Kauai's 2009 North Shore Quilt & Fiber Show

Would you like to go to a quilt show with me? I hope you don't mind if my brain doesn't come along; it's still missing. (No, it hasn't even sent me a postcard. I'm getting worried...)

We're going to have to do some backward time travel....I hope you don't mind. This quilt show, the brainchild of quilter Jeni Hardy and the result of hard work of the No Nene Quilt Group, is just a couple years old, but growing every year. It was held this year on March 27th and 28th, 2009, at the Church of the Pacific in Princeville, Kauai.

I'm estimating there were approximately 90 quilts, which is a pretty great showing for our tiny island. This first quilt is by M. Lea Ingram, who never fails to blow me away with her talent:

"Hanalei Moon," M. Lea Ingram, 2008

This is the show as you walk in; the quilts filled a number of rooms in the small church:

Of course, I wish I could show you all the quilts. I'm so proud of our quilters here on Kauai.

These Hawaiian quilts were a special display. These are the work of Pua Miriam Kaona.


Her family graciously lent these quilts to the show. Amazing. All hand-appliqued and quilted. Gee...and I whine when I have to sew block rows together....

I wish I had a long shot of this next quilt by Eileen Sanders. This is the farthest away I could get from the quilt because frankly, I am so in awe of her hand quilting skills that couldn't back away. I was hypnotized by her tiny, perfect, regular stitches:

"Baskets" by Elieen Sanders, 2009, voted Best in Show 2009

Eileen is a stab-stitcher. She makes those stitches ONE AT A TIME. One year at Quilt Hawaii, Eileen's work was almost dismissed by the judges in the hand-quilting category because the judges initially thought her quilt was machine quilted--it's that perfect.

Can you imagine? Stab stitching all these stitches one stitch at a time??? Mind boggling. And Eileen is a prolific quilter! She turns out one of these huge hand appliqued, hand pieced, hand quilted quilts about one every two months or so.

I am humbled by her awesomeness.

This quilt is pretty humbling, too:

"Iz" by Paula Jimenez, 2002

This quilt is a picture of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a beloved singer here in Hawaii, now deceased. He's sitting under a mango tree, strumming his ukulele. This quilt took Paula five years to complete. The quilt includes many native Kauaian birds. It's spectacular. The quilt is large...possibly queen size?...not that you'd ever put in on a bed. That's just to give you a size idea.

I love this colorful strippy quilt:

"Rainbow Quilt," Jeni Hardy, 2009

I loved this next quilt, but I cannot find the maker's name in the program! No Nene's...anyone...help? I'll edit the maker's name in later. But I just had to show it to you because...wow...isn't it great? Look at those colors!!

"Unknown," by Unknown, Unknown Year. Anyone??

There were demos, too:

And this cute Hawaiian shirt quilt by Happy Parks, who comes up with the greatest ideas! I wish I could take a tour of her brain:

"Reyn Spooner Family Quilt," by Happy Parks

This quilt was made from a collection of Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirts that belonged to her son, husband, father, and brother-in-law.

She used the collar, plaquet, and pocket of 12 shirts, then used the rest for the sashing. Isn't this clever?

Happy made one of my "Keiki Hula" patterns once and set it in such an imaginative way that I had to ask her if I could copy it. I love her work.

Back at the home front, I am busy being a mom again. All's right with the world.

I guess having a brain is overrated.

I am content.

Oh! and P.S. Be sure to look for me in the latest Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. I haven't seen the "Meeting Place" article yet, but thanks for your nice comments about it! I always worry about how I'm going to come off in an interview...I can be a little irreverent, you know. I hope it's okay...