Summer in Hawaii! Good to be home in my studio listening to the surf while dreaming up and creating new designs. Lots of activity getting the studio enlarged and renovated for my 2013 workshops. There are 5 retreats scheduled in my studio in 2013 and they are filling up fast! I love to travel and teach, but it is great to share beautiful Hawaii with students right here in my studio.
“From Flowers to Fabric”
Upcoming Quilt Retreats in Sylvia’s Studio in Hawaii!
My From Flowers to Fabric 2013 Retreats are filling up! There are only a few spaces left in the February 11-15th retreat and in the April 15-19th retreat.
Remember, you can always gather a group of quilting friends and organize your own retreat tailored to your interests. I have two groups doing just that: a group from Alaska focusing on advanced design, and a group from Brisbane who will work with my mother Kitty in designing innovative quilts that combine Japanese fabric with sashiko.
$500
Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
Sign up today with a $100 deposit to reserve your space.
For more information or a brochure, please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions:
(808) 981-2681
sylvia40@sylviapippendesigns.com
New Workshops On the Horizon
Learn Tifaifai-Style Quilting!
I have two Tifaifai (Tahitian-Cook Island style quilting) workshops coming up. A group from Kauai is coming to my studio in January and October, on a cruise from Sydney to New Zealand. Tifaifai quilts are cut much like Hawaiian quilts, and are highly embellished with embroidery. I’m experimenting with different techniques to speed up the process of appliqué so we can concentrate on the fun part—the embroidery. It may sound incongruous (wool in the tropics?) but I am using felted wood to good effect with the Tahitian-inspired designs. The wool can be tacked down with glue baste and the edges buttonhole-stitched with variegated thread. Wool is a dream to embroider—it has a lovely feel and the needle and thread glides through with almost no resistance. I am going to experiment next with felted wool and sashiko with some Northwest Indian designs.
JUST RELEASED: Pheasants Sashiko Kit
Third design in the Chinese Bird Series!
14″ x 14″ design screened on Indigo Moda Marbles panel.
$21.00
Click here to order!
ALSO NEW! Albatross Sashiko Kit
Second in the Chinese Bird Series!
14″ x 14″ design screened on Indigo Moda Marbles panel.
$21.00
Click here to order!
JUST RELEASED: Seahorse Sashiko Kit
Another design in our Blue Sea Life Series!
18″ x 18″ panel screened on Moda Marbles.
$21.00
Click here to order!
JUST RELEASED: Moon & Waves Design
Moon & Waves Sashiko and Appliqué Kit
This 16″ x 23¼” wall hanging features sashiko waves appliquéd over a beautiful printed sunset fabric.
Kit includes: Indigo fabric for background, borders and binding, sunset fabric for the moon, graduated inner border fabric, sashiko thread, pattern, and instructions.
Fabric Kit
$42.00
Click here to order the fabric kit!
Pattern Only
$10.50
Click here to order pattern!
NEW PRODUCT: Sashiko Design Book
200 Design Motifs Especially Adapted for Sashiko
The Sashiko Design Book is selling well! We are cooking up plans to write another book of my mother Kitty Pippen’s Japanese Silk Quilts that have never been published before. The book will describe in detail how to work with silk, and will feature a gallery of over 35 fabulous quilts. It will be a collaboration between myself, my son Brian, a graphic artist, and Kitty.
$20.00
Click here to order!
COMING SOON: Koala in Eucalyptus Design
This is the first in a series of Australian animals, designed for my cruise from Sydney to New Zealand in January 2013. The Koala was inspired by a photo I took at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia. The quilt is complete and I will be releasing the pattern and kits soon!
ON SALE! Big Island Bird Patterns
I need to clear my shelves for new patterns!
9 different Hawaiian birds and fruits designed with Sashiko and Appliqué.
Buy one or collect them all!
Now ON SALE for only $5.00 each!
Click here to order!
For other products, please visit
www.sylvia-pippen.com
or contact Sylvia at
P.O. Box 2201
Keaau, HI
96749
Telephone: (808) 981-2681 or (808) 443-8420
I am back from a wonderful teaching trip to Spokane Washington; our first workshop focused on sashiko and my Sea Life series, adding just a bit of applique for sparkle. The next day we worked on tropical flowers from my Tropical Sashiko Sampler series. I gave two trunk shows; WSQG is so big they need to have an afternoon and evening meeting! Such an enthusiastic vibrant guild. Thank you to all who made my trip so smooth and enjoyable, especially Ginger and Kathy. Ginger took me to 5 quilt stores, so I came home with full suitcases and a new stack of exciting fabrics.
Back home, we are in the middle of major reconstruction to enlarge my studio and living space upstairs. The windows are in, siding up, and it is looking spectacular! The studio will be big, airy, and very bright and we will have space for massive feasts upstairs.
My Hawaii retreats for 2013 are filling up! Indigo Niche, my Australian distributor, is bringing 12 quilters from the Brisbane area on February 18-22th. Another group from Perth is coming on April 14-19th, and I am holding an advanced design class from March 4-8 with a group from Alaska. There are still plenty of spaces in the February 11-15th retreat. I am home for the summer with no teaching obligations until the fall, so I am going to concentrate on new designs. Here is a new quilt my mother put together from a series of Chinese Indigo Sashiko Bird designs. The Two Owls is a popular kit; I will release more in the series this summer.
The Sashiko Design Book is selling well! We are busy keeping ahead of the demand. I am contemplating making up the Moon and Wave design from the book into a fabric kit.
From Flowers to Fabric March 5-9, 2012 Hawaii Retreat
Aloha,
We just finished two wonderful 5-day retreats in my studio! A big mahalo/thank you to all of my students for a fun inspirational time together. The trip to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden was great—so many creative original designs as a result! I will be posting a student gallery so you can all see the finished quilts…
February 28th—March 2nd, 2012 From Flowers to Fabric Retreat
Just finished a wonderful 3 day retreat at Eagle Heights Mountain Resort, with a spectacular view of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Indigo Niche set the stage, provided all the supplies and took care of every detail so all I had to do was concentrate on teaching! Hats off to Sue and Colleen for taking such good care of us, so we could get on with the fun, fellowship, and creativity. I am so proud of everyone for taking my sashiko and appliqué techniques and running with it, pushing your own comfort zone to create exciting one-of-a-kind quilts. A hui ho, until we meet again…
Aloha! We finished 5 days at the Brisbane Quilt and Craft show; it was very successful and I got to meet so many lovely quilters, many who will be in my classes in the next 3 weeks. Sashiko is not as well known in Australia and my non-traditional combination of sashiko and appliqué was well-received. The two Australian Wildflower quilts definitely caught alot of attention! I am already designing a quilt of the floral emblems of Australia.
We are packed up and ready to head out to Tamborine Mountain for a 4-day retreat. Sue and David Howie have been hosting me in their beautiful apartment right on the river in Brisbane, within walking distance of downtown. Fantastic people, friendly city. I went to several galleries and the museum to see aboriginal art and caught a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth who was in town on a tour!
Peter and Nora are keeping the home fires burning and the business running smoothly while I travel. Thank goodness for the internet and Skype!
I have made a wonderful contact in New Zealand with Barrie Ashton who is the manager for Wonderful Specialty Threads.
I just finished 8 fabulous days of teaching with Jan Cornish, of Clifton Creations, in Western Australia. Jan is a fabric colorist, using non-toxic Australian-made Radiance paints. Our workshops started with each student hand-coloring their fabric for their appliquéd Australian wildflower. The results were stunning! I am very excited about incorporating hand-painted and dyed fabric into future designs. Jan and I are already booking more workshops for 2013 in Australia!
We spent a week along the coast in Jurien Bay, where we taught for 4 days, in between wandering the immese and stunningly beautiful landscape wildflower viewing. This is one of the biodiverse hotspots on the earth and the variety of wildflowers is incredible.
In a few days, I will off to Brisbane and 17 days of teaching for my distributor, Indigo Niche. I am very excited about the seeing a bit of Queensland and the flowers on the east side. I will be at the Brisbane Quilt and Craft show for 5 days; afterwards I’ll be off to the Tamborine Mountains for a retreat, and then I’ll be teaching for the Queensland Quilt Guild and Indigo Niche.
As I travel, I am dreaming of new quilt designs, meeting fabulous quilters, discovering new methods, and making new friends.
Essex is a linen and cotton blend perfect for sashiko. The thread count is loose enough to easily pull sashiko thread through it, but it has a sturdy yet soft and drapy hand. Give it a try! $11.00 a yard. Listed under “Supplies.”
Try a quality Fons and Porter White Mechanical Fine-Line Pencil. It produces a clean fine line for very accurate marking on dark fabric. Comes with replacement leads. Listed under “Supplies.” $14.00
A new Sashiko Kit in time for the holidays! This Sashiko Scissors kit includes everything you need to make a unique and attractive gift: 6 sashiko designs to choose from, batiks and other fabrics for the backing, lining and binding, batting, assembly instructions, white pattern transfer paper, white sashiko thread, needles, and a button. Fabrics will vary; kit includes enough fabric for one scissors kit. $26.00
Kona indigo cotton by Robert Kaufman is a very sturdy high quality cotton perfect for sashiko and applique backgrounds. The indigo is very rich and dark, contrasting beautifully with white sashiko thread. $6.00 per yard.
Aloha, I am adding another “From Flowers to Fabric” retreat in my Studio!
Because of so much response, I’ve added a second retreat! I hope you can join us…
Upcoming Retreats:
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Feb. 27-March 2, 2012
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March 5-9, 2012
From Flowers to Fabric
How to Design Tropical Quilts combining Sashiko and Appliqué
Come join us in Sylvia’s Studio by the Sea and design a unique quilt inspired by the flamboyant flowers of the tropics! No drawing experience needed. This is a chance to learn simple design concepts and make your own one-of-a-kind quilt in a supportive relaxing and fun atmosphere. Learn how to compose with your digital camera, printer, tracing paper, and translate your design into a vibrant tropical quilt. For inspiration, we will visit the exquisite 40-acre Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden at Onomea Bay (www.htbg.com) and photograph plant combinations guaranteed to inspire your creativity. I will give a brief botanical tour and point out flowers that would translate well into appliqué and foliage shapes for sashiko. We will also stop at our wonderful quilt stores in Hilo for a walkabout to look at fabrics—and of course, to shop.
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
Back in my studio, we will download and print your best photos in black and white so you can study the shape and form without being distracted by color. The next step is to trace and size your flowers and foliage using my copy machine and then make a final design layout with layers of tracing paper. I will have lots of reference photos, books, drawings of flowers and foliage, and all of my patterns for you to use.
From your rough design, I will show you how to capture the essence of a flower and its foliage, find its best aspect, and simplify shapes for appliqué and sashiko. Once you have your design, we will explore how to fussy cut fabric to make dimensional and luminescent flowers. You are welcome to delve into my applique stash.
We will cover pattern transfer, sashiko techniques, my favorite press over heat-resistant Mylar appliqué method, how to create invisible appliqué stitches, and tips on finishing quilts.
Workshops run from 9-4 with a break for a big local fresh food gourmet lunch. I will demonstrate techniques in the morning and help you individually the rest of the time. I have most of the supplies you will need, so you can keep your suitcases light. We have a wonderful B&B two blocks from my studio—the Ala Kai (alakaibb.com)—where you can stay as well, as many vacation rentals. You are welcome to work as late as you want in the studio or leave early to sightsee or shop for fabric.
For more information and a brochure: sylvia40@sylviapippendesigns.com
808 981-2681
After 12 reprints over 10 years, my mother’s very popular book, Quilting with Japanese Fabrics has gone out of print. The book is a compilation of Kitty’s extraordinary quilts using traditional cotton and silk Japanese textiles, her design concepts, and a collection of great projects. I have a limited number to release, so act fast!
Cost: $26.00 plus shipping
