Page 271 - MyMomHadAQuiltLikeThat

Hawaiian

LEFT: Hawaiian Breadfruit Design After 1950s. eBay purchase in 2015. 78"x96" Fabric: Cotton, typical 1930s
Nile Green from somebody’s stash; design is newer. Batting: Thin cotton. Backing: White cotton. Edge:
Alternating green and white prairie points. Piecing: Appliqued by hand. Quilting: Within the appliqué, in
a line just inside the applique, ½" inside that, and in a wavy sine curve within the wider green areas; three
concentric circles within the "breadfruits." White ground is quilted in a 1" grid. Appliqué stitches are too
tiny to count, at least 10 stitches per inch; the gridwork is stitched at 8 stitches per inch. Condition: Good.
The green is lightly abraded from washing. The white is bright. There is one match-head sized brown spot
on the front that I have not tried to remove. Comment: With information from the eBay seller, I contacted
Hawaiian quilting expert Nalani Goard. She confirmed that the pattern, Breadfruit, or "Ulu," was designed
by Neallii Kalama, who was a friend of her grandmother, "Aunt Debbie," Deborah Kakalia. The word "Ulu"
stands for "progressiveness, good luck, and advancement for the quilter." Aunt Debbie added her trade-
mark to the design, the star in the center, when she began teaching herself Hawaiian quilting in the 1950s.
Aunt Debbie retired in 1999 or 2000. Those women did not make the quilt, though; they would never had
done the ground in a grid, "American style," according to Goard. The pattern has been published, and
appears in books about Hawaiian quilting.

Figure 231: Hawaiian Breadfruit Design