A friend of my son is adopting children from Ethiopian. I would like to make them quilts using both Ethiopian and American fabrics to symbolize the two cultures. There are many sites available that sell African fabrics but none of them specify that any of the fabrics are from Ethiopia. I would rather have cotton without any metallic as I think it would last longer. My goal is to make twin size quilts they can use on their beds. Any suggestions?
Susan
Well, a brave thing to adopt children from a different culture. Anyway, I didn't find anything in English, but this is an Austrian site:
U.
And I found another one, easier accessible but perhaps not as useful for Patchwork:
U.
What a lovely, loving adventure. I don't know Ethiopian fabrics; furthermore, I don't know what would be classified as American fabrics. Are there any that are our own? I was thinking maybe gingham is? Didn't get anywhere at all with that wondering. Please keep us in the loop with your research; we'd like to be part of your creations. Polly
Well, they aren't specifically from Ethiopia, but are a lot of gorgeous African fabrics at Kallisti Quilts
HTH Allison
You might try
Pauline Northern California
Thanks for all your replies. I emailed a friend presently living in Ethiopia asking about fabrics. She owns one of my quilts and has seen enough of my studio to understand what I was asking. She replied that most Ethiopian fabrics are white with graphic borders, not really suitable for cutting into small pieces for quilts. She said the brighter print fabrics found in other parts of Africa are not part of the Ethiopian culture. The soft white fabric could be used for a backing but seems like a waste. I think I will purchase one of the Ethiopian soft white blankets for each child and then make an "I Spy" quilt for each of them using novelty prints to help them learn English. The adoption will probably take close to a year so I have time. I have been planning to make an "I Spy" quilt for my grandson's first birthday (He is expected to make his arrival this September) Guess while I have all the novelty prints out I will just make several quilts and have them on hand. I like making the quilts using 6" squares and just sashing them together. The original "I Spy" pattern is cute but everyone seems to appreciate the simpler version just as much and it is so much quicker to make.
Susan
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