One of the indicators of spring to me are the arrival of the Dogwood Blossoms. I call them blossoms but did you know they are called bracts. A bract is a fancy leaf and the nubby center is the flower. They are like a Poinsettia which are also bracts. Funny the things you learn when you do a little research. They are plentiful in this part of the Northwest and they also grow in Hawaii and many other mild climates.

You have admired Hawaiian quilts for years. Now, with this book and DVD you can design your very own Hawaiian quilt!

Most years I take a bit of time and create a small free Two Fabric Applique Style quilt pattern. Last year when I took photos of the Poinsettia quilt I had a couple cute little Christmas Gnome salt and pepper shakers in the photos and everyone was more interested in my little Gnomes than in the pattern so... I decided you needed a little Gnome of your very own. Here he is. He was very fun to make and I hope you like him.

Put your money where your mouth is.

In the past five years, I have helped Connie with our sales booth at many quilt shows. Although I am not a quilter, I learned the process to make a Pacific Rim 2 Fabric Applique and Hawaiian quilt. I am able to demonstrate the process to a customer when Connie is with another customer. I am sometimes asked: “are YOU a quilter?” “No, but I am told the process is easy”

100 years ago the 19^th amendment was ratified allowing women the right to vote in all states. August 18, 2020 marks the 100^th anniversary. It is hard to imagine how much different we would be now without the contributions of women in our legislature, administration, and judicial system.

While it is a strange time in our lives and unlike anything we have ever experienced, I count my blessings. I posted a couple of questions on Facebook this last week and asked our Followers the following questions.

What are you thankful for today?

When we vend at Quilt Shows one of the things that customers enjoy is the fact they can see the samples and check out how they are quilted. There is only one thing that they all have in common and that is the fact that we always stitch in the ditch around the applique and then will do the rest of the quilting.

Since we are unable to travel and attend Quilt Shows I wanted to create another video for you. This time I decided to hang all of our 2 Fabric Applique Quilt Samples in the backyard.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my process and my work. Being one who loves handwork and the feel of nice cotton fabric. I have been thinking about what I am doing and why. We live in a world where everything is created quickly or available at a moment's notice. Slowing down and being thoughtful in what I do, and how I do it, is good for my health, well-being and, of course, my art.

I began my quilting experience with the idea that it was all about the end result and wanted to get there as quickly as possible. As I worked, I learned something about myself: the parts that excited me most were the things that took time and thought.

I started quilting in the early 90's. My husband and I were snowbirds for a few years. We sill had a business that required us to travel back and forth regularly. I realized that applique was easy to carry along with knitting. The first time I saw a Pacific Rim Quilt Company wall hanging, I was smitten.

Hawaiian Quilt - "Na Lilia"

Did you know May has a flower of the month? We happen to have a Hawaiian Wall Quilt pattern with it, here is our Lilies of the Valley Hawaiian quilt pattern.

Here is Ellen's Story:

The bold, graphic nature of our 2 Fabric Applique Quilts brings this Hibiscus front and center.

A bit about Hawaiian Quilts

One distinctive characteristic of Hawaiian quilts is that they are radially symmetrical to the eighth. What does that mean?? It means that if you draw lines on a Hawaiian quilt design through the center from top to bottom, side to side, and corner to corner what you see in each of the eight triangular segments will be nearly identical mirror images. The Angel's Trumpet quilt makes this very easy to visualize with its strong stems radiating from the center in all eight directions. While not all Hawaiian quilts have these strong diagonal design lines (take for example our Sea Turtles & Dolphins quilt) it is still true that nearly all Hawaiian designs have eight, radially symmetrical segments.

I am part of a group of Quilt Pattern Designers and Tamarinis put together an event where 6 or so designers would share their Quilts on Facebook Live everyday from April 1st through the 10th. I know that by the time you receive this newsletter the videos will no longer be live but you can still check them all out. You can go here on my blog and you can find all the links to the various designers. Each of these Videos is 15 minutes long so grab a cup of coffee and your computer and enjoy!

Here is mine! Thank you for checking it out. Please remember this was my first time.

I am going to begin doing more Facebook Live posts and the next one will be different quilts and I am going to talk about ways to quilt them. If you are not on Facebook I will be saving the videos and posting them on my YouTube Channel. If you would like to subscribe to my channel you will receive an email when I add new videos.

Your first Hawaiian quilt should be a breadfruit design." Have you ever heard that? Do you know why it is said?"

The Hawaiian word for breadfruit is 'ulu; and ulu means to grow, or increase. In Hawaiian arts and crafts the 'ulu symbolizes abundance. Nancy's Hawaiian quilting kumu (teacher) taught her that it also symbolizes greater creativity and more quilts. So, when you hear the advice that you should first make the 'ulu design, now you know why.