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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2022 13 beauty of the island. I also became the coordinator for the Big Island Quilt Shop Hop for nine years. At one point the Big Island had nine different quilt shops. Besides organizing and working with nine quilt shop owners, each with a different personality, I was honored to design several quilts for the Quilt Shop Hop and individual blocks for the various shops. These in turn became patterns for purchase. During my time in Hawaii, I created patterns of over 40 various quilt patterns for sale. I also had three different designs accepted by one of the fabric manufacturers, Island Batik, and filed over 40 copyrights. In 2017, my best friend and her husband moved here and encouraged us to come check out Four Seasons, the sights, and quilting in the area. We came, we looked – I was offered a teaching job at a local quilt shop, looked at houses, and we bought! In January 2019, we packed, sold, and moved from Hawaii to Four Seasons. In the fall of 2019, Mary Christelman became the facilitator of the Four Seasons quilting group called Quilting Enthusiasts. The group was unable to meet during the pandemic, and most of the ladies, myself included, started making face masks. We made more than 5,000 masks! When we were able to start meeting again as a group, I was asked to be the facilitator of the Quilting Enthusiasts. I decided before we even moved here that I would organize a quilt show. On Nov. 6, 2021 we had our first quilt show. My vision came true with lots of help; thanks to the ladies of the Quilting group, Cindy and her staff, Brandon, Jasper, Danya, and Justin. The RCN had a stunning display of quilts from our Quilting Enthusiasts and even a few from other residents. I was excited and humbled by the sheer number of ladies who brought their beautiful quilts to share and show. Its success moved us to the Ballroom this year for our second annual Quilt Show scheduled for Sept. 10. I am hoping to have three outside vendors and put Four Seasons on the quilting map for Southern California, in addition to opening it to those outside Four Seasons such as the Sun Lakes Quilt Group. Before I left IBM, I was a technical writer for maintenance and operator books. So in addition to designing, I strive to write the best and clearest instructions. My past designs of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style stained glass flowers inspired my newest southwestern design called Indian Summer. The pattern will be available in about two months. I also have a website where I sell my patterns and a limited amount of fabric. Check it out… www.designsbymaryofhawaii.com. Quilting is in my blood, and like other quilters, we want to teach and encourage others by experiencing just how fun and relaxing quilting can be. For the past three years I have been teaching twice a week at the Shabby Rose Quilting and Sewing Cottage in Yucaipa. To help wanna-be quilters at Four Seasons, I have scheduled the third Thursday of each month as a day to come "sit-n-sew," learn, and enjoy fellowship. I look forward to having you join our Quilting Enthusiasts and take part in the Quilt Show on Sept. 10 from 10 am to 4 pm in The Lodge Ballroom. ~ Edited by Elizabeth Westbrook A quilt that was called Strips and Curves. I had a blast creating this and the quilting was fun. Another original deign featuring my first "tribal designs." I designed this quilt for the 5th Anniversary Big Island Shop on Hawai'i. It's called Scenes of the Big Island. 85 percent of the design is based on photographs that I took around the big island, sketches and the other 15 percent based on postcards, and photographs taken on the Kailua-Kona side of Hawai'i. This is a take on Strips and Curves using fabric designed by Laurel Burch.

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