And for the Quilters

I took a two hour Hawaiian applique class on Friday afternoon, to mainly learn more about the history and techniques of these beautiful quilts. It was supposed to be a group of 6 but a few had cancelled and I had the instructor one on one. I selected a kit that already had a taro plant design cut out in green batik on a brown background knowing it would blend in with the cabin decor best. The Hawaiians all learned to needle turn mostly from missionaries from New England. Most of their patterns reflect plants and nature. They echo quilt once they are done, and don't cut away the backing like I have done before with freezer paper pieces. I liked not having to prep all thei pieces, but I would have to practive a lot to be able to turn in the sharp valleys and curves consistently. But I hope to complete my square and have a nice memory of our Hawaiian honeymoon.

We had time before catching our red eye home on Sunday and GP actually found an add for the Maui Fabric Mart. I didn't think it would be open but much to my suprise it was....and what we found was the Hawaiian version of Mary Jo's. I knew I was pushing the 50lb limit on our suitcase but couldn't resist buying some fun fabrics. They were all between $3.50 and $4.75 per yard...and were nice 100% cottons. The woody/surf board fabric in the upper left will be a shirt someday for GP to wear to car shows. The lower left has a postcard theme.....of course he liked that one too. The upper right hand fabric was very nice so I got enough to use in a back and the lower right hand jeep/palm tree fabric was so soft...I could resist buying the last yard and a half that was on the bolt. It is sometimes hard for me to know how to buy fabric when I don't have a specific project already in mind.....but I couldn't resist.