My introduction to African fabrics by my friend Magie Relph has started me on a journey. My African odyssey is to use these bold, vibrant patterns in a way that allows the fabric to speak for itself.

These quilts feature English and Dutch wax prints, hand dyed Gambian damask, Indigo and kola nut cloth from The Gambia, and stitched and tied resist Adire from Nigeria.

African textiles are available online from: The African Fabric Shop...

And also from: Out Of Africa.

African Odyssey I
The first in the series and the beginning of my journey with African cloth. This quilt uses my first African fabrics, including some copies I bought before being properly trained in what to look for by Magie.

Machine pieced, appliquéd, hand and machine quilted. Cotton wadding. Cotton, rayon and invisible threads.

African Odyssey II
Indigo is my favourite colour - fancy that!

A visit to Duncan Clarke resulted in a new addition to my collection, thanks to a present from my husband David - a large piece of intricately tied and stitched Adire cloth from Nigeria. Much to David's horror, I cut the cloth - half to keep an half to use in quilts!

Machine pieced, appliquéd, machine quilted. Cotton and polyester wadding. Cotton, rayon, invisible and metallic threads.

See: Duncan Clarke's website...

African Odyssey III
This quilt was inspired by a present from Magie Relph - a piece of Indigo and kola nut fabric with a large tied circular motif in the centre. I just had to use it in a quilt, but I needed more fabrics to go with it. Another collection was born!

Machine pieced, hand and machine quilted. Cotton and polyester wadding. Cotton, rayon invisible and metallic threads.

Click for close-up detail.