Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Aloha III


This third and last of the Aloha "Series" features appliquéd whales and turtles from Hawai'i.






The hand-dyed batiks for both the whale and turtle mini-quilts originated from my favorite quilt shop, Kapaia Stitchery on Kauai.  Browse the shop yourself at www.kapaia-stitchery.com.
The whales swim in an ocean made from 1 inch strips of batiks, with the hues darkening as the whales swim deeper. The turtles meander in a very calm strip of blue tonal batik. 



The quilting is free-motion curls to represent swirling water on both of these mini-quilts.
My husband and I love to snorkel, especially on Maui.  Not only have we swam with whales and turtles, but a school of dolphin as well on the Big Island.  Once while snorkeling close to shore on Maui we caught a strange deep-ocean current which brought millions of shrimp and a large manta ray. 







Last but not least is a quilt whose pattern is aptly entitled Ocean Waves, quilted in varying shades to emulate ... well ... ocean waves.  I've entitled it Sand and Surf.  It just makes you want to take off your shoes and dip your toes into the water.





I free-motion quilted curls again on this quilt, the same as the mini-quilts.  It just seemed the right application.  I also changed the thread color to suit the fabric.  Which thread?  What else but King Tut, a luxurious variegated cotton.









What do you do with a few leftover triangle square units when a project is done?  You make a matching pillow!

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Hawaii with me!  Certainly, it's something we all can do when we quilt with batiks.

And for those of you interested in my Grand Re-Opening in my new studio, keep frequenting my blog for information on the date, hopefully this August or September.

Until then, Aloha!


Ponderosa Patchworks no ka oi!

1 comment: