Amtrak NY Penn Station to Pittsburgh

I'm back on Maui. Getting settled in and reacquainted with everyday life while working.

I did accomplished much when I was in New Jersey, and I could have done more, but it was just nice to chill.

I had hopes of working on the follow up paperwork for the sorbet, which has still been kept active, on the train ride to and then from Pittsburgh, but I just sat back, watched the scenery blur by, took in the mini-dramas of the passengers surrounding me in their seats; I packed my own food so I ate as I pleased and truly feel the 18-hour round-trip from NY - Pittsburgh was overall relaxing.

I went to teach at the Airport Sewing Center the projects I had posted in my June 02 post Recent Projects. I'll post pics from the class and a turtle embroidery in the process of being sewn out in my next post.

These pics were taken through the tinted window of the passenger train.

Leaving Pittsburgh train station

These smoke stacks were part of a nuclear power facility

Red car, red house, gold gilded church roof

 The stripes were created when the mothership landed and deposited the circular alien pods

Stripes 

 Crossing the Susquehanna River on a mile-long bridge

I see a muppet-like tree monster a la Sendak

Philadelphia

Then it was on to Trenton, Newark and New York Penn Station; the subway to the port Authority bus terminal and on to New Jersey to crash...

Recent Projects

I've been constructing away at projects I need for a demo I'll be doing at the end of June at the Airport Sewing Center. That's where the Hula Doll embroidery originates from, in essence, and the embroidery is the focus of the art, and here it is shown with designs from the Hula Dolls collection.

Hula Doll Embroidery with Mylar Fiber Skirt shown as a Wall Hanging. The pattern can also be modified to make a 16" Pillow.

 In the side garden

Studio shot: Shown with embroidered flip-flop (bottom right) and Seed Bead Starfish pins

Standard-Size Pillowcases, Hula Dolls collection

 Origami Fabric Hawaiian Shirts

Fabric scraps torn into strips and knit

Standard-Size Pillow case using the Bottles and Hocus Pocus (glow-in-the-dark) prints from APOTHESCARY and a trim of Glow-in-the-Dark Fairy Frost

Shave Ice Bucket Hats reverses to corduroy with reverse seams

PARADISE COVE

The Paradise Cove collection has been released! The complete story, merchandised in three parts: Mermaids, Flamingos and Dolphins, is shown below and if you click in the link, it will take you to the Michael Miller Fabrics website page that shows the collection along with Hula Dolls. There you will be able to see how wonderfully these two collections mix-and-match and expand the possibilities of using them together!

MERMAIDS OF HANA BAY

Mermaids of Hana Bay - DC5378 - Mermaid

Island Hibiscus - DC5017 - Lagoon

Scales and Waves - DC5014 - (Clockwise from top left: Sunshine, Amethyst, Petal)

Shell Dot - DC5379 - Breeze

Siren Song - DC5377 - Rainbow

FLAMINGOS AND HEARTS OF PALM

 Flamingos - DC5463 (Top to Bottom: Banana, Lagoon, Limeade)

Hearts of Palm - DC5462 - Shell

Shell Dot - DC5379 (Clockwise from top left: Coral, Lagoon, Limeade)

Siren Song - DC5377 - Caribbean

DOLPHIN BABIES

Dolphin Babies - DC5449 - Seafoam

Hearts of Palm - DC5462 - (Clockwise from top left: Black, Lagoon, Graphite)

Siren Song - DC5377 - Graphite

Shell Dot - DC5379 - (Left to Right: Graphite, Black)

Gingerbread - DC5218 - Sand

Sometimes You Need to Take a Step Back...

...in order to go forward. So that's what I'm going to do with this post. Before I show my new collection PARADISE COVE, I want to do a flashback to the International Quilt Market in Salt Lace City, Spring 2011. It was here that I previewed the HULA DOLLS collection (it would be released in August), my first for Michael Miller Fabrics after rejoining the company as a licensed designer. The reason I am doing this is to show how the Hula Dolls collection segues and flows into the Mermaids of Hana Bay group...

(Since PARADISE COVE is soon to be released, there is no link, so you'll have to be patient... I promise to post the designs as soon as I know they are ready to go live!)

You may also notice all the hats - it was then that I created the Children's Reversible Bucket Hat and started marketing the pattern under my label: 

The Mad Hatter of Maui

and hence the name of my blog!

Having been on Maui for a just about two years, I was full of inspiration from my lush tropical surroundings and the rich, Hawaiian culture. I was bursting at the seams to create a group of fabrics that would speak the language of the island yet transcend the Pacific waters and be embraced by a broad and diverse audience. 

I have been credited with being sensitive to the use of varying skin tones in my characters. This was a completely subconscious channeling of the diverse melding of the peoples that inhabit  these islands which again, speaks loud and clear the diversity of our own country and of the peoples of the planet. I was simply putting on paper - and in turn fabric - that which I saw all around me...

HULA DOLLS

Mark Hordyszynski for Michael Miller Fabrics

Please note: unfortunately the colors here are all a bit washed; they're more like the photo above :)  

Top to Bottom: Hula Dolls DC5018 - Graphite and Seafoam

Pacific Reef DC5016 - Sea

Island Hibiscus DC5017 - Coffee

Left to Right: Tiki Woodblock DC5012 - Isle and Wave

Surfer Stripe DC5015 - Wave

Leaf Vines DC5013 - Isle

Left to Right: Scales & Waves - Coffee and Green Tea

Left to Right: Scales & Waves - Sea and Wave

HULA DOLLS Embroideries by The Needlework Factory

(Available April)

The figure above has a skirt made of Angelina Fibers and the one below out of natural raffia. Imagine how cute these would be paired with the coordinating fabrics in a quilt or better yet, in little girls' clothing!

(Sue, the creator of the embroideries, said that working with both fibers was very challenging and time consuming, so these examples are for inspiration only. The skirt can be stitched out, or done as an applique with a fabric of your choice... I'll be sure to post pics of new samples as soon as I get a sample sewn out... but they are so darn cute I couldn't resist showing them!)