Serengeti Serenade... The Story Behind The Quilt

Hello Everyone,

Many of you have seen this little preview of the quilt that I made on my recent retreat.  So I thought I would give you a little background.  

This is truly an African quilt from my heart.  Let's start from the beginning.  In January, 2005 my husband, my brother and three friends went to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.  It was a dream of his and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Here they are at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  My husband is on the far right in the black.  My brother is holding the American flag.  He fulfilled a dream he had.  It was exciting and difficult all at the same time.

Here is their view from above the clouds.  Simply magnificent!  I admire him and everyone who went.

Following the week long summit adventure they went on a safari.  Another opportunity of a lifetime.  Of course, I had to share some wonderful kitty photos with you.

Don't you just love a mama and her cubs?

 How beautiful is this mama lion?

So what does this have to do with fabric and a quilt?  When my husband left he asked if there was anything that I would like him to bring back from his trip?  Of course I said fabric.

He brought these two pieces of fabric home for me.  About a total of 6 yards.  I was ecstatic! Then began my journey of collecting authentic African fabric for the next six years.  My intention was to collect enough fabric to make a quilt for my husband to commemorate his trip to Tanzania.

In the process, I fell in love with the fabric.  I always had a particular design in mind, but then my issue of McCall's Quilting Jan, 2011 came and this pattern captured my eye.

It is all done with 2.5 inch strips and in batiks, but I thought "WOW, wouldn't that look great in the African fabrics?"  Just perfect!

This became the year of the African Quilt!

When I went on retreat last week, the cutting and sewing began.

And the smiles got bigger.  Lots of love went into the making of this quilt from the first day that my husband brought me home those two lovely fabrics straight from Tanzania.

I used one of the fabrics, the yellow and black, for the four highlighted pieces in the borders.  I also used strips of both of the fabrics throughout the quilt.  The larger pieces that were left of the fabrics my husband gave to me, will become part of the backing.

Let me introduce you to Serengeti Serenade...

 I will be quilting this over the next few weeks and giving this to my husband for Christmas.  I hope that he loves it as much as I do and that will remind him of his trip to Africa.

I am so glad that my husband doesn't read my blog, so if you know him... shhhh!  Don't tell him about his gift... Thanks!

Until Next Time...

Serengeti Serenade... The Story Behind The Quilt