Ti Leaf

I have always admired Hawaiian quilts because the designs showcase the beauty of the islands.  Hawaiian quilts are made from one piece of solid colored cloth, folded and cut to create design that represents the flora and fauna of the Islands.  The whole cloth design piece is then sewed to a solid colored background using the needle-turned appliqué method.  The quilt is then finished with echo quilting.  The project is very labor intensive.

This example is from Eleanore Burns' Quilt In A Day Shop.

For centuries the Hawaiian people made bedcovers by pounding the inner bark from local trees into a soft cloth like substance called Kapa Moe, which were then decorated with geometric designs.  When cloth became available, the Hawaiian people developed their own unique style of quilting and these beautiful works of art replaced the traditional bedcovers.

This is an example of Kapa Moe from the Ho'okuleana blog.

We like to visit my husband's brother in Hawaii and each time we visit,  I think about learning the Hawaiian quilting technique.  This year was the year.  I purchased a pillow top kit at the Kapaia Stitchery shop, which included a ready to appliqué pillow top, a needle, thread and a book with instructions and many more patterns.  I am not a fan of appliqué so I hadn't done needle turned in my 40 years of quilting.  I was a little intimidated but the shop owner reassured me that I could do it.

I love the beach and swimming in the ocean so we logged in quite a few beach hours during our trip and my new project kept my hands busy while I lounged in the sun.  This activity didn't get in the way of visiting or listening to a good book on my iPad.  It's good to have hand work to pick up when you find yourself sitting around twiddling your thumbs.  Call me old fashioned but I'd much rather get something done than aimlessly surf the web on my phone.  By the time I am done with this block, I will be a master needle-turner and have a lovely pillow too.

 Linking to:  Let's Bee Social,  Midweek Makers, WIP, Finished or Not Friday , Off The Wall Friday, Can I Get A Whoop, Whoop,  Saturday Sparks, Show Off Saturday, Slow Stitchin Sunday, Oh Scrap, Creatively Crafty, Inspire Me Monday

The Splendid Sampler-Block 3

I thought I'd do a post about my progress with the Splendid Sampler Quilt Along.  Block 3 has lots and lots of little triangles.  Melissa Corry developed this block and she gives great sewing tips on her blog about how to put together all of the itty-bitty triangles.    You can find her blog post HERE.  

I think this would be a very hard pattern to do on a sewing machine.  I am glad I did it by hand.  It took a really long time but I was able to make most of my points match because I was sewing it by hand.

Melissa's suggestion that you iron all seams open is a very good one.  This 2-1/2 inch block would be very bulky if the seams were ironed to one side or the other. In addition, it allowed for accurate placement of the needle when joining points.  Having the needle go in through the seam at the 1/4" line and come out the seam on the other side, helped keep those points together. 

I pushed my needle through a this point and did a stitch to secure the thread.  I then sewed to the upper edge of the block and secured the thread.

Next, I did the same thing at the bottom of the heart and stitched to the starting point of my last seam.  I'm just not a good enough quilter to start at one end of the block and go to the other and get all of my points right. 

The finished (really little) block

 I did all of my blocks this way.  Starting my stitching where the points met.  There was a lot of starting and stopping!

 Melissa recommends using pins when you put the block together.  I don't think you could really put the block together without pins.  Having the open seams really helps place the pins at the points.  There is no bulkiness, which helps your sewing needle stay in place as it stitches along the line.  

 This is my final block.  The fabric combination makes it a little muddy, but I like it because the muddiness hides the little imperfections.  

This block was challenging, and I feel very good about the way it turned out.  The Splendid Sampler Quilt Along is really stretching my skills.  

Linking to:
BOM's Away, Show Off Saturday, Sunday Stash, Oh Scrap,