This is the Bad Choice Story that started it all...
I was at a conference early in 2020 that took place in Hawaii. I had just recently taken up quilting and I had a fair bit of time on my hands in the afternoons, so I started looking for fabric shops in Honolulu. Hawaiian fabric is uniquely distinct and addictive. The colours are fabulous and the designs feature birds, flowers and plants that are part of the Hawaiian experience. We have all seen the Hawaiian shirts that catch our eye… these fabric stores carry bolts and bolts of it!
I found three local shops and purchased a decidedly large selection of fabric, not taking into account how I could get this home via carry-on luggage… Anyway, didn’t even factor into my decisions! After one week in Honolulu, I had about $500 worth of fabric (plus more that I ordered online). I figured that I could ship it home via UPS, easy peasy. I went to a UPS location (unfortunately on a Sunday) and it wasn’t open, but they had the boxes for self service. I packaged it all up, with it barely fitting into the largest box, and tried to fill out the paperwork. Another snag, Canadians cannot use the self serve process. So I took the box of fabric back to my hotel.
I was supposed to go to Kahuai the next day to meet my family for a week vacation. Luckily, I could take the box as carry-on. I dragged that box of fabric from one side of Kahuai to the other. Finally, when we were getting ready to fly home, I divvied up the fabric between me, my Mum, my husband and my daughter. No problems! My husband will tell you differently. Of course, he always gets inspected at customs. Every. Single Time. When he opened his suitcase, the border services agent just shook his head and let him through! This is how my quilting adventure and love of fabric started! I still have a lot of that fabric and it is still my favourite!
Check out my colourful and modern quilt patterns that you can use with your favourite fabrics!
This picture is the only one I have of all the quilts I made with that fabric. Most of them were donated to Blankets of Love, a charity that gifts a quilt to every person in mental health facilities in Alberta and across Canada. To find out more, go to the website www.blanketsoflove.ca.😊
Happy Quilting
Jody
