think.  I really like the idea of a watercolor style quilt with some applique, only using solids instead of florals.  I will have to sketch my ideas out and see how it works out.

I would love to hear from the rest of you.  How are you enjoying the book?  Do you have quilt ideas?  Congrats to Cathy for being the first one done.

I Finished the Book!

It was an easy read.  I was surprised how fast I finished it.  I'm looking forward to see what mischief Nell will get into in the future.  Her grandmother Eleanor is one cool lady.  I hope everyone is enjoying the book.

Since I finished the book, I decided to start my quilt.

I sewed the background and then placed the pieces to be appliqued on the background.  I took a picture so I can place the leaves in the right spot.  Do you know where this is.....I will tell you after you've read the book.  But if you think you know, let me know.

This quilt is killing two birds with one quilt.  I made it small so it will also be an AAQI quilt.

Hugs, Cathy

Find out more about Clare O'Donohue

I spent a little time reading the author's website and blog, Clare O'Donohue: Author, and discovered some interesting things.  First, and most importantly, she is a quilter.  I think I could tell that by the way she describes the quilts.  Secondly, Archer's Rest is based on a real town set between the Hudson River and a cemetary - Sleepy Hollow, New York.  Above is the cemetary, and below is part of the town.

Another tell that the author is a quilter can be found on the bottom of page 25 of Lover's Knot.

"With every quilt you make you have a picture in your mind of what it should be,"  Bernie continued.   "Then you start.  You pick fabrics, you cut the fabrics, you sew the pieces together.  All along there are compromises, mistakes, inspirations.  When it works, then you are truly holding your dreams in your hands.  When it doesn't . . ."  She shrugged.

This is very true for me.  What about the rest of you?

I've got it, finally

I was so excited to find the book in my mailbox today.  I have read the first three chapters, and I am enjoying getting to know the characters.  So far, I find Eleanor to be the kind of grandmother I can relate to.  I have hopes that Nell will develop into an interesting protagonist. 
O'Donohue's writing style is very straight forward.  She describes the settings in a no-nonsense way.  It is when she describes the quilts that I think her descriptive writing shines so far.  I have a feeling this will be a fairly quick read for me.  Then I can start designing the quilt.

Yay!! My book finally arrived!

I'll be playing catch up, now! But with a holiday weekend, maybe I can do it!

It does seem to be a quick read, as others have said, and I'm enjoying learning about the characters. So far, I find Eleanor appealing; unless she surprises me down the road, I think she is someone I would love to know (and have as a quilting buddy!).

Jacque
aka Snoodles

I started reading too!!

I started reading the book.  I find it is an easy read.  I am half way done.  When I read the preview I thought it sounded a lot like Earlene Fowler's  books (I really like the Bennie Harper Series).  But now that I am into the book it is very different.

I have a couple of ideas for my quilt.  None of them include Lover's Knot.  You will just have to wait and see.  My only question is:  Is there a size limit.  Hugs Cathy

Started reading

I started the book, even though I am still reading another book, so two at one time!  This is such an easy read, and I am enjoying it.  I wasn't really sure what the lover's knot looked like, so I googled it.  It seems there are a couple of variations with that name. 

So my question is this: Are we going to make the lover's knot?  If so, which variation shall we try, or shall we leave that up to creative interpretation?  Or is there another possibility?  What does everyone think?