Quilting Practice

I've been practicing my quilting on this little table topper.  I'm fortunate to have the BSR foot for my Bernina that keeps all the stitches uniform, even if my quilting isn't.  I used 50 wt. Aurifil Thread on the top and bobbin.  I made loops, swirls, curves and stipple.  It was fun!

I think I'll mix up the thread on the next one I do.

It's not perfect but you know what?  You can't tell when it's all done.








The finished version to come.  Talk to you soon!

Tracey

Surf's Up!

Here are the last of my Hawaii pictures, I promise.  We headed up to the North Shore to stay at Turtle Bay for the last few days of our trip.  It was wonderful!!  We upgraded to an Ocean Front Cottage (it was in between Pro Bowl and Spring  Break and they had a great deal).  

Here's the view - Awesome:

We then headed over to Haliewa to watch some surfing.  Recognize the 11 Time World Surfing Champion?  

Kelly Slater.

We watched him until it got dark.  He's amazing.

Some random pics from the North Shore.  I highly recommend it!

Sewing pictures to come.  I finished the baby quilt and it's off to be quilted.  I'm quilting the little table topper that I made at Christmas.

More later!  Have a great day!

Tracey

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Have a wonderful day!

Tracey

Hawaiian Fabric

Of course you know I couldn't go to Hawaii and NOT go to a quilt store.  How silly if you thought I could.  Our cousin, Audrey, and I packed it up Wednesday morning and with the help of my trusty Quilt Store app and the internet, we set out in search of some fabric.  Surprisingly, there aren't a lot of quilt stores on Oahu. My little app said there were several but sadly, a couple of them had closed.   Our first stop was Fabric Mart.  A big warehouse like store with rows and rows of Hawaiian fabric.  Here's what I bought.  I ended up mailing it all home because it made our luggage too heavy for the return trip.  LOL!

Next stop was The Calico Cat in Honolulu.  The lady that helped me, Carol, was super nice.  She was working on one of these Sashiko panels, which I bought.

Of course you need thread!  This store was filled with all kinds of Japanese thread.  I picked two to start this panel.

And, of course, I couldn't leave Hawaii without turtle fabric.

There is a lovely legend of the turtle or Honu in Hawaii (from an article called The Struggle of the Ancients by Veronica S. Schweitzer):
"In Hawaii, legend tells about a green sea turtle, Kauila, who could change herself into a girl to watch over the children playing at Punalu'u Beach on the Big Island. When Kauila's mother dug her nest, a fresh water spring surged upward, quenching the children's thirst. Kauila is the "mythical mother" of all turtles, and perhaps of our children as well. It's also said that turtles were the guides for the first voyagers to Hawaii."


More to come!  Have a great day.
Tracey

A Beautiful Place

After a very long 9 hour flight from Atlanta, we arrived in Honolulu.  DVS' cousin picked us up and promptly gave us a tour of Hickam Air Force Base and then over to Ford Island on Pearl Harbor (which is where he and his wife are stationed).   

All photos by Dan Van Slyke, Jr.

 

 The base housing on Ford Island is wonderful.  The homes are only a couple of years old and almost everyone has a water view.  The tower in the second picture has recently been restored and almost everything on this island is historical.  A lot of the hangars on both Ford Island and Hickam have been left as is, even the bullet holes are still there since that fateful day in 1941.  It's really, really something to see.

We were fortunate to get tickets to the Pro Bowl on Sunday so we headed over the stadium early.  Two of our players, Maurice Jones-Drew and Montell Owens, along with our team mascot and one of cheerleaders, Heather, made the trip out.

Montell Owens

Maurice Jones-Drew

Our mascot, Jaxson, with his coconut bra, having some fun with the NFC kicker.

Jaxson, with his clothes on.

Heather on the big screen (she's the one in teal).

Ok, more to come!  Back soon.
Tracey

Aloha!!

Can you guess where I've been?  Yep, just got back from Hawaii or as the locals say "Havaii".  I have lots of pictures to share and when DVS is done processing them, I'll be giving you a little tour of our little tour.  But for now, here's a little tease:

Photo by Tracey Van Slyke

Back soon!

Tracey