2022 Kimberley Outback Adventure (Part 10)

The Kandiwal kids and I worked on a little project.

First up, hand prints. Winston.

Shianne.

Cheeky little Kingsley.

Shanita.

Arnahm.

Scotty.

Carmen-Lee.

  Kimarnie was away visiting relatives so we made an extra 

block with Carmen-Lee's print as they were around the same age.

 We also got Pat to do her hand print. 

Pat is the Matriach of the community.

Jazzlyn painted a couple of blocks too. 

I sat with Jazzlyn and stitched while she painted.

 This is a Wandjina. It is a rain maker spirit in the north-west 

region of the Kimberley in Western Australia. 

A sewing machine was brought up from the community. 

I was very excited to see it was brand new and had never 

been out of the box. Unfortunately, it didn't work 

properly. It was doing, from what I could see and count, 

about 35-36 stitches per inch. I literally had to try pulling the 

fabric through from behind the foot and it was still an effort.

 

My plan was for everyone to sew one side of the sashing 

to their blocks. Due to the problems with the machine 

 this didn't happen. They all got to sew about an inch 

each so they could at least say they sewed some.

  

 

 

I persevered and got the blocks put together so they

could see what the hanging was going to look like.

  

I bought the wall hanging to finish it. My original plan was 

for the quilt to hang on the school wall. There was 

no space to hang it as the walls are covered with 

educational pictures and the kid's artwork. 

Also, it wouldn't mean anything to them. Paula is going to 

have it as a memory of the time she spent living there.

It was very exciting to have Jazzlyn arrive in 

Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. 

She is staying until the wet season is over.

Poor Jazzlyn has been freezing since she got here with the 

unusual cold weather Melbourne has been having.

At least it's starting to get warmer now!

A couple of Jazzlyn's paintings.

If you get a chance, have a look at this YouTube video 

of "Old Man on the Hill" by Al Mac. It is the story of the 

Kandiwal Community. It tells the story of Wilfred, 

the kid's great grandfather who walked the family 

back to country in the 1970s. 

 

At the beginning of the video, you see all the kids. 

The first little girl with the curly hair is Carmen-Lee. 

When we were there she had had her head shaved after

being hit by a rock and the bandage wouldn't stay on.

And that's a wrap! 

I hope you've enjoyed following along with our big adventure. 

It's going to be tough to beat this trip!