If it weren’t for the sheer distance from the “continent” to Kona or Kauai, much more primarylanders would in all probability be making Hawaiian quilts. However right here on the “continent,” at the least 2,500 miles away, we regularly lack the publicity. Based mostly in Honolulu, Poakalani & Co. and its beautiful Hawaiian quilt patterns reveal simply how monumental this absence is in mainstream quilting.
The Historical past of Poakalani & Co.
The corporate is the life’s work of Poakalani and John Serrao. Each have been descended from quilters, and Poakalani was the granddaughter of a prolific Hawaiian quilt designer. After her grandmother’s dying in 1972, John tailored her bed-size quilt designs for smaller cushion and wall hanging patterns. He was the primary to take action, and the corporate was born.
Finally, the Serraos discovered that these small patterns lent themselves higher to instructing Hawaiian quilting strategies like symmetrical design, coloured strong on white background, needle-turn applique of a single piece of material, and echo quilting—not simply in comfort however in reducing the concern issue when it got here to tackling detailed handwork.
A whole bunch of Quilts
After 5 many years of instructing courses ($6 each Saturday at Honolulu’s Iolani Palace) and sustaining an energetic designing presence even after Poakalani’s dying in 2012, the fruits of Poakalani & Co.’s labor come within the type of lots of of quilts personally and thoughtfully designed by John Serrao for his college students to assemble. Some are extra modern, whereas others pay tribute to older shade combos and quilting strategies.
A kukui nut quilt that John designed, constructed by Doris Shibuya of Honolulu, options darker colours and fewer distinction than the normal Hawaiian dark-on-light however is quilted in a crosshatch design. “This was a quilting model that was used again within the late Nineties,” Cissy Serrao, John and Poakalani’s daughter, explains. “[It’s a] model of quilting that’s not often used at present. Most quilters good the distinctive echo quilting model as a substitute.”
Extra Strategies
Extra iconic examples embrace Molokama, which depicts Kauai’s well-known mountain. In conventional dark-on-light, it was quilted by Lorraine Ichiyama however designed by Poakalani’s grandmother Caroline Correa previous to World Struggle II. One other, Pele the Fireplace Goddess (designed by John Serrao and quilted by Tomiko Okada) “options conventional use of dark-on-light material, however [Okada] used a darker crimson thread [on the background] to point out the eruption of Pele’s volcanic house,” Cissy Serrao says. “The lehua flower, the designated flower of Hawaii Island, grows out of the barren land that Pele destroyed. Life continues.”
Whereas the same old strategies are what are taught and treasured—they’re, in spite of everything, what has saved this custom alive for 150 years on these islands—new approaches can yield gorgeous outcomes. Takako Jenkins, one in all Poakalani and Co.’s protégés, designed and constructed a Hawaiian quilt totally in reverse applique. Serrao explains that it’s “a brand new model of designing for Hawaiian quilters. The reverse appliqué was often used on a extra traditional-style design to accent the quilt, however on this quilt it’s the dominant sample.”
Serrao finally stresses that each one Hawaiian quilts, regardless of the method or method, essentially inform a narrative. “It’s crucial facet of Hawaiian quilting,” she insists. If that is true, then maybe the best story in Poakalani and John Serrao’s legacy is that this one: the gathering of quilts and the neighborhood of quilters they’ve nurtured alongside the way in which. These new Hawaiian quilters present the promise that there are a lot of extra tales to be advised and lots of extra classes to be taught.
Hawaiian Quilting Traditions
Listed here are some phrases of knowledge from Poakalani & Co. on creating and interacting with Hawaiin quilts.
1
Your first quilt is historically the ulu, or breadfruit, design. It’s believed that when you quilt this Hawaiian staple first, you’ll all the time have meals in your house and never need for any of life’s requirements. (However when you don’t just like the ulu, don’t make the ulu!)
2
By no means sit or lie on high of a quilt. That is carried out in respect of the quilter and all of her laborious work in finishing the quilt. If you wish to sit on the mattress, merely carry up the nook.
3
After the quilt is accomplished, sleep beneath it for one night time earlier than giving it away. That is to seal your love into the quilt.
As you’ll be able to see, these quilts transcend mere material and thread. They embody the spirit of Hawaii, telling tales of affection, heritage, and the enduring bond between folks and their land. With every sew, the promise of many extra tales to be advised and classes to be taught beckons us into the fascinating world of Hawaiian quilting.
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