African fabric collecting

More and more I feel excited to come home after being away. Traveling can be exhilarating, even to a place I already know, like Kinshasa. At the end of the day, though, I like my creature comforts, my routine, my home.

One of my goals while in Kinshasa these past few weeks was to collect some more African print fabric. This time, I visited three main places. One is a narrow alleyway near the Beach, which is the spot where all of the boats from Brazzaville (across the river), barges from up river, and vessels from Matadi (the main ocean port) land when they get to Kinshasa. The women selling the fabric in the alleyway must have first pick from vendors off the boats. My favorite find there was this lovely lavender and gold design.

Another pricier spot is Woodin, which has similar quality cloth but a sleeker and more coordinated selection of designs. They have a storefront a few blocks off of Kinshasa’s main boulevard, 30 Juin. Next door is Vlisco, which makes amazing fashion primarily from African print cottons, but is generally way out of the price range! This is a print I brought home from Woodin, in a similar color scheme as above.

We also drove down to the crazy and action-packed Avenue du Commerce, which you can imagine is the downtown center of commercial activity. After “honing in on it” for a while (my expression when I don’t know the exact location of the destination…), we finally located the Utex factory store, called Lambada. I love the strong, bright colors of many of their selections, such as this abstract floral.

But I will admit that some of my favorites are those you wouldn’t imagine wearing on a shirt or dress, such as chickens and spark plugs! (Not together…) The chickens will make a super shirt for my friend Ezra, who has grown out of the first one I brought him.

Another spinner in Kinshasa!

My friend D has been living in Kinshasa since last summer. Normally she is based in Europe, and will be here a total of one year, or, if I’m lucky, she’ll sign on for another year and stick around with me!

When she left Europe to take her job here, she left behind her fiance, P, since he is a lecturer at a university.

But now, he’s arrived to stay for two months, and will be back again in the summer.

I know that she’s excited, of course, that he is here. She has great leave and has been able to see him several times over 6 months, but now he’s here every day, and will be working from a space in her office. She moved into a new apartment that has more space, and she’s begun decorating.

What does this have to do with me? I had the strangest experience last night when, at the end of a dinner at home with several of my friends, P set his sights on my spinning wheel and pulled it over to a chair and sat down and began peddling. He put the drive band on, although he didn’t immediately remember to adjust the tension. There was a tiny bit of yarn still on the bobbin, which he was trying to spin. He said, “I need some wool!”

I think his fiancee and I both just about fell down, but for different reasons.

She said, Why don’t I know this about you?? (And I’m not 100% certain that she’s impressed, yet.)

I said, “I can’t believe you’re the only other spinner I’ve met in Kinshasa!!”

Before the holidays, I tried to get D started on a simple knitted cowl with a circular needle and a ball of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in a gentle rose color. She knew how to knit as a child, and I helped her cast on, but when she was away for business and dropped a stitch, she put it down and hasn’t gotten back to it.

When I mentioned to P that I was helping D learn to knit, and maybe he could spin yarn for her, he said, “I’m a knitter, too.” WHAT??? THIS IS AMAZING!

I have a feeling that I will be packing up my gear to go spin at their apartment, and D will just have to get out the old cowl and stitch and bitch with us.

[Top photo: Tom Golding wheel at MDSW; Bottom photo: Hatbox spinning wheel sighted at MDSW.]