Box Jellies Quilt

"Box Jellies" made by Lisa Boyer, pattern designed by Marsha at Threadbender, 2008

This quilt was such a pleasure to make. What a fabulous pattern, Marsha! I love it. Thank you for making it available on your website, and thank you for your fabulous tutorial.

The only modification I made to Marsha's pattern was to leave off one row at the bottom, due to size/hanging considerations.

Some detail:

The quilt just glows, doesn't it? For drama, nothing beats batiks on black.

I'm not crazy about the thread I used to quilt this quilt, I would've rather used a thicker thread, but my machine-on-a-stick does NOT like quilting through batiks. It took me longer to quilt this quilt than I would've liked because I could only quilt a few feet before the thread would break! I spent lots of time with the seam ripper before I switched to a thin poly thread--but even then, lots of breakage. I left a few more black gnarly balls on the back than I care to admit. Argh.

I quilted squiggly vertical lines on the squiggle block, and horizontal wavy lines with little eyebally-looking things on the box blocks. Sort of like how the water would flow around swimming jellyfish .

I got stung by a real box jellyfish once. It stings for hours! But I don't hold it against them. I think they're beautiful.
Here's a confession: every time I quilt a quilt, I think to myself, "this is the WORST quilting I've ever done. Look at all these mistakes. I give up--I just want to get it done and over with! Perhaps I'll hang it so you can only see it far away..." No lie. Every time I quilt something. But then I step back instead of being right on top of it....and it's okay! Not brilliant...but okay! And DONE--which adds to its appeal. DONE and FINISHED is good when it comes to quilting. Mistakes are secondary.
Marsha suggested a colorful binding and I agreed! But instead of using a colorful fabric, I just sewed together my leftover squiggle strips and used them as my binding.
Off they swim! Bye bye Box Jellies! Don't tell anyone who quilted you!!!!

I've been SO busy. I know I've been a bad blogger, but that's how it'll probably be until Fall, unfortunately. Right now, I have lots of pattern orders, visitors, teaching requests, my son will be home soon (yay!), and I have some home improvement projects that I want to get done. I'm also trying to squeeze in some extra exercise and reading time, because that helps me deal with the stress of being so busy.

Some people thrive on being busy; I am not one of those people. I do not like being busy at all. I like time to dream and think and read and create. Time to drift around the yard and enjoy the flowers. Time to clean out drawers, time to play with my cat, time to enjoy my family. So sometimes, I have to withdraw and purposefully slow down!

It's a funny thing, this slowing down business. I just have to consciously apply myself to it periodically! Without noticing it, I speed up slowly every day--obligations creep into my schedule, new projects vie for my attention, new ideas pop into my head that want to be explored, to-do lists are generated...and pretty soon, I'm overwhelmed. It grows exponentially. And then I find myself neglecting the basics: my home, my health, and my joy.

So please excuse my infrequent blogging while I re-focus. Blogging and visiting blogs is definitely part of my joy (I love all you guys!), but my posts will be occasional, since my ability to sew and craft something to show you will be occasional also during these very busy Spring/Summers. Today, for instance, will be spent printing, folding, and tying patterns, going to the post office, writing up class plans, delivering teaching materials to Kapaia Stitchery, grocery shopping, and picking up an new DVR box from the cable company. A thrilling day, no? Life in Paradise.

Tropical, Sort Of

My Green Monkeys are finished!I loooooove them. The yarn is Lorna's Laces "Carol Green" and they're from Cookie A.'s free and extremely popular "Monkey" pattern. I made two mods: one was to add an extra repeat in the leg section to make them longer, and I did 2X2 ribbing instead of 1X1. They're funny and bunchy when they're not stretched out like this, but put them on, and they're gorgeous! I would need to change the ankle next time, though, as I have to stretch them a bit to get them over my ankles. Cookie A. must have tiny little ankles...I don't have tiny little ankles. I have tree trunks for ankles. And I don't need sock patterns to remind me of that fact, thank you very much, Cookie A. Let's you and I go walking in a hurricane one day and see whose ankles keep them from blowing away, shall we? Harumphh.



But I'll forgive you, Cookie A., and your winky little ankles because you gave us this:

Bee-yooo-tee-ful pattern. Thanks, Cookie. You're amazing.

Green Monkeys...sounds very rainforesty, doesn't it? Yes, I'm thinking we need to visit some tropical flowers right now:

I love anthuriums. The red color is amazing. Here are some flowers we saw at the Kauai Farm Bureau garden fair yesterday:
I love that salmon-y pink orchid! Gotta have that one. And look at these gingers!
That fuzzy one on the left kills me. It looks like some sort of alien that pops dramatically out of human stomachs occasionally. It hasn't happened to me personally yet, of course, I've just heard.



Above is a torch ginger. It's huge! You can see why it's called "torch" ginger, huh? It looks just like a lit torch.



Ah...tropical flowers. What else reminds me of the tropics? Hmmmm....

Why mittens, of course! I'm not going to wear them, I just want to make them! These are Elliphantom's Herringbone Mittens, available on her website for free (thank you, Elliphantom.) I think the fascination with mittens is the intricate patterns and colorwork in such a small project. This is my first stranded project and I'm hooked. It's fun watching colorful patterns develop under your knitting needles as you knit. Addictive.

I have my Squiggles quilt basted and today, I'll start quilting on it. I have no idea how I'm going to quilt it yet....but I'm so excited! I'll be back to show you soon...

Fifty-four Forty or Fight

I'm still Squiggling, so I thought I would pull a quilt out of my trunk to show you. This is my Fifty-four Forty or Fight block quilt, which doesn't have a real name except for maybe, "Little Spaceboy Star" or something like that. I just wanted to play with the block when I started this quilt, but then I had a border idea, so I was compelled to finish it. I made it with a little boy in mind, can you tell? The background fabric has silvery shooting stars. The silvery gray color reminds me of spaceships and robots.

Do you see how I did the border? I just inserted nine-patch blocks at key places in the border to continue the some of the diagonal squares.
I quilted diagonal lines in the colored blocks to emphasize the diagonal feeling of the quilt. The rest of the quilting is just a bunch of little spirals. It's "tacked" between the diagonal lines with tiny spirals.
I really, really like my binding. I used up all the leftover colored squares I cut for the top and alternated them with with black squares to make the binding. It looks a little like a board game, doesn't it? I'm sure a little boy would invent all sorts of games and stories while he jumped his little Lego spacemen from one star to another, being careful not to fall off the colored squares and into the gray void.

Do you know the history behind the Fifty-four forty or Fight block? It has to do with an Oregon Boundary dispute in 1844. You can read about it here: Fifty-four Forty or Fight

On another note, my schedule is picking up tremendously now that Spring has arrived. I'll be teaching more, having Mainland houseguests, my son is coming home for the summer in a couple of weeks, and my email is...oh, gosh, I can't even face my Mt. Everest of email! I don't think I'll be able to keep posting every day anymore, but I will post occasionally when I have something crafty to show you. You'll definitely see my Squiggle quilt finished and posted soon. Thank you to all my visitors and my frequent commenters (I love you guys!), and I'll see you soon....just not every day...so don't worry about me, okay? I'll be here squiggling, quilting, knitting, crocheting, thrifting, and taking pictures of Mr. Squigglesworth....uh...I mean Bigglesworth...

Aloha and A Hui Hou!

A Short One

Just a short post tonight--for some reason, I am falling asleep at the computer keyboard. I did errands today and worked a little bit on my Squiggles quilt, so I don't have anything new to show you, either. A day late and a dollar short as the expression goes.

I guess I could always display a couple more of my zippered pouches...

I love this fabric! It's so happy! And what did Mr. Pouchy eat for breakfast???
My eyeglasses! Well, one of my many pairs of glasses, that is. I have to keep a couple of pairs of eyeglasses in my sewing drawer. I also have to keep a pair in my knitting caddy, a pair by my easy chair, a pair on my nightstand, and...well, you get the picture. I'm obviously over forty.

This next pouch was a challenge to figure out. I saw something like this in a store and wanted to try a two-zippered pouch with different lined compartments. I like to torture my brain by figuring out how to do stuff like this:

I like all the different fabrics together. I figured out how to engineer this thing so that both linings were finished inside--no raw edges. It was an origami puzzle!
By the way, there are many zippered pouch tutorials on the web if you would like to try. Here are some of my favorites:

Twelve22's zipped pouch tutorial

Mari's Bias Tape Purse at Purl Bee

At Sew, Mama, Sew a zippered pocket tutorial

At Craftster: Make a Lined Zippered Pouch

Zippers are not all that difficult, especially if you're not setting them in a dress or skirt. You basically just sew fabric to each side of the zipper and sew across the ends! Nothing to it. Easy.

Which reminds me, the Knitting Contessa tagged me to write a six-word memoir. This required many days of thought on my part, but I finally came up with this:

"It's Easy Once You Know How."

Life is about learning. I truly believe I can do anything I set my mind to if I think and try hard enough. Knowing this in my heart keeps me going every day. Some learning curves are steeper than others, but nothing is impossible.

If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged and try to think of a six-word memoir on your blog. It's an interesting exercise.

Okay...off to bed for me. I'll leave you with a short film of one of my husband's wonderful kinetic sculpture designs in action:

Nitey!

Some Picture Tips

Here's a picture of my favorite sewing room companion, Mr. Bigglesworth. Doesn't he look soft? He is. He's such a sweetie. Nice picture of him too, eh?

The reason I wanted to show you this picture of Mr. Bigglesworth today (other than the fact that I think he's incredibly handsome) is that I wanted to offer you some picture-taking tips. First of all, a disclaimer: I am NOT a good photographer. I've never taken a class, read a full book on picture-taking, know what an ISO is, or what constitutes a "good" lens. I have an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera that is always set on "auto."

That disclaimer out in the open, I want share some of the things I've learned that have helped me take some passable blog pictures. Take or leave any advice, and consider the source. You've been warned.

That disclaimer disclosed, my first piece of advice to you is NOT that you should go out and buy a fancy camera. This is my camera, an inexpensive 5 megapixel Kodak Easyshare Z730. (I grabbed this photo from Amazon because obviously, I can't take a picture of my own camera!)

I LOVE my camera. Our family has owned three Kodak Easyshares, and they've all been fantastic for our skill level. I previously owned an expensive and complicated Canon A70 camera, but I could only manage blurry pictures with it and it died a horrible death after only one year! (It stayed alive only long enough for the warranty to expire.) I'm glad it died. I hated that thing.

My Z730 camera is a couple of years old now, so there are newer, more megapixel versions of my camera, like the Z1285. If I lost or broke my camera, I would get the Z1285 to replace it.

Whichever camera you choose, make sure it has a close-up feature on it. See the picture of my camera below? See the flower and the mountain? The mountain is for far-away pictures, and the flower is for close-ups. When I turn my camera on, the focus is set somewhere in between "flower" and "mountain," so if I want to take a close-up, I push the flower button. Everything else stays on auto! On your camera, it may say, "close-up" or "macro." Find it. It's soooo important.

The close-up feature lets you get up close and personal with your subject. Look at this close-up of my pouch. I love close-up pictures; they really draw you in. So often, people stand too far back and you can't see any detail! When you go shopping or look at a quilt in a show, don't you like to get really, really close? I know I do. The next thing you should do is turn off your flash. Leave your camera on the auto setting, but just turn off the flash feature. Flash is horrible. It burns out color, startles the subject, turns eyes red, wrecks the background by making it too dark in the distance, and "flattens" the subject. Of course, if it's too dark, you have to use flash...but try turning it off if you can. Natural light is softer, the colors are truer, and the subject has so much more depth.

Here are two pictures of my pouch. The first is using natural light only:

And below is the flash version. I didn't turn on the flash on purpose, it came on automatically. I have to turn my flash off on purpose in even in slightly diminished light--it wants to flash even though there is sufficient light!) See the shadows? The washed-out fabric? The "flat" look of the whole picture? I'll admit, this is not the greatest example, but I think you'll see what I mean if you really start looking at great pictures and see how natural light gives them much more life.

The problem, of course, with turning off your flash in low light, is that your pictures can come out blurry. The lens has to stay open longer to compensate and even slight shaking of the camera will blur the picture. That's why you need one of these:
Tripods are not just for professionals. I have two tripods and I use them both. They're essential! It's so hard for me to hold the camera still when I take a picture, especially in low light. A tripod steadies the camera so you can use natural light more, even in low light situations. I have two tripods and use them all the time. The little one is a gem! You can use it on tabletops, put it on shelves or stacks of books, or even steady the camera on your chest while taking a picture.

Another essential item is white foam core board. I have two pieces of foam core that I use as backdrops. On all my pictures with white backgrounds (like the pouch and the tripod pictures above), I set the item on one piece and use the other piece behind the subject. The white reflects the light softly and makes a very nice background. Some people tape four pieces of foam core together in an open box shape and use that as a little photo studio for small items. The white sides help reflect more light on the subject so that you don't have to use flash.

I also drape fabrics on my foam core boards and set the items on the draped fabric. It makes a nice little photo "booth."

So get a decent camera with a close-up setting, turn off your flash and get a tripod, then go buy some foam core board. And if you really want to do it right, you need this:

Photoshop Elements. Amazing. It corrects hue, lighting, skin tone, distortion, blur, crookedness...downright amazing. There is a steep learning curve, though, so be prepared to read a manual or something. It's the "lite" version of Photoshop, but I can't imagine that they left anything out...it's so fantastic! I learn something new every day. I correct EVERY picture on Photoshop Elements before you see it, usually using the "autofix" feature. Oh yeah, and the tool straightens out crooked pictures because I can't seem to take a level picture for anything.

And it also helps to have some great things around to take pictures of! Here are my Squiggle blocks so far:

I'm in love with these blocks. I've got half the blocks made, and I love making them!

And with Photoshop Elements, I can make one quilt, but see it in all different colors:
Photoshop Elements: amazing. Marsha's Squiggle design: genius.

Look Marsha, I'm Squiggling!

A few weeks ago, I visited Marsha at her blog "Threadbender" and saw her fabulous quilt, "Squiggles at Night." It was love at first sight. Her quilt is so whimsical and colorful and full of life--I just had to make one like it. I emailed her and asked her if I could use her design to make a squiggle quilt of my own, and she kindly gave her permission. Thanks, Marsha! I am SO enjoying making your wonderful design. I'm squiggling with joy!! These are my first squiggles. Not bad, eh? Let me tell you, squiggling is addictive! All these beautiful colors on black are fun right now. I haven't made a bright quilt in quite some time. Once I started squiggling, I just couldn't stop!
I was squiggling only four squiggles per block, but I decided that more was merrier. Here are the squiggle blocks I've made so far on my design wall:

The alternating blocks are Marsha's design, too. They're sort of wonky and free-pieced using Marsha's formula.

I think I'll name my Squiggles quilt, "Box Jellys" because to me, the squiggles look just like iridescent jellyfish tendrils streaming down from glowing box jellyfish. The "box" part is a little joke because the blocks are square like a box, see? Hee hee. I crack myself up.

I spent the day totally blissed out in my sewing room, wading through my stacks of batiks. I started out with nice color-coordinated stacks, but a few hours in, total chaos ensued: Gosh, they're even beautiful in a big tangle. I haven't worked with batiks in a while; I think I was sick of them for a time. So dragging them out again for a project--and setting them against black--whoo hoo! I'm appreciating how beautiful they are all over again.

And what does one wear if one is planning on spending an entire blissful day immersed in one's sewing room, playing with gorgeous fabric?
Bedsheets, of course! This sheet skirt is the most comfortable thing EVER. As soon as I can get to Wal Mart to buy some more 1/2" non-roll elastic, I'm going to have a whole week's worth of these puppies. I may even make some lounge pants, too.
Mr. Bigglesworth watched me all day from his curtain vantage point. He's probably wondering why I'm wearing my bed.

The Road to Hanalei, There and Back Again

We're here! Let's see if there's anything new today, shall we?
My, oh my...I think we're going to be here a while.
Yes, dear, just go to sleep and let the ladies do the shopping. We'll wake you up in a couple of hours.
This is what the other two-thirds of Strings and Things looks like. Musical instruments and some swifts and ball winders. Ukuleles and knitting equipment living in perfect harmony together. At least they don't sell bait.

I remember the very first yarn I bought here over a year ago. I didn't know how to knit then, so I bought some Cascade Fixation and made these:
Crocheted socks! Well, they're pretty heavy as socks go, so I would really call them more of a house sock. The Cascade Fixation is a very stretchy yarn, so unlike most socks, these socks have a ton of stretchiness to them.

They fit really well. I made them from the patterns in here: Learn to Crochet Socks book It's a good book--inexpensive with clear instructions and fun patterns using sportweight and worsted weight yarn. I like the Fixation yarn because it has elastic built into the yarn. Great stuff for crocheting items that you would like to make a little stretchier.

I found the dpn's I wanted, but I think I'll go easy on the yarn today. Let's do a little bit more sight-seeing in Hanalei and then head home, shall we?

I love this church in Hanalei. So pretty. It's the Wai`oli Hui`ia Church and it was built in 1912. I don't really know all the history, but I'm sure it's seen some hurricane damage in all those years, especially from Hurricane Iwa in 1982 and Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Looks like it's well-maintained, though, doesn't it? So peaceful.
Some pretty tropical gingers at Chin Young Village.
View of Hanalei Bay as we depart the North Shore and head back to the East Side.

Heading home, some fun moss monsters in someone's yard:

These have nothing to do with anything, but I think they're great!

That was a fun day; I hope you enjoyed our little trip to the North Shore. It sure is nice to get out of the house for a while. Tomorrow, we'll start a new quilting project.

On the Road to Hanalei, Almost There

Are you done with you lunch? Great! Do you want some of my Kombucha juice? No? Can't imagine why not. It's so yummy. Let's get going again.

Look--the Poinciana trees still have a few blooms on them.

I like Poinciana trees. I was going to tell you that it was our state tree, but I'm glad I didn't because I just looked it up and it's not.

Funny thing about living in Hawaii. When you move here, you instantly become a tour guide for all your Mainland friends. You're responsible for knowing the names of every tree, building, mountain, stream, fish, bird...well, you get the picture. Me? I usually just make things up that I don't know. Really. Who's going to check? Why, if I told you that our state fish was the Rhinecanthus rectangulus, would you know I was making it up? Well, I'm not. But if you think "Rhinecanthus rectangulus" is hard to say, try calling it by its common name, "Humuhumunukunuku apua'a."

But writing these tour-y things down in my blog is a different story altogether. I can't just make things up here. My island friends may check my accuracy, so I should be truthful...uh...I mean accurate. But that sure requires a lot of research on my part if I can't just make things up! I'll make a deal with you, eh? Everything I'm not really sure about accuracy-wise (i.e. I'm making stuff up), I'll write in italics, like this. That way, if you really want accuracy, you can look all that italicized stuff up yourself. It'll be a do-it-yourself tour, eh?

While we're still in Kilauea, let's see the bird sanctuary! Hmmm...not too many birds out today, but there's a really nice lighthouse which was built in 1910. It's the one most like itself in the whole world. Amazing, huh?
I suppose I should put things in perspective here. Let's back out a bit. Can you spot the lighthouse we were just standing in front of? The lighthouse stands on this long peninsula, known as Kilauea Point. I think if I were to put together a must-see list of Kauai, this bird sanctuary would definitely be in my top ten. It's breathtaking and you can usually see all kinds of sea turtles when you look down off these cliffs into the water. Gorgeous!

Back into the car--fasten your seatbelt! We'll be seeing a beautiful roadside waterfall along the way, and we'll also get a glimpse of Hanalei Valley:

The vista as you go over the Hanalei bridge is magnificent. Those are all taro patches down there. It's so green and sparkly! So pretty.

Now we're in Hanalei town, at the Hanalei Dolphin Center. At least that's what the sign says...I hope they're sure, because I didn't use italics. Hey! There's my WH across the street! How did he get here? Do you mind if he comes with us?
Right next to the Dolphin Center is Ola's, one of my favorite shops. I love their colorful glass display in the window:

Out this front window you can see taro growing in a farmer's field:
Taro grows in the water like that. Taro is used to make poi, which is a light purple starchy gooey goo that tastes just like that paste you weren't supposed to eat in elementary school. (Okay, I didn't EAT the paste, I just tasted it once. It tasted like poi.)
Out the other window, we can see more of the Blue Danube. In the Spring, my husband and I often kayak in this river. (Hee hee...this italic thing is fun....)
Why, look at all those Palmiflora palmitises growing next to the Swanee River. And look at all those peeblefish jumping about. I think the ancient Hawaiians used to do something here, right on this very spot. It's historic. They probably had picnics. Yeah...historic picnics.

Okay...the strain of all this fabrication is getting to me. I really just come here for the yarn:

Whoo hoo! We're here! My local yarn shop--Hanalei Music's Strings and Things. It used to be only a music shop, but now part of the store is a yarn shop. So it's a music and yarn shop! Don't laugh....Kauai is small. (I hear there's a combination fabric shop/bait store on the Big Island!) We just make do. And make up things we don't know occasionally. Okay, maybe it's just me that makes things up. But we're having fun, right?

Tomorrow, we go INSIDE and fondle some yarny goodness!

On the Road to Hanalei

Here we go on another field trip! Today, I'm taking you to a surprise destination on the north shore of Kauai. We'll make a few stops along the way, of course. (It may take a couple virtual days to get there, though. I like lots of stops...) Our first stop is Banana Joe's in Kilauea because it's warm outside and we need a cold tropical frosty to sip on while we make our way up north.

We can pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables for dinner tonight, too. Banana Joe always has something interesting to try.
Mmmmm...fresh baked local bread.

It looks like they only have pineapple frosties today...but that's okay because pineapple is my favorite! Banana Joes makes amazing frosties--they're 100% frozen ground fruit, no sugar added. The consistency is just like ice cream! Yummy. My second favorite is banana. We'll have to come back another day to try the banana, eh?

You're my guest, so your ice cold sweet pineapple frosty is on me. We'll pay Cindy at the register. Cindy is Mrs. Banana Joe and Cindy is a quilter! Cindy also happens to be the mother of Angela, my son's sweet and adorable girlfriend. Kauai is a small island. Oh hey...before we pay for these, we ought to grab a bag of fresh roasted macadamia nuts. They go good with frosties.
Well...lookie here. Banana Joe himself. Hi Joe! He's still got his frosty-making uniform on.
Let's sit a minute and enjoy the view. It's a lovely day, isn't it?

That was a nice snack. Wha? You're still hungry? Then let's stop by this new little restaurant I've just heard about in Kilauea town. Here we are! This is the "stone building" in Kilauea. I know it has another name, but everyone just calls it the "stone building." There are a few other "stone buildings" in Kilauea, but they're called something else. Nice little crowd today. What did you order?
MMmmmmm. I got the ahi soft tacos, my favorite. I thought I'd try some of this Kombucha juice that Cindy just told me about, too.

Yum-O! The tacos are delish. The Kombucha juice...not so much. Ah well, it's fun to try new things. Preferably not new yucky things, though. Yuck. Sorry. Ick. Okay...enough of that. But...ewwww....yuck. This stuff HAS to be healthy. Bleah!

I've already used up my picture allotment for today's post! Looks like I used up most of my pictures on food. That's okay, we'll need the energy for all the shopping we'll do....

A Pouchy Day

It's Spring and I think I have Spring fever. Oh, not the kind you get when you're twenty--the kind you get when you're nearly fifty. No, not the Mrs. Robinson kind, the crafty kind...you know, when you just can't seem to settle on one project to make? I have to decide between starting one of two quilts, one of three knitting projects, one of a dozen crochet projects, and heaven only knows what I'll come up with for dinner. I'm a crafty deer in project headlights!

So what do I do when I need to make a decision? Why, avoid it all costs, of course. So today, instead of choosing between long term quilting projects, I made short term pouches.

I know you're getting sick hearing about my current love affair with zippers, but I just can't help myself. I want to put everything I own in a pouch and zip it up all cozy and snug and out of view. It must be some kind of psychological disease--Zipaholia? Pouchamania? Zippopouchitis?

I think I have a case of Buttonophilia, too. I layered three on this pouch:
And look what fits perfectly in my pouch! All my double point needles that I'm acquiring without having made a single hat or mitten yet because I'm too busy making pouches.

Here's a cute red one I made with mouse fabric! And a cat button, of course. This is one of the buttons my friend Anne sent me from Finland. He looks like he's playing coy with those mousies.
And why looka here. This pouch holds all my circulars.
Hmmm. Perhaps I was a kangaroo in a former life.

Actually, I think I may be done with my series of knitting pouches. I think I've already made some small pouches for my stitch markers and my cable needles. Yep, this could be it. NO....WAIT! What about these poor exposed babies????
These can wait. I bought almost all of these at my local thrift shop (yes...the pairs are matched correctly...I checked...sigh....). I bought them when I first started knitting, but quickly decided that I like knitting on circulars so much better than knitting on straights. Straights and I don't fit in my easy chair at night...circulars and I fit so much better. So these will wait. Besides, I like the little bouquet arrangement of these, don't you?

Tomorrow, I think we should get out of the house. Let's go on a field trip, eh? Here's a sneak preview:

See you tomorrow!

Missing Things

Well, duh. Now that you all have pointed it out, it seems so obvious! The lid on my thrifted sugar bowl does not go with the bowl at all. I guess I'll never get an appraiser's job on Antique Roadshow, eh? The lid fit on the bowl so well that it didn't occur to me that something was amiss. I did get this bowl at the same thrift shop as I got Fifi and her pitcher "partner"...so I probably should have suspected that there was someone doing some creative pairing. Hee hee...I think it's funny...and definitely worth two dollars!

Thanks to an intrepid commenter (thanks, janddj!), I now have a picture of the sugar bowl lid and the creamer I'm missing:

Picture grabbed from http://www.ioffer.com/i/HOTTA-YU-SHOTEN-lusterware-blue-Sugar-bowl-creamer--43473176

You know, I think I actually like my mismatched lid better! More character. Funnier story, anyway.

I think the most amazing thing about this adventure is the string of circumstances that had to occur before my little mismatched sugar bowl came to me. First, someone had to break the lid of the original lusterware sugar bowl, right? Then someone had to own another sugar and creamer set and break the bowl of that set, leaving just the lid. Then someone had to probably break the old lusterware creamer, too, because it wasn't at the thrift store alongside its partner (and why would they have given up just the bowl after so many years of keeping it, lid or no?). Also, someone had to notice that the spare lid fit the old sugar bowl that someone miraculously kept even though it didn't have a lid (until they broke the creamer). So was this all the same person? Two people? Three people? Or one little rambunctions tyke hoping that granny wouldn't notice?? Ah...a sugar bowl mystery! Did you catch all that? Good for you. You can have that job I didn't get at Antiques Roadshow.

Anyway..."janddj," thanks for the sleuthing and let me know if you run across a lone female poodle, huh? Fifi is lonely.

Last Sunday was a bittersweet occasion for our local quilt shop, Kapaia Stitchery. Some of you who have visited our island may remember the owner of Kapaia Stitchery, Julie Yukimura:

Julie was a hands-on fabric shop owner. If you had ever visited Kapaia Stitchery, you probably would've spoke to her about where you were from, or perhaps she would have taught you how to applique a Hawaiian pattern, or even give you a quick lesson on how to hand quilt. For nearly thirty-five years, she owned and operated Kapaia Stitchery, creating a thriving quilt shop and tourist destination waaaaay out in the middle of the Pacific ocean. She gave it her all and did it with aloha spirit.

Julie died suddenly and unexpectedly this past November. Ours is a small quilting community, and Julie was a very active member of our group; we're still in shock. Last Tuesday, April 1st, would have been Kapaia Stitchery's 35th Anniversary. Julie celebrated her anniversary every year with a sale, so her family decided to keep that tradition alive:

Julie's sister Lisa served up cake. There was ukulele-playing, hula dancing, hot dog eating, and lots of memories.
Her family, quilt family, and friends milled about and "talked story" on the lanai:

There was lots of fabric buying:


And chatting with quilters and visitors:
This is Julie's brother, wearing a custom-made Kapaia Stitchery shirt. Julie's brothers and sister are working hard to keep the shop open. The Yukimura family and Julie's employees are carrying on the way Julie would have wanted.
How did I celebrate Julie's memory? I bought fabric, of course. I have two projects in mind, and some or all of these may find their way in.
In any event, I'll always remember Julie and her kind and generous heart. Rest in peace, Julie. We miss you.

A Really Sheety Skirt

Today was soooo much fun! I got to play with my pinking shears, some drafting paper and a pencil, my measuring tape and my straightpins. I felt like I was in Junior High School all over again! You see, I never learned how to make an A-line skirt in Jr. High. Somehow, I went from a crummy gym bag at age 13 to quilting at age 29 with only some unwilling car upholstery experience in between. But it's never too late, right?

I was especially excited by this little skirt book because it tells you how to draft your own skirt using your own measurements. Commercial clothing and patterns have never fit me, so the prospect of something fitting me is....frankly...quite thrilling. (What can I say? I lead a simple life....) After the initial trauma of having to take my own measurements, I drew up my own pattern according to my own exact waist and exact hip size, and made it exactly the length I wanted. I used an old sheet from the thrift store, and here is the resulting prototype:
Whooooo Hoooo!!!! I made a skirt that fits ME. No one else!! It's mine, all mine! Actually, I'm quite sure that no one else in their right mind besides me would want it, but that's okay. It's mine and fits me exactly right. Oh yes, right off the bat, I would do one thing differently. It's a little too flare-y in the A-line part (folk dancing, anyone?), but I can fix that on my paper pattern. I made a skirt that fits!

There's only one problem. This dorky sheet skirt prototype is very, very comfortable. There's a real danger here. I might be tempted to actually WEAR this skirt made out of a circa 1970 sheet around the house because it's made out of comfy, cozy sheets. The elastic waistband looks like something my Imaginary Grandma would wear, too. And you know what wearing something around the house leads to...yes...going out to the mailbox one day because I think no one is looking. THEN comes being too lazy to change out of it when friends drop by! Next thing you know, I'll be wearing it to the post office...and the grocery store! OH NO! Someone stop me!

The upside of wearing sheety clothes is that I won't have to make up my bed any more. I'll just make a really sheety blouse to go with my sheety skirt...and I'll actually BE the bedsheets! I can sleep right on the matttress! If I make a pillow hat, think of how much time I'll save.

Help me.

Okay, change of topic. You want to see what my thrifting adventures netted me this week?

Lusterware! I bought this sugar bowl for two dollars. It's so shiny that you can hardly take a picture of it. I don't know much about lusterware, but I think this sugar bowl must have been made in the early sixties, I'd guess, just because the little wheat motif looks sixty-ish. It was made in Japan. And just like Fifi, it's missing its partner. I'm sure the creamer got broken and may be at the same dump as Fifi's long-lost partner...but I'll keep looking for both.

Fifi tries it on for size. I think the color, shape, and size of it is so pretty! I love how it reflects my handmade doily, too.

I must have been in a turquoise mood that day, because this was my haul:

Some wool/nylon sock yarn from the U.K. and some fabric came home with me too.
I just love the little berry thingies on this fabric. I have no idea how old this fabric is either...I just like it.

And while we're rapidly changing topics, look what was in my magical mailbox today!!

I'm such a lucky woman! No, seriously, I am. I won another blog drawing, this time at Crafty Bits 'n Bobs. This package came all the way from Australia, which made it extra-special. There's an adorable little wristlet, some cute little buttons sewn onto creature-decorated paper, some lurvely chocolate, and this pretty pin:
The green bead has butterflies all around it...so pretty! I'll use this to pin my knitted Clapotis shawl together around my neck. Thank you, Crafty Bits. I love everything. And I promise not to wear any of it with my sheety clothing. You're welcome.

Kisses, At Last

"Little Boy Kisses" by Lisa Boyer, 2008

I finally finished my "Kisses" quilt. Remember that little boy quilt I needed to go with that little girl quilt? I'm so prepared now!



The fabrics in this one make me so happy. There are a lot of Piece O' Cake fabrics in here, I think. I don't really follow the designers, but I seem to end up with lots of Piece O' Cake's wonderful fabrics on my shelf. What isn't Piece O' Cake in this quilt is stash fabric and vintage, including an old apron. I LOVE string quilts. They're so exciting.







I rely heavily on my imaginary Grandma when I made scrap quilts. My imaginary Grandma quilted in the 1930's during the Great Depression, so she had to make do with what she had. I consult her a lot: "What Would Imaginary Quilt Grandma Do?" She tells me to use up what I already have, don't be too fussy, but don't be lazy either. She cringes when I hand quilt with a length of quilting thread that's longer than 18 inches, for instance (lazy!). She hates when I throw any kind of scrap away, no matter how small (wasteful!). But she loves it when I'm inventive--and of course, she's my biggest fan, no matter what I make.



I used two different fabrics for borders in this quilt. This is because I couldn't decide between them, so I used them both. My imaginary Grandma said it would be okay.


In a planned quilt, I often use the same strategy. If I can't decide between two or three fabrics that are similar and read only slightly differently, I alternate and use them all in the same position in the quilt. I think it gives the quilt more dimension and makes it more interesting. Besides, it saves me having to make a decision. I like that.




Here's the viney berry border I like to doodle:
I make berries when I don't leave myself enough room to make a leaf. Berries are just a little swirl ball. If I have a wide border, I make bigger swirl balls and call them rosettes.
See? You don't have to be an artist, you just have to be inventive with the skills you have. I can't make a rosette, but I can make a swirl ball.


Here's how I make my vine:

I put the quilt in my regular sewing machine and make one irregular wavy line around the whole quilt. This is my "vine" skeleton.
When I get back to the start of the vine "circle", I start up one side making leaves and berries.
I quilt leaves and berries/rosettes all around the quilt on one side of the vine. (This quilt has been rotated--I feed the quilt toward me and over my left shoulder while I quilt. The rest of the quilt is rolled up to the left of my machine.) When I get to the beginning of the vine circle again, I repeat on the other side of the vine, all around the quilt. It doesn't take very long at all, and the leaves can be big, small, short, long...nature is like that, so you can be too. Every leaf does not have to be perfect and uniform. At least, that's what Imaginary Quilt Grandma says.

That was going to be all for today, but I can't stand it when my posts are only one set of colors! So here is (yet another) box bag I made this week as a gift. I tell you, there is something addictive about zippers. They make me feel like a real seamstress.
Zipperific, eh? Oh yeah, and this:

Sweet dreams, kitty.

From Finland, With Love

I sniffled and snuffled all the way out to the mailbox today to find a wonderful surprise waiting for me! My sweet friend Anne in Finland sent me a "Happy Easter" package. It took almost a month to get here, so it didn't quite arrive by Easter, but that's okay by me. Look at all the lovely things she sent!

There are vintage buttons, a pincushion, a candle, some wonderful handmade ceramic buttons, a potholder, some chocolate candy, and a couple of adorable ornaments that deserve a close-up!



Aren't those cat face buttons the cutest thing ever??? This is a little Easter Witch:

Anne tells about the witch in her letter:

"When it is Good Friday night all the Easter witches take their brooms, coffeepans, and black cats and fly to the Blue hill to dance around the bonfire. This happens in Scandinavia, of course.

Usually in the Spring, little fairies return to Finland with migrant birds like finches, swallows and nightengales and they dance among all meadow flowers all the summer long."

Ann's English is beautiful, isn't it? Here's one of the little fairies now!

Is that charming, or what? I think if I lived in Finland, I'd like Easter and Spring a whole lot more. I like witches, black cats, coffeepans, and fairies quite a bit more than I like egg-laying rabbits, ham, and silly hats. Witches are waaaay cooler. Just sayin'.

Okay...now for one of the most wonderful things in the package:

This chicken was hand-sewn by one of Anne's students named Anna-Liisa, and she made me this pretty card, too. I love them so much. She worked hard on this (look at all those stitches!), and I am very proud to own it. Well...actually...Anne says that she made it as a cushion for my cat, Mr. Bigglesworth...so I guess I will share.

Thanks so much for this treasure Anna-Liisa. I wish I had two i's in my name like you do! Let's see how Mr. Bigglesworth likes his new cushion:

(Video here)

He loves it, Anna-Liisa! Luckily, I got it back before he loved it too much and put it in his regular sleeping spot for when he's feeling a little less frisky. I don't want him to tear any of those beautiful stitches you made.

Aloha and a belated Easter to my friends in Finland.

Stay tuned...I'm finishing up the binding on my quilt tonight! Quilt pictures are imminent...

Sniffles and Roosters

Whew. How long was I asleep in that beach chair? I successfully recovered from a busy pattern flurry, but woke up with a head cold this morning. It was probably all those post office germs. I'm going to take time for a short post, and then I'm going back to my beach chair for a while with some hot tea and lemon.

Happily, your pattern orders are starting to be received all across the country (yay! and thank you all again!!). Many of you have emailed me to thank me for the Hawaiian fabric charm squares that I enclosed with your order--you're welcome!--and to ask me the best way to buy more Hawaiian fabric.

Believe it or not, I am one of the WORST people to ask where to buy Hawaiian fabric! Okay, maybe not the worst, but I'm not a very good person to ask. I always buy it here in Hawaii! Our stores are stuffed with the stuff. As a matter of fact, Hawaiian prints, Asian prints and batiks are just about ALL I can get. I would love to be able to fondle some of those neat Civil War repros I keep seeing online, or drool over a rack of pastel thirties prints...or even catch a glimpse of what a Thimbleberry looks like! But noooooooo. Even our local Wal Mart is a veritable Hawaiian fabric shrine!

So here are my suggestions on how YOU can find Hawaiian fabric, short of hopping on a plane:

1. Call Kapaia Stitchery at 808-245-2281 and describe what you want. They don't have a website, but they do have mail order and they are very, very nice. Closed on Sundays, open 9 to 5 Hawaiian time. (Update 4/2--I corrected the phone number...sorry!)

2. I often send people to http://www.hawaiianfabric.com/ Be sure to click on the "cotton" tab, because they have lots of polyesters and it's easy to get lost amidst all the prints and end up with polyester. There are several pages of cotton fabric to scroll through, and you can click on prints to enlarge. It's a pretty good site! I don't often hear back from people I send there, but when I do, it's a positive report.

3. eQuilter has got some great Hawaiian prints! This link here will take you right to the Hawaiian prints section.

4. Read the comments section of this post. Hopefully, others will chime in with their favorite sources. Anyone?? Feel free!

5. Google "Hawaiian fabric" and see if there is someone in your state or nearby that sells it. You'll save some money on shipping. There are lots of suprising little niches in stores that have devoted a little corner to Hawaii--probably because the shop owner is a frequent visitor.

Okay, I'm going back to my beach chair and try to stop sneezing. I'll leave you with a picture of our friendly back yard chickens. These were wild, but my husband has since trained them to eat out of our hands and they're pretty friendly now. They come to my back door every morning to get leftovers from the cat's dish; they stand and watch me until I come out with a bowl for them.

This rooster is very brave. His girlfriend hangs back a little with her dainty foot up in the air:
She won't come any closer until I set the bowl down and turn around. They're such a cute couple!

G'night...