Ipad case

 This is an ipad case that I made for my brother Glenn.  It measures 10 x 7 for an ipad that measures 9 x 6.  It is made with thick denim and microfiber.  Yes.  Not the usual fabrics that I am used to.

 There is a strip of black Velcro on the bottom of the case to secure the cover.  This was hard to sew on since I had to scrunch the completed case onto the base of the sewing machine.  I was able to sew two straight lines.  The ends of the Velcro were hand stitched to secure it.

 I did not put the top of the loop Velcro on the top of this because the microfiber was loopy enough to catch the bottom portion.  If you notice the inside is not straight across.  There is a scoop to allow for easier access to the ipad.  Larry gave me this idea.  He said it should be like an envelope with access from the long side instead of the wider side.  Details.  Details.  I stitched around the top flap with black thread on top and lime green thread in the bobbin.

This was all my brothers idea to use the denim since it is such a durable material.  The microfiber inside will keep the ipad clean.  I was planning to make him a handmade hexagon case with the leftover Japanese fabrics from the Cranes quilt.  I had already started on it when he gave me the denim and microfiber.  Oh well.  Maybe I'll still finish the hexagon case.

Cranes at Sunset

 Cranes at Sunset measures 60 x 65.  It is made with fabrics from the Temari Bolts of Fabric sale, my Moms stash and Japanese fabric from Bernice.  There are Ikats, Kasuri, Handwovens, indigo and other small pieces of fabrics.  I think the variety of color against the dark blue background makes the color just pop.

 Here is a closeup.

 Yes the points do not match.  Oh well.  I was lucky to get the pattern from a friend of a friend who took the class from Karen Matsumoto.  The pattern did not have instructions, so I just started cutting away and sewing to what I thought it should look like.

I made a template out of plastic to the size that the block should be.  As you can see, I was off a little here and there.  I cut all the pieces to the same size and sewed them all together.

The greens, reds and yellow pieces were sorted to look like birds in flight.  The border and binding comes from a bolt of kasuri.  The backing fabric is also a Japanese kasuri that used the whole bolt.  The batting came from the Temari sale and was about an inch thick.  I think it was a cotton polyester blend.  The quilting is stitch in a ditch around all the birds and triangles.  I highlighted the border fabric to show the undulating curves in the fabric pattern.  This quilt was given to Bernice to thank her for the beautiful Japanese fabrics that she gave me.

Bon Dance

Sorry this is out of focus.  This is a quilt that I made from the Temari Bolts of Fabric sale.  The fabrics were in 2 plastic bags with other fabrics from I'm guessing the 70s and 80s.  The feel of the fabric is of a soft polished cotton.  I was able to piece the large pieces together to make this top.  First I pieced the middle yellow green and peach section.  Then I mitered the corners of the strips of 3 yellow green and orange colors.

I pieced the purple blue green section together.  Then I mitered the corners of the strips of 3 pink green and blue colors.  I love the vibrant colors.

 This is the back of the Bon Dance quilt.

There was a box of Bon Dance towels with names of the different missions where Bon Dances are held in Hawaii.  Soto Mission is where my Aunt Ethel dances.  My Mom is from Waialua and she has family who dance in the Waipahu area, so I put those in the middle of the piece.

My mom said not to put a batting in the middle as it would make it too hot.  I did put muslin in the middle to separate the colorful front from the back.  This measures 67 x 55.  This will be a gift to my Uncle James.

June Hirano

 These are some of the pieces that June Hirano made using Japanese fabrics and stitching them together with sashiko stitches.  She uses sashiko thread mostly white but also different colors to accent certain areas.  She talked about Mottainai or the Japanese term for recycle or reusing old or things you would normally discard and repurposeing them.

 I was able to attend a presentation that June gave at the Trash to Treasures sale that Temari had last month.  June finds her fabrics from trips to Japan and years of searching for Treasures at Temari sales.  She recently gave a workshop "Sashiko:Repair and Remake" with June Hirano at the Hawaii Japanese Center in Hilo this past weekend on June 3.  Unfortunately, I didn't want to fly to Hilo. 

 This was a densely stitched jacket that she made.  Much like the Japanese firefighters jackets.

This was a blouse that she found at a Uniqlo shop where she added a small rectangle of kasuri and some sashiko stitching.  I've always found it hard to use the Japanese fabrics that I have in clothing.  She makes it look so easy to make.  I've heard that she offers a class about how to use Japanese fabrics in clothing.  Hopefully one day, I will be able to attend it.