money well spent

Are there any recommendations for a stamp pad with fabric ink?

kauai, part 2

The fabric was wonderful.

kauai, part 1

This is going to be a long journey, so I'm breaking it up into manageable pieces. First, I want to share the stores that I visited.

My hubby, Jasen, deserves credit for his patience. He was my willing guide around the island, taking me from the Southside to the Northside and even visiting the same store TWICE. He took all my storefront photos, while I perused the inside of the stores. That's love.



Vicky's Fabric Shop
(808) 822-1746
4-1326 Kuhio Hwy
Kapaa, HI
Located on the right side of the road, if you're heading North. Don't blink....you might miss it. It passes by quickly. This was my first stop and where I found my bikini print. Vicky's Fabric Shop is great. The girls are friendly and Vicky, herself, will tell you of how she moved to Kauai years ago, from LA. I found great Hawaiian prints and some awesome Amy Butler and Alexander Henry. She also has quilts for sale, along with patterns for authentic Hawaiian quilts.





Discount Fabric Warehouse
(808) 246-2739
3-3215 Kuhio Hwy # 9
Lihue, HI
The Discount Warehouse is a must-go. I spent the most time there and found some great stuff. I bought two Heather Ross prints and some great japanese fabrics. The ladies are wonderful and one, who I never got her name, was so helpful in discussing machine shopping. They have quite a huge variety of machines set up and my new friend gave my loads of advice. The prices are fantastic and when you consider sales tax is only 5% you may want to think about making a purchase and having it shipped home. I considered this.....for a moment.
The store was a little difficult to spot. We passed it twice. It's on the right side if you're travelling South. The shop in front is Two Frogs Hugging. It's a teak furniture store. It may be easier to look for that.



Kapaia Stitchery
(808) 245-2281
3-3551 Kuhio Hwy
Lihue, HI
How cute is this storefront? You won't miss it, so I won't bother to tell you which side of the street it's on. Beautiful quilts hang in the windows, the patterns for them can be purchased inside. At Kapaia Stitchery I found most my Hawaiian prints, Amy Butler, and some other fun prints. There were so many handmade items that I wanted to buy, but I refrained. My husband only has so much patience and it had started pouring "cats and dogs" while I was shopping.
I was inspired by one of their window displays... "The Postcard Quilt". I decided not to buy the pattern, so I could make something a little different from what they displayed. Mine will be smaller, more my sized. I did buy the bundles that were so perfectly matched up for "The Postcard Quilt".

Fabric shopping in Kauai, just my style.

home sweet home

It was hard leaving Kauai......I've heard it described as "God's playground" and "Nature's Disneyland". Both are true. I got some great photos......around 1000. It'll take some time to edit that amount of inventory.

Until I can post more, I'll post a photo of my favorite purchase. I visited 3 fabric stores and found some great japanese prints, some Amy Butler, Heather Ross, and much, much more. My favorite purchase was of this japanese bikini print. I'm pretty sure one of the bikinis is inspired by my favorite print, Mocca, by Alexander Henry. I bought one fq on my first visit, then went back and bought the last fq's in the store. They only had 3 more.......

heather ross at joann's

She's there. Check the quilting bundles.....I brought my coupons and "competitors" coupons. These were the only prints I found at my local JoAnn's, but I'm sure they differ by store. Let me know if you find any others.

*be sure you look at the pre-cut BUNDLES. They're $9.99 (coupons!!!) and come with 3 HR FQ and 2 other prints*

switching gears

I haven't been spending much time with my sewing machine, but I did manage to start some string blocks. I'm using this tutorial, from Ashley, to do so. Let me tell you, this is my favorite project, thus far. Because I'm just doing a block at a time and using paper piecing for the first time.....I'm really liking this.

Always intrigued with social events of any kind, I joined a swap. It's a placemat swap. Check out some of the inspirational photos. My swap partner is Chen, of Mushyhed's Sweatshop. She is so stinkin' adorable! I'm so lucky to have been matched with this girlie.

As the title states.....I'm "switching gears". Our family is off to Kauai in 6 days and I'm down to the grind. It's time to concentrate on miles and calories instead of thread and fabric. Fortunately, I have an awesome husband who will take me fabric shopping while we're on vacation, so I'm not giving up my fun altogether. I've done my research and found that Kauai is blessed with loads of Japanese fabrics. I'll be happy to report the truth of this matter when I return.

Aloha!

done!

Whew! It's only the second day of a three day weekend and I've had a blast. We've been on the road for soccer all weekend. I was able to complete my mom's gift in the car yesterday. I washed it this morning. It's wonderful.


I visited an out-of-town JoAnn's and found my favorite......Mocca, by Alexander Henry (pictured on left). I bought the rest of the bolt. A little over 4 yards.

My husband was nice enough to take me here, where I found some Lush, Alexander Henry Seagulls that I've been dying to buy, and some other great finds.




Soccer was good, but I'm looking forward to a day at home. Tomorrow I will begin binding this.

What to do next? That Buttercup Bag looks fun and has been on my "to do" list for quite some time.

that was fast

My order arrived! Check out the "goods".

thrift store score

I love these vintage (at least I think they're vintage) fabrics I found at a thrift store. For 95 cents I got a bag of multiple precut fabrics in the cutest patterns. I love the kids playing jump rope and the kitties. So, what do I do with so many amazing fabrics? Make buttons, of course!

On a sadder note, I started quilting my project improv quilt last week. It didn't go so well. I decided to get fancy and try a spiral square pattern.......no good. My fabric gathered and buckled and made me cry. Elizabeth, from oh, Fransson, advised that I could carefully remove my stitches and start over, it would make me happy when I had a better looking project. She's right. My "pro" long-arm quilter advised the same thing and allowed me to borrow her super sharp scissors. It looks like I have a long night ahead. Bummer.

***4/14-I just got back from the quilt store. My daughter saw something that I had missed in all my visits. The cute kitty fabric in a yellow!!! Apparently, it's not vintage, it's Robert Kaufman! Ha, ha.....and now I wonder if any of those great scraps are vintage.***

happy day

March 21st is National Quilting Day! Happy quilting to you......

a lesson in color

Oh, Fransson! has posted a wonderful explanation in color schemes. This is the second part in the "quilt along", but could be useful for any art. I will refer to this post in any room redo or even garden planning. The pictures in this post are bright and beautiful.
I can't wait to get my fabric.......I've been e-mailed that it's on it's way, but I had to purchase from four sellers. Hopefully, all the packages arrive around the same time, so I can check my palette as referenced in the color post.