The World Surrounding Me

My mom (aka my very own professional longarm quilter) sent me pictures today of the latest things she quilted: 4 of my Hawaiian applique blocks (to be made into pillows). One of those pillows comes with a story, which I wanted to share here. In 2006, in conjunction with visiting my parents in Ireland (since [...]

  Day 11: Something Blue     A Hawaiian-applique inspired button, purchased at Quilt Passions in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is sitting on some fabric purchased (from the clearance area!) at Fourth & Main Quilt Shop in Cannon Falls, MN. (I took this photo yesterday, but forgot to post it. So, there [...]

Last spring, during the abundantly rich wildflower season here in Central Texas, the red indian paintbrush flowers were particularly beautiful. Their simple shape also seems particularly appropriate for Hawaiian-style appliqué. I’ve been planning my next applique project, and I think I want to feature this flower in another Texas-meets-Hawaii theme. I am going to use blue & [...]

I have finished two quilt blocks within the past few days. They both have a lot in common, but are also very different! Block #1: “Maile” Purchased pattern. Folded in eighths and cut out quickly (like a snowflake) the morning we were leaving for Kauai. Smooth, flowing shapes with some not-so-sharp outside points, but no [...]

Matt and I are on vacation, celebrating our fifth anniversary. For this trip, we chose the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Unlike what a few colleagues joked, we’re not addicted to Hawaii, but it certainly is a good vacation spot. We flew to the islands from LAX. Heading westward, at about 80% of the speed [...]

Here’s yet another completed appliqué block waiting to be made into something! This one is loosely inspired by the Bird of Paradise flower. I designed this block myself, inspired by flowers we saw on our first trip to Maui (though apparently these plants are native to South Africa). If you look at the blueish-purple shapes in each [...]

Finally, here is part 6 of our Hawaii trip summary. Sorry for the delay; being back at work takes time I could spend blogging! Part 6: South Maui South Maui has some great beaches, some decent restaurants, and nice hotels. We stayed on the border of Kihei & Wailea. Kihei is marginally a residential area [...]

Part 5: Haleakala (By the way, I figure this will go to just 6 parts.) I think Haleakala is the feature that sets Maui apart from most pacific islands (the ones we’ve visited, at least). Haleakala is an actual mountain growing up out of an island, and you can go to the top. It’s not [...]

Part 4 in the trip summary: West Maui Areas in West Maui offer some diversity. On one hand, you have Lahaina, which was a town at least as far back as the 1820′s. On the other hand, you have areas like Ka’anapali or Kapalua, which have only been around since the 1960′s or so (at [...]

Part 3 of trip summary: Central Maui: If you visit Maui, you’ll have to visit the central area for a few key things: The airport (or if you arrive via boat, I think many boats come here as well) Walmart, Kmart and other non-touristy shopping I think a lot of tourists overlook Central Maui’s other [...]