Repair
The indigo cotton is soft, like faded blue jeans with the same comfortable worn-in feeling. I’m patching this baby quilt I made for Leitha when I was 28. The quilt is now used by Scarlett and is showing it’s wear. This repair will give it a second life.
I rummage through my box of beloved shwe-shwe African indigo cottons, the same stash for the original quilt. I sit by the window and add new patches to mend the worn out ones. I see my old hand stitches. Each stitch a thought, memories of our time in Labrador when Leitha was born. How I savoured hand stitching these fabrics I’d brought from South Africa encoded with memories of my steamy hot homeland. Those memories surface as I repair this quilt for my grand-daughter. Memories of Leitha as a baby, and how much Scarlett is like her. Such a tender time of love. My heart sings when both grandchildren toddle into the studio and throw themselves on the pile of shwe-shwe. This image held in my heart. Over the past year I’ve been excavating my roots of quilt making; a kind of archeology in fabric and old studio notebooks. I began stitching in my teens when still living in South Africa and my passion was to buy indigo shwe-shwe fabrics in the African market places and trading stores.

Indigo shwe-shwe fabric quilt being mended.
I’ve been drawn to my box of shwe-shwe indigo prints, to repair this baby quilt. and also stitch a small piece of linen with many tiny appliquéd squares. I wrote about my early African fabric buying days here. It has such a big part in my life and it bring me quiet pleasure to be still working with these fabrics almost 50 years later.
This touches my heart! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for responding to my repair blog. xxx
Lovely! Brought peace to my heart.
Thank you Linda. xx
What an evocative tribute to Leitha’s and Now Scarlet’s baby quilt. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Ann.
Hi Val, I never wrote on a blog before so I hope this works! I love how you captured the sensory and emotional aspects of stitching with cloth that holds memories. Lovely!