Quilters Alphabet: H – Heavenly Hawaiian Hibiscus

I have been going round and round on what our H block should be… Half hexagons? But we just did Gramdmas Glorious Garden with lots of hexes. I got some wonderful suggestions from the comments on last weeks post but then it came to me! Hawaiian Hibiscus Appliqué! Heavenly!

With this I am able to explore the fabulous Hawaiian style of quilt making. What a rich heritage! Here is what Wikipedia says about Hawaiian Quiltmaking…

“A Hawaiian quilt is a distinctive quilting style of the Hawaiian Islands that uses large radially symmetric applique patterns. Motifs often work stylized botanical designs in bold colors on a white background.
Hawaiian quilt applique is made from a single cut on folded fabric. Quilting stitches normally follow the contours of the applique design.

Hawaiian quilting derives from the kapa moe, an indigenous bed cover textile. Kapa was constructed from the inner bark of local trees. Traditional kapa was beaten and felted, then dyed in geometric patterns.
Quilting may have begun in the Hawaiian islands with the arrival of missionaries and Western fabrics in the 1820s. The climate of Hawaii is unsuitable for cotton cultivation and kapa is unsuitable for quilting so all Hawaiian quilts are constructed from imported material. The earliest written reference comes from Isabella Bird who visited Hawaii in 1870 and wrote a travelogue Six Months in the Sandwich Islands.“

By the way, Isabella Bird was quite a women. She traveled extensively, wrote tons of books and was way ahead of her time!
My design offers the Hibiscus flower and some stylized ocean waves… Both of which are abundant in Hawaii!

Thanks for checking in with us.  There will be another Quilter’s Alphabet Block next Thursday (I), earlier ABC blocks are here….  and our Spring Medallion Quilt continues on Saturdays.  Our monthly Swap series(We just did Tisket Tasket Basket!) and Monthly Doll Quilts/Table Toppers(Little Boys’ Toys and Postage Stamp are the most recent) will also continue here so keep checking back.  And be sure to look at our ETSY site for even more patterns.
Here is the PDF for the Heavenly Hawaiian Hibiscus pattern…

Quilters Alphabet Quilt H Heavenly Hawaiian Hibiscus

Thank for dropping by.
Make A Great Quilt!