Els Mommers – Book #1
HISTORY OF SABA : CARIB INDIANS
For this year’s series I choose the book of Dr. J. Hartog: History of Saba.
In the last century arrowheads, spearheads and pottery were found on Saba and from the workmanship we can see that the makers were probably Carib Indians. We can therefore assume that they were the first known inhabitants of the island and were a fluctuating population for lack of a permanent water-supply.
When the first Dutch colonists settled on the island in 1640, there were no Indians left.
In the book “In search of the native population of Pre-colombian Saba “van Corinne L. Hofman I found photographs of pottery that point to the presence of the Caribs.
Some of these photographs I traced on Stonehenge fabric and used them in the right part of my quilt. They are fused and thread painted on a cotton background covered with some synthetic open woven fleece.
The background of sky and sea is handpainted.
The Carib Indian figures I found on internet, are traced and painted with acrylic paint. They are fused on a background of ice-dyed fabric. The cloth are appliquéd and jewelry is gold painted and gold embroidered. On their head they have some real bird feathers, that I glued on with gel medium..
On the horizon are some of the islands that can be seen from Saba: St. Eustatius, St. Kitt’s and Nevis.
There are no beaches on Saba since it is a volcano that rises straight from the sea. That’s why the foreground is made of boulders from tyvek , with some hot ironed cellophane that resembles the foam of the surf. The Indians must have had a good reason to choose Saba to live, since most of the islands in the Caribbean have beautiful beaches and it must have been a lot easier to go ashore there than climb the boulders and stones of Saba.
To connect the two parts of the quilt I placed a tree in the landscape that partly merges into the strip with the pottery. The leaves are made of very small cut embroidery thread, covered with green tulle and machine quilted.
The text: Carib Indians on Saba is machine embroidered.
The whole process can be seen on; http://kunamola.blogspot.com
Detail view:
FIFTEEN BY FIFTEEN 
A really good choice of book, and as usual such attention to detail, great work I really like it.
As always, a beautiful job full of details and techniques. Great book choice, and I look forward to discovering Saba’s fascinating story. Well done.
It will be nice to discover the history of Saba through your quilts. Your usual attention to detail is great, as is the choice of fabrics, the dense stitching and the different techniques. Bravo.
This scene is so well represented ! You always managed to incorporate different technics that work well together. This small quilt is a story in itself ! Bravo Els !
The fabric choice and composition are great. I admire how much you can tell on such a small piece. Very interesting to know more about the history of Saba. Well done!
I love history and the way you have delved into it. The details in the elements of the quilt are beautifully worked and tell the story of the Indians. The stitching, as always is wonderful. A beautiful quilt
as always, I am full of admiration for the abundance of materials you use in your work and the range of techniques. The story is interesting and unfamiliar to me and therefore exciting.
As usual a lot of details and techniques in your quit. The way you did the trees is also one of my favorite techniques; it always works well.
Your attention to detail is marvelous, I wonder just how you got so much in such a relatively small space! I am particularly impressed by the water and shoreline in the lower left and all the stitching you have included. Wonderful work!
Wonderful work with a beautiful result. As always I’m amazed at the range and variety of techniques that you employ in creating your quilts. here I particularly like the colours in the background behind the 2 figures.
A great way to pay tribute to the history of Saba. Your attention to detail is to be congratulated, it is not easy to put so much detail into a small quilt. Bravo
What a great way to learn about Saba. You’ve created so much texture and details with such interesting techniques, it’s amazing! I look forward to learning more about Saba.
Your quilt is so inviting to discover the island of Saba. Such interesting history. Beautiful colours and attention to details. Gorgeous!