My mom and I learned to do Hawaiian appliqué a long time ago, but I hadn't done much with it since. I leaned more toward knitting and crochet (which she also taught me), where the tools of the trade aren't generally sharp enough to draw blood.
But since I lost my mom last year, my heart hasn't been in the yarn. What to do instead? Quilt blocks. She was great at pieced quilts, and I can still tell a double wedding ring from an Irish chain. But while I appreciate traditional quilts and the work that goes into them, I much prefer to creating appliqué - there's less mathematical precision involved.
The idea for Hawaiian Harps came from the tradition of Hawaiian quilting, where the design fabric is folded in eighths and the pattern is cut out and unfolded, then sewn onto a background. If you've ever made a paper snowflake, you are familiar with the process. Most real Hawaiian quilts have leafy, flowery tropical designs and are quilted in an echo pattern. Mine are a little different. I wanted harps, and there was nothing like these out on the internet. I used the process of making a Hawaiian quilt block, but based each original design on a different harp with a coordinating border. Here's the end result:
The block patterns are available individually for $8 each through my Payhip store (or directly below) and from the Sylvia Woods Harp Center. There are 12 designs total. If you're interested in purchasing four or more, I recommend you take advantage of the quantity discounts of 15-30% at Harpcenter.com.
The blocks can be used individually in any project you can think of. I plan to join mine to make a bed quilt, but wall hangings, pillows, bags, and throw blankets would all be viable options. Each pattern includes full-size eighth-fold templates for 14" and 18"
blocks. Cutting and assembly instructions are included, but finishing
instructions are not. For the motifs, I used batik fabrics from Gathering Friends Quilt Shop on Etsy.
Purchase directly from Payhip without ever leaving this site by using the following links. (No quantity discounts apply.)
Q002 Clarsach: Add to cart
Q003 Concert 1: Add to cart
Q004 Concert 2: Add to cart
Q005 Egyptian: Add to cart
Q006 Gothic: Add to cart
Q007 Whale Song: Add to cart
Q008 Harmonic Curve: Add to cart
Q009 Kinnor / Harp of David: Add to cart
Q010 Lyre: Add to cart
Q011 Simple Harp: Add to cart
Q12 Paraguayan: Add to cart
Are there other designs you would like to see turned into appliqué blocks? Let me know in the comments!
Happy crafting and please stay safe,~ Caroline
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