Like the Water

Nap times, early morning times, late at night - whenever I can... stitches are being worked. The echo quilting lines are going in on my little Hawaiian anniversary cushion. This I think, is my favorite part about Hawaiian quilting. Echo stitching is so iconic of the Hawaiian style. Did you know that Hawaiin quilts always have echo quilting because it mirrors the water - the water that we see and love everyday?  

What have you been working on lately? 

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced 

First stitches

 September! I am so hoping that it brings cooler weather because the heat and humidity this summer have been the worst I've ever experienced. It has been hard to be motivated to work on projects since the humidity leaves us all feeling so sticky and weak. But yesterday a burst of energy possessed me and I was able to finish the appliqué, make my quilt sandwich, and baste everything together. And this morning the quilting has started on my Hawaiian quilting project! Destined to be a cushion for our living room. The first of a pair. These cushions were actually intended to be a present for the house for our second year anniversary and now there are a few weeks until we mark our third. Having a new baby kind of pushed this project to the back burner. There were so many other baby related projects that just took priority.  But now it feels good to be working on it again.  The slow pace of it allows me to really reflect back on our marriage, the laughs we have shared, and the home we've been making, and Liam. So much wonderfulness. I think that is my favorite part about hand sewing. The pace. The time to sit and reflect and wonder. It makes me feel connected and a part of a past where women sat and did the same, perhaps as their own little babies were taking naps. September. One of my favorite months. Here's to hopefully days cooling down and stitches being made!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Passing it on

Liam attends a preschool two days a week and I must say that it is one of the highlights of our week. It is funded by a special grant that promotes Hawaiian values, culture, and language.  Liam and I both learn so much through this program. We are very grateful to be able to be a part of the school. Yesterday we went on a field trip to a warehouse by the beach that was the work place for Makali'i, one of the eight sea voyaging canoes in Hawaii. I loved listening to the story of the creation. How those that were involved wanted to do everything as their ancestors did. How the wood came from the land. Everything, even the ropes, were all made from things of the island. The people here are working so hard to conserve their culture. To pass on this ancient knowledge to the next generation. And there are so many beautiful things about it. The care of things. The love of community. More and more I learn to fall in love with this place. With these people. 

I came home and immediately picked my Hawaiian appliqué project up. And as I sat here stitching, I thought back to the day that my auntie taught me how. How knowledge is so beautiful in the way that it is passed from person to person, generation to generation. Those are the best moments. Those teaching moments. When you learn something that changes your life. That rewrites a part of someone else's history into yours. Beautiful. What our hands can do. The things that we choose to reflect our hearts. 

I was so moved. I hope you have a moment today. One that reaches out to you and makes you pay attention and stop and absorb. Cause truly, those are the most vivid of memories when we look back aren't they? That we remember. 

Blessings. 

2015 - Finish Along

This year I want it to be the year of joining. After joining in the scrappy log cabin quilt along on Instagram (blogged here), I have come to realize how wonderful it is to join in with people while crafting.

I actually found out about the 2015 Finish Along on Instagram from one of the other ladies posting about her scrappylogcabin and I thought that this would be just the right sort of project to join along!

I have four Quarter 1 Goals:

1. I want to quilt and bind my scrappy log cabin quilt from the #scrappylogcabinQAL. I blogged about the finish top here.

 2. This project has been in my sewing basket for the longest time and I would love to finish it and start using it! My Hawaiian Appliqué potholder. This was one of the learner projects that I started on but when I started my Coming Home to Kuiippo quilt, it just got forgotten.

3. I want to utilize my scraps from making my scrappy log cabin quilt to make scrappy log cabin pin cushions using this pattern. I want to make three - one for me and two to be gifted!

4. I don't think that this will get quilted and finished in time, but a personal goal is to get the top done before quarter one ends. Perhaps I can quilt and bind it in quarter 2. This quilt is intended for my mom. She has been patiently waiting for it!

Well, those are my four goals for Quarter 1! I'm very excited to be joining in this project! =D

If you are interested in joining you can find out more information by pressing the button below!

First stitches

 Winter in Hawaii is officially here. The cold rains have come - making it ideal for hand quilting projects on the couch while Liam sleeps. Finally the last of my 2013 projects that followed me into 2014 are in the forefront of my attention. This is the project that I have been patiently waiting to begin. Eager yet also afraid.

My Coming Home To Kuiipo Quilt top is finally put together and and the first of the quilting stitches went in today. This quilt is the quilt that has documented so much of the past three years. I started appliquéing the blocks for this quilt shortly after Ross and I got married. The fabrics in this quilt themselves a time machine of different moments of ours lives. Our wedding. Our first Thanksgiving. The family that has loved and supported us. Each block representing a story - moments both sweet and sour. 

 The first block to begin is actually the first block that I appliquéd. The fabric used here was actually used to decorate for our wedding. The design is the crown flower... the flowers that Ross and his cousins picked so that my niece and flower girl Naomi would be able to toss them down the isle before I walked down to marry my best friend.

 Not having quilted with a hoop - or much by hand - I am telling myself that it is alright if the stitches are not perfectly spaced. The imperfections in the quilting, like the ones in the appliqué will tell the story of a beginning. Of a process. And that is alright.

It is raining today. The trade winds are blowing blowing blowing. My sweet baby is sleeping and I have soup simmering away on the stove. I am going to revel in this sweetest of moments and hand quilt while meditating on how blessed I am.

Happy Sewing everybody. Linking up to WIP Wednesday at freshly pieced 

Family Heirloom Quilt

I taught myself how to sew from tutorials on the internet a year and a half ago and have been so excited to continue to learn and grow with the completion of each project. So, with that being said - I didn't grow up with a quilting grandmother. But yesterday my husband's mother gave me the his old baby blanket that her mother had made him. It's a traditional hawaiian quilt - all made by hand. The appliqué is so beautiful and the echo stitching so even. I told my mother-in-law I was going to turn it into a wall hanging because I was too scared to use it and maybe even stain it in anyway. She kindly asked me to not hang it - but to use it for the coming baby. After thinking about it, I can see her point. Quilts that have so much love wrapped up in their work need to be used... It's almost a crime to not use them.  I think it passes on love and thoughtfulness to those who get to use it. I feel the same about my own quilts. I love seeing them being used. 

Although this quilt is already so special - it is made even more special seeing as how my husband's grandmother passed away this year. How extraordinary - even though she isn't with us anymore - love and warm wishes get passed onto this great grandchild of hers. 

The colors and fabric choices also speak of a different time. My husband's grandmother used whatever fabric was available. During her memorial a friend of hers said that she grew up in a hard way. She was the oldest of the siblings and had to take care of everyone. Thriftiness can be seen in her work. It's scrappy and beautiful. I am so honored and blessed to be a part of a craft that is able to pass on a heritage and love. I am super blessed to be in possession of this family heirloom. 

Do you have any stories about family heirloom quilts? 

finished project - the walker wall hanging

Ahhh... finally, the wall hanging that was started in the summer of 2013 is finished. A church friend from San Diego who had recently redone her living room asked me if I could make a wall hanging for her from fabrics she bought from Joanns and sent to me. She also asked if I could make it using patterns from the beach.

I have to admit that I did minimal quilting on this - I didn't do in much echo stitching. I was afraid if I did too much quilting on it, she would never get it seeing as how we are entering our third trimester next month.

But I'm happy with it, and I hope she is too. This counts as a real finish because I actually sent it out in the mail yesterday instead of holding onto it for months like I usually do with projects.

 I actually did my first wall hanging sleeve using this tutorial.   (Please don't mind the camera cord!) It was a really easy tutorial to follow. I did have to rip out several stitches at times when I first hand sewed the sleeve down because I was scrunching up the fabric too much and it was scrunching the front. I've learned that when hand sewing the sleeve down it's best to lay it on a flat surface and sew.

Below are a few reminiscent pictures of the process. Choosing from the bundle she sent me, matching threads for hand appliqué, prepping the squares for hand work, and finally, getting the top done. It was a fun journey, but I'm glad to be done. =)

Now a cup of tea.... mmmm creamy goodness. 

One from the stack of 2013 projects that followed me finished... ahhhh.... it's so motivating when a project gets finished! Ready to tackle the rest... which will be a while till the next finish considering I move at glacial speed... :sigh:

Happy sewing everyone! =)
K.

I've missed blogging...but baby has been growing =)

 Do you use the arm of your chair to hold your stuff too? =)

Hello once again! =) I feel like it has been so long since I've been able to have the heart or the energy to post anything. We are in our second trimester right now... 22 weeks to be exact. I haven't been up to working with my hands at all. As soon as I come home from work all I seemed to want to do was to take a nap. But... lately I've found these bursts of energy to work on the wall hanging for my friend, and it has been nice to cozy up on my big chair and watch my favorite netflik episodes while hand stitching.

The baby has been kicking up a storm lately... and tea and toast with my dad's homemade strawberry jam seem to be my favorite thing... as well as tuna sandwiches and pickles. =) Classic combos. First trimester was so different from the second. The first trimester everything made me sick or tired. Just breathing seemed to tire me out at times... but the second trimester has been so nice (other than the round ligament pain that hits me by surprise). My bump looks like a baby bump now instead of evidence of a Big Mac meal =)  and with the baby kicking and wiggling demanding attention and thoughts I can't help smiling. I wonder if the secret smile on my face is what everyone refers to when they say I'm gluing.

I find myself talking to baby more and more... wondering what it will be like. What things it will enjoy. I have been holding off on quilting projects for it because I want to wait for its personality to show me what it will like... although I have been searching the internet for a perfect diaper bag. =)

Isn't it wonderful how things change when seasons in life change? Transitions can be beautiful and wonderful and apprehensive all at the same time. I am looking forward to see what comes. =)