Hawaiian Quilt

The last company I worked for one of the people who I worked closely with was a Hawaiian born and raised. She had moved here shortly after getting married and as such still had many Hawaiian habits and her office was decorated in Hawaiian motif. One thing that she had that really caught my eye was a Hawaiian quilt she had handmade.  She had told me that it was a labor of love and that it had taken her nearly 3 months to complete it.

After commenting on it and admiring it many times she asked if I would be interested in learning how it’s done and making my own. I said I was interested and the next day she had brought in a variety of patterns for me to choose from.  I selected one and she gave me a book on Hawaiian quilting and helped me get everything lined up, cut out and even started.

It wasn’t an easy process and it really put in perspective how much work it really took to create one of these. I spent many hours on it and worked hard to sow the top piece of fabric with the body layer. It honestly took too much time and has ever since been sitting in a container waiting to be finished.

While in Hawaii I was again struck by the beauty of the quilts and decided rather than finishing mine I would buy one made by someone who knew what they were doing. The colors I had also selected at the time no longer work with my décor and the variety that was available gave me more options.

They were not inexpensive and at roughly $55 for a pillow cover I had decided I would bite the bullet and find one I like and buy it. I had looked around a few shops and nothing really hit me exactly but while at the Dole Plantation I score a major find and located one that was almost a perfect color and include the traditional Honu or green sea turtle in its motif.

While paying I discovered an added bonus because it was on clearance since they were expecting a whole new shipment soon and needed to clear out some older inventory.  When I got home I went to Home Goods and bought an ugly piece of art whose frame I liked and which would fit the pillow cover perfectly. After a quick DIY project it was framed and hung on the wall.