A South African Quilt

The elephants that were moved to Angola by the Kissama Foundation, came from South Africa. The picture on the first page is of a quilt square created by a South African woman, Elizabeth Dlamini. Elizabeth and other women in her village, Isandlwana - Nquiu, sew and paint these squares showing animals and nature. First Elizabeth sews an animal, tree, or hill on heavy cotton. Sewing helps to draw the eye to this feature. Here is a square she has just started:

Elizabeth will next mix her paints. Then she paints the surrounding features and background. The giraffes will then be running on the savannah!

Below is a finished square. You can see the cattle that Elizabeth sewed using heavy thread. She painted the grass using different shades of green

When Elizabeth has completed many squares, she will lay them next to each other. She will find a pleasing pattern of colors and animals. Then she will sew them together to make her quilt.