still partying

Another memorable evening to write about (and my preferred form of partying). Bonnie Lee Black's new book How to Make an African Quilt: The Story of the Patchwork Project of Segou, Mali came out last week. And given how Mali is in the news these days for other disturbing reasons, this book takes a look at a facet of the country that most Americans barely know exists. For Black, her three years in Mali was a life-changing experience. A quote from the book's back cover follows:

"At the request of a talented group of Malian seamstresses, Black taught them the craft of American patchwork quilting and spearheaded an economic-development effort called the Patchwork Project....[this is] a many-layered patchwork of a book that brings that time and place ~ and all its colorful characters ~ to life on the page. Threaded throughout is the fictional narrative of Jeneba, a slave-quilter in the antebellum American South who had been kidnapped from the Kingdom of Segou as a child, as well as the real voices of the Malian women who took part in the Patchwork Project. "     

Along with two other friends, I had the pleasure of accompanying Bonnie to a reading, presentation and book signing at the Talpa Community Center where the Talpa Quilters Guild meets. We got to see, touch and learn about African mud cloth and colorful cottons. All examples are from Bonnie's personal collection.

The Malian women learned to make sock dolls and crocheted purses using strips cut from thin colorful plastic bags found everywhere in the country ~ bags discarded and blowing in the wind, caught in fences and littering the landscape. Their coin purses and bags were sold to tourists and provided money with which the women bought quilting supplies.

The quilters in Talpa are themselves a talented group and were interested to learn about women  far away in Africa who live in adobe mud homes as do so many of us in New Mexico, and who also create with fabric and needles.

let the wild rumpus begin!
Later we four women went out for salads, hamburgers, sweet potato fries, beer and Sangria! The waitress, smiling as she took our order, warned us not to "get out of hand" lol ~ and now on this snow/rain/hail/sun/wind/no-wind/apricot-blossoms-just-starting-to-bloom day, I am drinking hot tea, doing some editing work at the kitchen table, but mostly looking forward to curling up later with the book. Go out and buy it (it's on Amazon) ~ you will love it and have an experience yourself! Cheers!