Sylvia’s quilts took on a tropical twist when she moved to Hawaii and worked as a gardener at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai. After co-authoring Asian Elegance Quilting with Japanese Fabrics and More with her mother Kitty, Sylvia turned to teaching and designing patterns and fabric kits full-time. She holds retreats in her Hawaii studio, teaches on the neighboring Islands, quilt cruises, US mainland, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Sylvia’s quilt designs combine traditional and innovative hand sashiko with hand appliqué and embroidery embellishment. Sylvia authored a second book with C&T publishing in 2009 called Paradise Stitched and a self published book, 200 Sashiko Designs.