Meet Loretta Pasco I have been living on the Big Island of Hawaii for twenty four years. Here I met my husband, raised our two boys and learned Hawaiian quilting. A lot more has been going on in my life, but they are the highlights! All my life I have done handwork. This passion was handed down to me through my mother and two Italian grandmothers, all of whom have created heirloom handwork in spite of raising children and working to support them. When I learned Hawaiian quilting, it soon became a passion - and Raintree of Hawaii was born. Through my quilting work, I express my love of color, texture and the unique Hawaiian style. In designing my quilts, color relationships are as important as the pattern. They all work together to relay the feeling of the plants that are being showcased. Hawaiian quilting is a gift from the women of the islands that is appreciated greatly by those who are continuing on in the art. Because it is a living art form, there will always be changes and innovations. We have so many products and fabrics available to us today, and those involved in design work are combining them creatively with the legacy of the traditional quilt. I love being part of this renaissance and I have more ideas for quilts than I will ever have time to make in a lifetime.

Meet Our Guest Designers Sharon Balai of UpCountry Quilters I was born on the Big Island of Hawaii where I was influenced in needlework arts by my grandmother. Waimea is considered by many, to be one of the most active quilting areas in the islands, making it a perfect place to learn quilting skills and develop my talents. I am curently president of the Waimea quilting club, Hui Kapa Apana O Waimea, and I spend much of my time teaching, designing and managing UpCountry Quilters, which contributes to my designs. I live in Waimea with my very supportive husband and family.

Zee Sarr I live with my husband, two small children and a very small dog on the Big Island of Hawaii in the town of Volcano. My specialty is paper foundation pattern designs that reflect the environment where I live. When I need a break from designing and sewing my patterns, I can be found outside, creating beautiful hand marbled fabric, surrounded by tree ferns and rainforest.

Vanessa Sales of Red Cinder Designs Vanessa's passion for creativity with colors, textures, fabric and drawing, overflowed into quilting and designing quilts eight years ago. The Big Island's flowers, ferns and trees are the inspiration for her quilt designs. Her first Hawaiian quilt design, Strawberry was designed for her mom, who loves strawberries. From that quilt, Red Cinder Designs began. Vanessa moved to Hawaii in 1991, and lives in Ka'u at the southern end of the Big Island. Her two dogs and cat share her cottage, built on a lava flow which covered that part of the island in 1907. She is also an enthusiastic grade school teacher, and gravitates to ocean activities in her free time.

Nancy Lee Chong of Pacific Rim Nancy Lee Chong saw her first Hawaiian quilt in 1977, and it changed her life. Her first quilt (queen-sized) was completed in 1980 while living on Oahu. With a degree in education and experience with all types of applique, she began teaching Hawaiian quiltmaking in 1982. Her quilts have appeared in numerous books and magazines, and she has traveled across the USA, sharing her stress-free approach to needleturn applique with both beginners and experienced quilters. In 1991, she and her sister, Janice, formed Pacific Rim Quilt Company to publish their original Hawaiian quilt patterns. In 2002, they will curate a show at the Pacific Northwest Quiltfest entitled: "Hawaiian Quilts: An Evolving Tradition". Nancy has been a legal secretary in Honolulu and Seattle for 25 years. In December 2000, she quit that "day job" and is now teaching, lecturing , designing and quilting full time. Her new boss is stricter about how she uses her time, but she is having the time of her life!

Janice Lee Baehr of Pacific Rim While I had made a few simple quilts prior to 1982, I don't consider that I actually became a 'quilter' until my sister, Nancy, taught me how to make Hawaiian Quilts. I started my first one in 1982...and it is still not finished! (Maybe this winter.) Since then I have designed and made about a dozen Hawaiian Quilts (some of which are still just unquilted tops). I have not limited myself to Hawaiian Quilting and have made dozens of quilts using a variety of techniques, from traditional pieced to art quilts. Several of my quilts have been pictured in books and magazines. One of my Hawaiian Quilts was selected to hang in the 1991 American Quilt Society show. Since earning my Executive Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington in 1997, I have put Pacific Rim Quilt Company on the internet with our own web site and in 2000 began to produce a line of hand-dyed fabrics for quilting. All this while I continue my career as a project manager for a national bank. Fortunately I have a husband and a cat who take very good care of me!

Sonja "Konia" Oberosler I was born and raised in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1955 where I worked as a life insurance executive in Denver, Colorado. I have one son and two grand children. In 1965, I experienced Hawaii for the first time. The Island of Hawaii and it's people were like a magnet for me and I returned many times to persue my interest in the Hawaiian fiber arts. Thoughts of the Hawaiian quilts never left my mind and in 1983, u pon my retirement, I was able to realize my dream to move to the islands to further my studiesof Hawaiian quilting. I earned my degree from master quilter Deborah U. Kalalia in Honolulu, and continue to express my desire to preserve and perpetuate the art of traditional Hawaiian quilting through teaching and quiltmaking. I prefer to work with the old designs, but occasionally like to create contemporary designs of my own.

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