For my 25th wedding anniversary, I was whisked away to the beautiful island of Maui to celebrate by my excited-to-be-surprising-me darling husband. We spent 11 days there and on the actual day of our anniversary, I took a class in Hawaiin quilting. The kit consisted of everything needed to make a square pillow. Being a quilter (mostly by machine) anyway, I was surprised at how much there was to learn about this technique. It didn’t take long to pick it up but I have to say that I admire the amount of effort that goes into the gorgeous bed-sized quilts I saw while there. My hands and fingers were getting sore after only 2 hours of stitching. Luckily, there are available little stick-on pads for the fingertips to protect from chafing or injury from the needle. I worked on the quilt sometimes during the rest of our stay and on the long flight home (12 hours), and I worked on it here and there after returning home. But, that was 3 1/2 years ago and it is still almost finished. I think that I don’t want it to end, kind of like a good book…you know what I mean? All that is left is to quilt through the remaining 6 sea turtles, then I will take it to be matted and framed for my wall. There is no way that I’ll use it or let my pets use it as a pillow after all that time and work. Besides, it beholds some of the most precious memories to treasure. Greg went on a sightseeing adventure while I took the class, and that night, we went to an authentic Hawaiian Luau where I watched Greg in a hula lesson 🙂 and ended the evening with a slow dance together on the beach to traditional Hawaiian wedding music. Nice.

Hawaiian quilts are unique to the world, a birth of beauty from the blending of Hawaiian and American tradition and culture.  Tapa cloth, made from bark of the Wauke tree, was the only cloth available to the early Hawaiians.  Making this cloth was an intricate part of Hawaiian culture.  It took many days of hard work for the Hawaiian women to make and design tapa, which was stacked to make bedding. The first recorded introduction of quilting to Hawaii was in 1820 when the first missionaries arrived in Hawaii.  A group of royal Hawaiian ladies sat on the deck of the sailing ship Thadeus, dressed only in wrapped tapa, where  missionary ladies gently showed the art of quilting. The very creative and innovative Hawaiians soon developed a unique quilting style which closely reflected their own culture and traditions,  giving birth to the beautiful, more intricate Hawaiian quilt. Hawaiian quilting patterns traditionally reflect objects of nature or everyday household items that evoke the memory of loved ones.  Things such as Plumeria blossoms, hair combs worn by Princess Kaiulani, or a Ginger lei.  In general, Hawaiian quilt patterns do not use humans or animals in their designs. Hawaiian families treasure their quilts as possessions of great significance.   It was traditional for a new quilt to be made for a bride or as a present for a new grandchild.  The Hawaiian quilt symbolizes an attachment and a love for Hawaii shared by people throughout the world.  © 1999-2001 Hawaiian Quilt Collection http://www.hawaiian-quilts.com/