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.