But wait! There’s more! Hawaiian quilt block explosion!

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I hope you’re not tired of looking at colorful Hawaiian quilt blocks!  Anita Goodesign and I have been busy in the studio.  The colors are popping!

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For some reason, parts of this turquoise block remind me of whale tails.  The ones in the ocean.  This blue batik actually has a fish design in it, disguised by the appliqué process.

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This color is difficult to photograph, just can’t seem to capture the beautiful periwinkle coloring.  I love the way the sawtooth leaves come together at the seams and look like the teeth on a man-eating plant!

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This orangish-red was screaming out to become what looks like anthuriums in this block.  Or maybe it’s clubs and hearts from a deck of cards?

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Both of the green blocks I’ve made so far just blow me away.  The batiks are more beautiful as appliqués than they are as yardage.  I didn’t think that was possible!

What’s your favorite block so far?  Any opinions?  Here, I’ll let you review the others…

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Coming up next, orange.  And purple.  Cathy loves purple.

Pineapples and hibiscus join the Hawaiian quilt party!

The pineapple block is ready for it’s debut! DSCN5748 Doesn’t it look juicy?  And look at the little smiles at the bottom of each fruit!  Also making an entrance today… DSCN5747 The lovely pink hibiscus!  I also managed to stitch together the blocks for the red and blue designs, whatever the heck they are. DSCN5746 DSCN5749 I was tempted to just sit around on my laurels, basking in the glow of my ribbon from the quilt show.  With it comes great fame and glory, you know.  Talk show offers, world summits, ringing the closing bell at the stock exchange.  All that good stuff.  But no, I just got right back to work on my projects. DSCN5745 I have hired a security detail, however, and put my Hawaiian quilt blocks under the watchful eye of this Chinese soldier.  Not that my success is going to my head or anything…

Be gentle, it’s my first: Mark Twain and all his little friends are ready to go public!

I am entering a quilt in the Kauai Quilt show!

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I’ve never entered a quilt in a show.  I’ve only been quilting for a couple of years, so I guess that’s not surprising.

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I call my quilt “How Did I Get Here?”  It’s like a pictorial representation of the places in the US where I have lived and learned.  How cute is little Mark Twain in the corner of Missouri?  I hope I haven’t seen the end of Mark Twain’s head on my quilts.  That one is going to take a lot of thought.

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I’m pretty sure that embroidering the state of Minnesota is the only opportunity I will have to make a gopher.  Unliess I decide to do a Caddyshack quilt some day.  What the heck would that look like?

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Hawaii is actually the first one I did of the states.  When I started this one, I didn’t have a plan for a quilt, and certainly not a thought of making a quilt for a show.  Everything just snowballed from here.  Or erupted from here.

The designs are all from the 50 States collection by Anita Goodesign.  I love using their designs; so detailed and perfect.  Each state took me a full day to embroider.  And I have half of a Missouri sitting around somewhere.

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These small state outlines are from Urban Threads, another awesome source for machine embroidery designs.

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I listed all the most important places in my life using the lettering in my Destiny.  It’s hard to tell in this photo, the thread is a variegated blue/white.

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I like my little appliqué cornerstones.  There are two Hawaii’s on the bottom.

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The gorgeous stars and stripes are from another Anita Goodesign set called Free Motion Frenzy.  Gotta love anything with the name Frenzy.

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I just had to use this red and white Hawaiian print on the back.  And look at that adorable blue and white check I found for the binding!

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I have to finish sewing the hanger thingie on the back, and I want to make a quilt label for it.  No pressure, it’s due tomorrow at 10am.

What do you think of my first show quilt?  I don’t have any expectations.  I am just thrilled to have put together something that means so much to me.  And I think it’s cute.

Lonely no more, the Hawaiian quilt block gets some new friends!

I was busy this weekend.

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Destiny was embroidering like a maniac!  The sections still need to be sewn together, but I managed to stitch out all four parts for each of the red and blue quilt blocks.  The vibrant colors are making me so happy!

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I continue to be amazed at the stitch quality of my Destiny.  It is so consistent and lovely.

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The designs in this Hawaiian Quilt pack by Anita Goodesign are amazing.  That company provides such consistent high-quality projects!  I’m going to need a big pile of blocks for a king-size quilt.

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Notice my solo pineapple square?  I ran out of embroidery thread  after this one.  Oops.  Well, that and I screwed up another two of them.  So we’ll call this one a work-in-progress.

I was working on organizational items in my studio between thread changes on my machine.  This week I will be moving my sewing studio upstairs to a much bigger space.  Unfortunately, this will involve a bunch of dudes with big muscles.  So that’s a wild card.  I’ll be spending my days prepping, unloading bookcases, carrying supplies, and generally wearing myself out without a lot of creativity to show for it.

My small space always looks like a bomb has exploded in it, so I’m looking forward to my bigger spot.  My issue is sure to be the one facing all of us with large fabric collections…storage.  I’ll keep you posted.

Does anyone else see a Hawaiian quilt in my future? I think it’s my Destiny.

Look what happened at my house on Friday!

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The first block of my Hawaiian quilt is in the bag, and I am thrilled.  I’m using an Anita Goodesign embroidery collection called…wait for it…Hawaiian Quilt.  My plan is to use a variety of fun batik fabrics and make it really colorful.

I had three of these four sections completed when my sewing machine decided to have a spa visit.  The good news here is that I had actually saved my design in the machine memory!  I was able to complete the partially stitched section without a hitch.

Wondering what was up with my Babylock Destiny?  Just a big hairball – well, a thread tangle.  A spool of thread I had used previously kept shredding and breaking.  Some of that thread got caught up inside and built a nest in the machine.  Thanks to the clever and talented repair department at my dealer for solving that issue!

Destiny and I are resuming our love affair right where we left off.

See if you can guess which of the Seven Dwarfs I am thinking about.

Nothing screams out “what a classy joint!” like a covered tissue box.

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I think this is hilarious.  Valentine themed kleenex cover.  You know this is right up my alley.  I swear I am going to make a different theme for every season and holiday.

This random, and admittedly odd, obsession started in December when I went to an Anita Goodesign embroidery workshop.  One of the projects on the disk we got was a snowman.  A snowman tissue cover.  I knew it must be mine.

Then I longed for options.  I can’t possibly keep my tissues covered with a snowman year ’round!  As if the cosmos were answering, Anita Goodesign came out with a disk of seasonal kleenex covers.  Not kidding.  Err mer gawsh.  I hope you’re wearing your patient pants, because you don’t get to see the next one until after Valentine’s Day.

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While this little gem was merrily stitching away on my Destiny, I was multi-tasking.  I started cutting out and glue-basting the last round for my first rosette in the New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt-Along.  Katja, you little minx, are you excited to see what came out of my collection?

So remember, my crafty friends, if you are looking for a well dressed kleenex…I am your go-to gal.