The recent cold snap has served as the usual annual reminder of how comforting it is to bundle up in warm jammies, put on thick fuzzy socks and get under a soft quilt.
Sometimes though, warmth is about what happens inside us, and quilts can help with that as well.
That’s the philosophy behind Quilts2Order.com, run by Celia Andrade Fraser and her husband, Dana.
She is the primary quilter between the two, but her husband has joined in the work, since both are retired and live in Kahaluu.
Celia’s mother was a seamstress, but she is a quilter, she said. She started quilting for her family while on a year-and-a-half-long RV odyssey across North America, laying out and arranging her quilt pieces in rec rooms at RV parks.
Quilts2Order makes all sorts of quilts, table runners and wall hangings, and "I make memory quilts" as well, she said.
A man who traveled the country to ride roller coasters at various theme parks hired Fraser to make a quilt using the T-shirts he bought at each park.
A firefighter had a quilt made from shirts representing various aspects of his career, which he uses on his bed at the firehouse.
One customer brought her late mother’s clothing to Fraser to use in making quilts for each of her mother’s eight grandchildren.
"Every texture was totally different," she said, as the clothing included Lycra swimsuits, silk blouses, T-shirts, knitted sweaters and more.
She gave Fraser pictures showing her departed mom wearing the various garments while with the grandkids, and Fraser reproduced the images on fabric to be incorporated, with pieces of the clothing, into the quilts.
A widow mourning her husband’s death brought Fraser some of his clothing and asked "’if you could just make something I can hug,’" Fraser said.
On a universally fun note, Fraser is known for offering a licensed quilt design from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" children’s book, by Eric Carle.
Given her licensing deal, she is able to sell quilt kits, but if a buyer isn’t a quilter, she also will do the sewing for customers.
The distinctive artwork makes for a fun quilt, which she sometimes displays at craft fairs such as the Made in Hawaii Festival at Blaisdell Center in August.
"Security guards, big and buff 30-somethings" will dramatically point at the quilt and exclaim, "That was my favorite book," she giggled.
Celia knows how to sew but doesn’t have a talent for art.
That was made clear decades ago when a teacher at Celia’s high school in Maui called Celia’s mother to tell her not to allow her daughter to sign up for a second year in art class because she didn’t have the required aptitude.
"And she was right," but says her husband, Dana, has an eye and a feel for color that complements her sewing skills and quilting acumen.
"My husband and I do the planning, cutting and sewing of the basic quilts," but she also hires out, employing a handful of quilters on Maui and Oahu — "and they’re artists," she emphasized.
Among them are Barbara Alama and Camille Kanemuri on Oahu, and Jackie Harris and Russell Okimoto of Maui. All have their own quilting businesses, "and they finish off my quilts with such a wonderful look," she said.
Quilts for beds start at $400 for a twin-size and go up to $800 for a king-size bed, for which she recommends a large pattern.
Both Dana and Celia Fraser are retired teachers. She is originally from Maui but moved to Oahu after both their parents died, to be closer to their son and his family.
While in business for 10 years and now in their 70s, the Frasers have been regulars on the craft fair circuit and appeared at 17 of them in 2012. They did seven craft fairs in 2013 and will likely do only four this year, in the hope they have established themselves well enough on Oahu to keep orders coming via word of mouth, their reputation and their website.
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“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.