Oooooh pretty! But I have trimming and squaring up to do, as well as adding two borders and some more appliqué to the borders.
Every step getting closer to finishing this Hawaiian-style quilt is important to me.
This quilt is for Vai and her family. Vai was admitted to the hospital this past week for fluid swelling around her heart. She's on oxygen full-time now and having a lot of chest pain.
Vai is Tongan and came to the United States when she was 8 yrs old. She got sick, and the germ attacked her heart. She had a heart transplant at the age of 9 ! In the meantime, Taylor and Jessica adopted her into their family. Taylor is Vai's cousin, and Jessica is my first cousin. Taylor and Jessica have four children of their own, all younger than Vai.
Now Vai is 20, and has really struggled this past year, with surgeries and a pacemaker for her transplanted heart, in and out of the hospital several times. In June, while being admitted for some very serious pain, the doctor ran lots of tests and diagnosed that her heart is in failure, a type of heart failure specific to transplant patients. They gave her 6 weeks to live....and she has obviously fought much past that already. I intend this quilt to be a cuddle quilt for Vai, and also to be a memorial quilt for her for her family and siblings.
Anyway, Vai loves purple and green, plumeria and daisies. My nurse friend, who also quilts, who married a Tongan, said that Hawaiian-style appliqué is great for a memorial quilt, as well as a plumeria pattern.
While following the American Made Brand blog tour this summer, the last stop was Hawaii--the last state becoming a state of the United States. Barbara Bieraugel blogged about Hawaii. In my comment, I mentioned a bit about Vai's story and how I wanted to learn Hawaiian-style appliqué to honor her. Barbara was so sweet---she emailed me her new Plumeria pattern!!!!!! And she has been so helpful and supportive in helping me learn this style of quilting.
Now on to part two of my goal:
Quilting the HST star !
Whee! I think I'm almost finished quilting! I think I have some touch-ups on the blocks, and then quilt the border.
I'm still trying to decide on a border motif.
More continuous swirls like the sashing?
Echo the puzzle pieces?
Quilt a starburst border like in Angela Walter's Dot-to-Dot quilting class ? (See below)
Ok I'm done thinking for the night. Goodnight!
The Hawaiian is just gorgeous and while reading about the reason for it is so sad and I'll be keeping her in my thoughts, I know that she will truly treasure it.
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