Day 3, 4, and 5: International Quilt Convention - Africa

Please note: the photos in this post are a bit fuzzy because of the program I used to upload my blog post from my iPad. You can click on each photo for a clearer view. 
Here are a few photos from the last two wonderful days at International Quilt Convention - Africa:


The vendor hall has been packed!





Kim Brunner (center) helps a participant use a Handi-Quilter long arm machine:


Jodi Barrows of Square in a Square had a crowd in her booth all day. Her husband and son worked the booth while she taught.


At the Clothworks booth, I was excited to see a group admiring my friend Julie' flower pattern. She markets the pattern under her company's name, LaTodera.



























One student, Yvette Muller, brought her version of my "Pink Petal Party" quilt to show me. she's completed the blocks, and now has to stitch the sashings and borders. Isn't it wonderful?


Agnes Brook, who runs a quilting business in Botswana, came to see the convention and take classes, including my "Start With a Photo" class:


For dinner one night, we ate at a South African steakhouse. This is their version of beef jerky drying:


The restaurant had beautiful art:


Here's my dinner of grilled impala, a type of African antelope:


Cynthia England's husband, Warren, wasn't entirely sure how to attack his dish of African game:


Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobsen of Me and My Sister hamming it up with the dinner napkins:


What's up next year? Ricky Tims is coming!



A group of drummers welcomed us into the dinner held by the convention organizers:


Check out the African porcupine quills in the floral arrangement:


This is the lobby of our hotel:


One of the entrances to the resort:






I'm off to Kruger National Park on safari tomorrow!

Location:Johannesburg, South Africa

Day 2: Soweto and Johannesburg

Today I took a wonderful tour of Soweto and Johannesburg. From the resort, we passed a huge "dry harbor" with miles of containers like these (above).


This is the stadium built for the soccer World Cup:


And then we were in Soweto, a historic township that is home to many black South Africans:


Nelson Mandela and his family lived in this Soweto home:


Bullet holes in the Mandela family's home:


Under this tree in Mandela's yard are buried the umbilical cords of his children (the guide told us that this is an African tradition):


Lots of artistic touches everywhere:





Behind this wall, Archbishop Desmond Tuto lived in a house, not open to the public, and not far from Mandela's house:








This is a memorial to all those who died in the June 1976 Soweto uprising. About 600 people died, and thousands were detained after protesting the mandate that Africaans be the only language used in schools.


The uprising was pivotal in the fight against apartheid. Hector Peterson (the boy being carried in this photo) was one of the many children killed that day:


Mario, our guide, was fabulous. He speaks 15 languages!








Another soccer stadium!


Don't the cement roofs on these homes look like they are mimicking thatch?


Johannesburg town hall:


Next, we visited Constitution Hill and it's old fort and prison.


A few cells remain, including one where Mandela was held for a time:





Door to the Constitutional Court:


Beautiful art inside the Constitutional Court:








Yellow wood tree:


Courtyard in part of the old fort and prison on Constitution Hill:





Leaving downtown Johannesburg:


Tomorrow is the start of International Quilt Convention - Africa!