Oh, the fabric!

I knew Hawai'i would be heaven for a lover of Japanese fabrics, so at the risk of trying DH's patience, I dragged him to a few fabric stores (or, when I could, I ditched him and went to fabric stores on my own!). My favorite was Dragon Mama Futon Shop in Hilo, which had a gorgeous array of Japanese cottons, both modern and traditional width. Although high end, most of the fabrics were significantly less expensive than they would be on the mainland, assuming you could even find them.

The scene at Dragon Mama Futon Shop:

My take--seven half yards, mainly in blues with beautiful, subtle colors and textures, plus two pieces of yukata fabric:

I also enjoyed a visit to Kimura Fabrics in Kainaliu, on the west coast of the Big Island. As you can see from the photos, the shop is much less posh than Dragon Mama--it's like a general store from half a century ago, but with a wonderful array of Hawaiian fabrics, and some nice Japanese fabrics as well. Not surprisingly, I added some of the latter to my stash:

I've seen the top three fabrics elsewhere, but they cost less at Kimura's. The plain blue fabric is actually some kind of cheap American cotton, woven with thick threads and with a slightly rough texture. The color and feel reminded me of handwoven Japanese cotton.

Of course, I couldn't pass up Hawaiian fabrics entirely. We didn't have a lot of time to spend in Kainaliu, so I waited until Maui to pick up a few at Quilts 'N Fabric Land in Lahaina:

I already have ideas for most of these fabrics--now I just need the time to work with them. Alas, I also said that about twenty imagined quilts ago. Repeat after me: "Buy less, sew more. Buy less, sew more." (But how can I pass up so many wonderful fabrics?)