African quilts and 81 is DONE!

As promised here are the pictures of Mom's (Anne H) latest African themed quilts. I love her Masai pieces and hope that she has more planned. The colours are simple but striking and she is able to create so much movement in her pieces. The quilt is bound with a facing so the edge is "clean".

The tree trunks and branches are embroidered and she used acrylic paint to shade the trees. I quilted around the trees but not inside the trees so they are dimensional. I took the same approach with the Masai, the huts and the "drums" in the borders. The background is heavily quilting so the figures pop.

I like that Mom looks at her background fabrics and uses them to advantage. There was a dark mottled section in the middle ground and she lined that up with the doorway in the hut to create the illusion of a path. I think this piece turned out really well.

This is her second piece which depicts a village.

I love the way she made the roofs for the huts. She frayed the edge of the fabric to create the illusion of thatch. Another fine finish!

Speaking of finishes, I now have the final borders on "81". It is big....very big! It measures 92" by 97" and it is very heavy! I dread quilting it! I couldn't hang it to take a picture so I'm going to have to wait until some tall men drop by with a pick up truck. They can stand in the truck bed and hold up the quilt so that I can take pictures. In the meanwhile I spread in on a bed but can't get the whole quilt in the shot. But this will give you and idea! You can see some of the diamond border at the top.

No sooner did I get it on the bed when you-know-who showed up! Gump! I've said it before but it bears repeating....what is it with cats and quilts?

And before I go I thought I would share a few shots from the garden.

The hops are almost ready for harvesting

And the artic kiwis will make a nice treat

Gump the Quilt Whisperer

Until I post again, happy sewing!