Another Color Test

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Oct 282017

Today at quilting class I assisted Dianna from Arizona in laying our her Coral and Fish design by John Serrao. She was unhappy with her colors of Peach on a very light Peach and had preferred a blue backing. I also preferred a blue backing so we scrambled in class and came back with two different color blues to compare the difference. But guess what happened everyone liked the peachy backing but I think a lighter blue than the ones shown would also work for the quilt. She’s still searching for the right backing. What do you think?

Echo or Definitive centers both are beautiful.

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May 162017

Loving Barbara’s stenciled center giving the quilt a more attractive middle.

Doing it right will save time and make your quilting easier.

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Feb 022017

Prepping your large quilt for quilting by layering your backing fabric, batting and top fabric can be overwhelming. Take your time and by using the grid basting procedure it will stop your batting from shifting and stop your quilt backing from puckering. Joyce the quilt is beautiful I can’t wait to see it quilted. Monsterra Design by John Serrao. Applique by Joyce Kuwada.

Color Matters – Quilting Class 11-07-15

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Nov 082015

11-08-15A 11-18-15B or does Color Matter – Traditionally it was always a dark color on a white or light background. Then with availability of more colors and fabrics the colors of quilts became more bright and vibrant. Today we use printed fabrics and batiks. Whatever the color choices are it never changes the patterns/designs their stories and traditions.

Basting your top

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Mar 222015

If you baste your quilt carefully the easier the applique and Don’t forget to baste the large areas of the designs. Basting by Mie.

Hawaiian Fan

Cherish Our Kupuna

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Mar 152015

When the years swiftly pass us by and our eyes and hands age with time the amazing quilting ladies of the palace always offer a helping hand for our kupuna. Thank you Naomi of Kobe Japan who is a certified instructor for cutting out “Our” Wilma’s quilt and for all the ladies who took the time from their own work to help lay-out and pin the quilt. Wilma now has another quilt to keep her busy. The Night Blooming Cereus designed by John Serrao.

Naomi Cutting out Wilma’s Quilt

Wilma & Naomi

Laying out the quater fold on the background fabric.

John helping to lay out the half design.

Sometimes you need the extra scrap of fabric that you cut out to refill in the design to lay it more precise.

The quilt at it’s full design and making some careful adjustments

Wilma and the Ladies.

Quilt Class 03-07-15 Show and Admire…. Quilts ready to be Appliqued

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Mar 082015

We love when our quilters are home for a short visit and it’s all about Oooh’s and Ahhhh’s. Love these ladies and miss them when they’re not here but they’ve been busy cutting and laying our their larger quilts. So beautiful. All quilts designed by John Serrao EXCEPT that beautiful Red and Blue and Orange and Red those two were designed in John’s design workshop by the quilter themselves.

The Paper Pattern

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Feb 112015

Paper Pattern After designing your pattern sometimes it’s a good idea to cut it out on paper first before cutting it out on fabric. That way you can see the full design, double check the size, and also make any changes.

When John first started designing he used masking tape to join newsprint paper to the size of the actual quilt. 45″ x 45″, 90″x 90″ even 108″ x 108″. He would then fold the large paper to it’s 1/8 fold and design the pattern. When that step was completed he had the ladies cut out the whole 1/8 paper pattern and then finding any open floor space opened the pattern to it’s full design(this was a great practice time to show the quilters how to lay out the quilt). At this time he and the ladies were able to see the pattern opened to its full design. We got our newsprint paper from Hawaii Hochi and purchased their end rolls. Today we use less paper and mirrors.

Awesome John and his Magic Pencils

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Feb 042015

The Monsterra a very popular Hawaiian quilt design because of its bold large leaves. Click on the graphic and watch John and his magic pencils create the actual design seen here. 45″ x 45″ Designed by John Serrao from the Poakalani Serrao Family Quilt Collection.