Welcome!  I hope you are enjoying all the wonderful entries for the Hawaii Quilt Guild’s annual show.  There are some truly amazing artists in the guild!!

Here are links to view more information about my entries to the show.  There are links to additional photos and stories for most of the quilts shown.  You can also peruse more of my projects by clicking on the above link, “Projects”.

• 12 Days of Summer
• 2012 Quilt Challenge
• A Little Patience
• Anuenue
• Awesome
• Bouncing Baby Boy
• Charming
• Drop
• Fireworks
• Flourish
• Japanese Jigsaw
• Oh Peacocks!
• Oz
• Pineapples
• Puanani
• Steelers

Completed July 2009

This little quilt was made with scrap fabrics from my stash.  The pattern was offered for free on a blog.  I thought it was a very darling quilt.  I had always loved the look of applique, but was too scared to try it.  For this quilt I tried machine applique.  This quilt was also some of my first free-motion machine quilting.

This quilt represents a growth of skills.  Some of these skills I would have never tried without the inspiration of others.  I also did something with this quilt I had never done before; I made it entirely out of scraps.

I have had this quilt hanging in my living room since it was completed several years ago.  I had not planned on it hanging in the show (the reason it is not in the program), but I had accidentally included it in with my quilts that I brought to the show to hang.  Wendy, the chair of the show, said it should be in there, so it is!

Completed February 2011

This reversible table runner was made after attending a lecture the guild had with Tracy Brookshire.  She had a very interesting slide show of her work and of a quilt show in Japan.

Tracy was selling patterns and templates for the Japanese Jigsaw.  I had seen several guild member’s quilts at shows and decided I wanted to make one.

At the time I bought the pattern, I had joined “Layer Cake of the Month” and “Jelly Roll of the Month” clubs from The Fat Quarter Shop.  I received a Layer Cake (Forty 10” squares) and a Jelly Roll (Forty 2.5” by the width of fabric) of the same fabric line – this was the only time that both were received in the same month.

The pattern called to have 9” squares cut into quarters.  I figured a layer cake would be optimal for the pattern.  I set out to make the pattern.  I laid the squares out on my design board in a pleasing manner, but forgot to number them when I took them down to work on something else.  I then put away the project for a while.

The backing was made with the matching jelly roll strips to make it a reversible table runner.

Completed April 2013

My husband, a die-hard Steelers fan probably has a lot of available Steelers paraphernalia.  He has been a fan since he was a boy.

A few years ago, I made him a quilt for when he is on the couch lounging.  He wanted me to put that one in the show, but it has been well-loved.  I also don’t think he could be without it for that long either!

This past Christmas, I had seen an image and realized that the logo of the Steelers looked like Cathedral windows!  After researching how to make them, I decided to make him a small wall-hanging to put in his home office after we move.

It was a labor of love, because I kept not wanting to finish the project.  I finally decided to honor his wishes and put at least one of his Steeler’s quilts in the show!

Completed May 2013

One of my favorite types of quilts to make are sampler quilts presented in a block of the month format.  I also particularly like challenging blocks.

This quilt was presented as an internet shop hop “party” (this is where you buy a kit for a different block from 12 different stores selling the individual Marti Michelle blocks and then each store has its own finishing kit for the quilt designed by that shop).  I had participated in a couple of these “parties” previously and had never liked any of the finishing kits. Until this one came along in 2007.

The setting for this quilt was designed by Homestead Hearth quilt shop.

I completed the blocks fairly early – probably in 2009.  There it sat until May 2011 when I finally was challenged to make the top. At the time,  I was still having anxiety attacks over hand applique and I really was not fond of fusible machine applique.  I decided to try a new product, “Charlotte’s Fusible Web” thread.  The product does not act as stiff as traditional fusible applique, which is one of the reasons I really don’t like machine applique.

Typically for me, quilt tops have to “marinate” for a while to either have a purpose or until I feel comfortable with how I want to quilt the project.  This one was the former.  The purpose of finishing the quilt was when I was asked to be the featured artist for the annual Quilt Show.  I thought it would look awesome on the staircase wall – so it was completed just for the show!  Unfortunately, I was not able to hang it on the staircase wall, it was too big!  It is residing above the piano, and looks like it was made for that wall.

Completed January 2013

This little quilt was inspired by the “Another Year of Schnibbles” blog hop parade.  Each month, a pattern is chosen and each participant makes something with the pattern in their choice of fabrics.  The pattern was written to use 2.5” pre-cut squares of fabric (mini charm squares).

When I saw the pattern “Drop”, I immediately thought of my hoard of single charm square packs.  The “Sanctuary” one in particular.  Particularly, because I had a bit of yardage to go with the charm pack in my stash.  I also envisioned the wonderful dark pink as a mini-flange.

I had a hard time picking only 25 fabrics that the pattern called for and went with 35 instead, to make it a little bit bigger.  Each block measures 2.5” when finished.  The top was completed in November of 2012.

As a participant in the parade, you are eligible to win prizes.  Most are small gift certificates to various quilt stores, a charm pack or two.  Two participants, however, are chosen to win the larger prize – a fat eighth bundle of a particular fabric line from Carrie Nelson, (the designer for Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company) herself!  I happened to be one of the lucky winners of the bundles for that month!  I have to still find a great pattern to use the fabric for, but don’t worry, it will come to me eventually.

Completed April 2013

This bag was made while taking the latest guild class by Val Wilson.  I learned so many new tricks with this bag.

I chose to use this peacock fabric before I realized that the pockets that the bag intended to have would cover up the beautiful peacock.  What to do?  I agonized about it until the class got to that step.  I had started to just omit one pocket so that the peacock could shine through.  I then realized with some of my extra fabric, I could make a hidden pocket!  By matching up the lines of the peacock, I made a pocket that still showed off the motif.

I also added a zipper to the top since I like to have a little more security in my bags than just one button that the original pattern called for. 

The fabric was bought again while out with friends.  I have made a matching laptop sleeve and a matching tablet sleeve with the lining fabric for when I travel to the mainland next month.

The beaded zipper pulls are also my creations.

Val Wilson’s pattern is a great one!  I can’t wait to make another!

Completed January 2012

This top was made in April 2011.  I am known in the guild for the use of Moda pre-cuts, especially Jelly Roll Quilts.  If you don’t know what a Jelly Roll is – it is 40 strips of fabric, 2.5” by the width of fabric.  I had to include at least one Jelly Roll quilt in this collection since it is what I am known for.

This quilt top was made when I was sewing with my friend Susan one day.  I kept having to rip the seams because I kept sewing them wrong.  Even after I thought the top was complete and posted about it, I noticed there was still a messed up seam.  The pattern was very simple, it was just a matter of distractions while sewing – namely fun and friendship.  Strait line stitching was the best for the quilting to accentuate the lines of the quilt.

Completed May 2012

This quilt was made with Indigo Shibori fabrics that a friend made  (the blues) and hand dyes that I made (the reds).

My friend Wendy Pulsifer made not only the Indigo fabrics from the blocks, but also the border Indigo and the backing was made by Wendy as well!  I had the Indigo  fabrics for a long time before I found the perfect pattern for the quilt.  The pattern, Anita’s Arrowhead  seemed to be perfect once I added a red hand-dye to it (which was an adventure to dye!).

I named this quilt “A Little Patience” because I definitely needed a little patience to work on it.   Between the bias edges of each block, the new quilting technique I used, and the running out of fabric for binding just as I was about to bind it… it screamed for me to be patient!

I want to thank Wendy for encouraging me to finish this particular quilt for the show and the gift of the backing fabric!

Completed November 2010

In September 2010, I took a class offered by the guild to learn how to hand dye fabrics taught by Joan Santoro.  I had a lot of fun in the class.  While taking the class, I talked to my friend JoAnne that I had always wanted to make the pattern Pineapple Tidbits by The Buggy Barn, and had always thought that hand-dyes would make it beautiful.  She agreed and we decided to both make the quilt and dye our own fabrics to make it.

I dyed the greens, oranges, and backing for the quilt in October.  JoAnn and I then met to make the quilt.  I completed the top in November 2010.  It did not take long for me to complete the quilt after the top was done – less than a month.  I showed the quilt in the 2011 Hawaii Quilt Guild Show.

It remains one of my favorite quilts.  I have reduced the pattern size to make a smaller sized block for when I need an “Aloha” quilt block for someone leaving the island.