Yei? Yay!

Currently my dad is in Yei, Sudan doing medical mission work. In 6 days, he'll be in Cape Town! I cannot wait to see my daddy!
I only made two requests during this trip to Sudan: fabric and beads. Both of which I'm happy to say that he has found or has in hand. I'm going to be a very happy girl in less than a week.

I had posted some quick 2 minute sketches that I had done, but found that I kept looking at them very critically. I decided to take them down until I feel less judge-y.

Last weekend I found a bead store that is closing in a couple of weeks and everything was on clearance. I walked away with a very heavy bag of florescent and neon treasures. It only cost me R50 ($7!!) I can't wait to see what fabrics my dad bought to see where this collection is going! (Also, thank you daddy for carrying my beautiful but heavy treasures back to the States for me! I love you!) I'm finding it's easy to start thinking about my bakery friends in the context of how their personalities translate into fabric, color and texture choices. I'm so looking forward to introducing them to you through this collection. I plan on using recycled and natural materials as much as possible (burlap/empty flour bags/feathers/quills/stone or ceramic.) When I get back to Tennessee then I will be able to print and dye fabrics to compliment what I find here. I'll be sure and post a sneak peak next week!

Next week, I will be working with a team coming from North Carolina. The group (mostly women) are working in the Red Hill Township to teach women how to make jewelry/crafts out of recycled materials. The first week is mainly leadership training, the second is the sustainable skills training. I am so excited to finally get my hands dirty and talk design. Though I will really miss my Living Way family for the week and half I'm gone. Unlike Masi, Red Hill is literally government land that is divided into three separate camps on the side of a hill. The top camp is Colored, middle is Black, the bottom is Refugees/Foreign Nationals. These camps are set up this way by social ranking. I haven't had the opportunity to work in Red Hill yet, so I really looking forward to meeting new friends and loving on more of my brothers and sisters.