Name of quilt: Aloha Honu Mahalo (No. 3)
The book that inspired this quilt… The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Materials: Kona Cotton, Polyester batting, Hand quilting thread.
Techniques: The applique was created like a paper snowflake in the Hawaiian applique style. The design was then traced on the back of the backing square. The applique was attached using the back-basting technique and stitched by hand. The project was hand quilted with an echo design to reflect the traditional Hawaiian style.
This quilt’s story:
It was hard to choose which book to use. This Elm Creek Quilter’s story was in the stack of books on my dresser. I read it before traveling to Hawaii. The book cover features a green and white pineapple quilt, but the pineapple shapes reminded me of turtles. Seeing green sea turtles (honu) swimming in the ocean was a memorable part of visiting Hawaii. The Honu symbolize good luck, patience, endurance, wisdom and long life. I named the quilt in Hawaiian to say that I welcome wisdom and good luck with gratitude.
The small size of this project made it possible to practice more time consuming techniques. I can’t imagine how long it would take to complete a bed size Hawaiian applique quilt.