As I recently wrote on my blog, my jungle quilt originated during a splendid trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon, where my husband and I got to meet SO many magnificent monkeys. The quilt continues my work with recycled fabrics: Its sky is made entirely from men’s shirts from Goodwill; the spider monkeys from a shirt donated by an artist friend; the big Napo Saki monkey was once a shirt that belonged to a friend’s husband. The more I see of the world the less I want to participate in consumerism, and fashion consumerism in particular. The constantly expanding oil fields I saw while riding down tributaries of the Amazon, where animals’ territories are more and more at risk of being annihilated, left me with a sadness I cannot forget.

The jungle quilt speaks of this environmentalist sentiment. Why buy new stuff if the old stuff is perfectly fine? I love the challenge of working with used fabric. Not only is the quality of the fabric often better than what I could buy online, the marvelous patterns and different sizes I encounter challenge me to create a composition I would have not normally thought of. Big-lady khaki pants? Tree trunk for owl monkeys to nest in! Long dress with weird, fuzzy circles? Jaguar! (Rest assured that all fabric was washed and dried at high temperatures for hygienic purposes before I began working on it.)

The appliqué animals on this quilt are made from 100% cotton; the quilt’s backing is Kona cotton and the batting is 100% wool. The quilt is hand-stitched with Finca Presencia pearl cotton thread. At 86 x 86 inches, the quilt fits a King or Queen-sized bed. Contact me for a price at sabineheinlein@gmail.com