I was so intrigued with the display of Kawandi (quilts) made by the Siddi quilters of India way so long ago (it seems) while at QuiltCon in Savannah. Was that 2017???? While at home all these months now, I've been stalking some of those Siddi quilters and finally had an opportunity to participate in Sujata Shah's workshop this weekend past. What a great zoom treat. Sujata is also known as The Root Connection if you'd like to be inspired by her quilting style.
From the beginning.....start with a thin backing fabric and a thin batting cut 1" smaller than the backing. Fold backing over and baste in place all around the quilt. Begin layering fabric and stitching from the outside edges of the quilt. Now that's a new twist! Stitching continues and layers are added round and round in concentric circles to the finish in or near the center of the quilt.
The Phula (flower) adorns the four corners. It's a traditional adornment and the quilters of Siddi feel their quilts are not finished until the decoration is added. I agree. That little flower in each corner just makes me smile.
It was a great zoom workshop with 30 participants from around the US and into Great Britain Just two little glitches which took away from my personal pleasure - one participant felt it was perfectly all right to interject her political viewpoint. I was dismayed that she wasn't immediately muted. Another participate dominated a goodly few minutes sobbing over the loss of her parents and how uncomfortable she was cutting into their clothing to make memory quilts. I felt her pain but did not feel this was the best venue to elicit sympathy. Both the politics and sobbing incidents diminished my $50 value of the workshop. Just saying ~
