By the looks of all the competition quilts coming across the Pacific from Tokyo quilters, Hawaiian applique quilts are very popular right now. There were at least ten at the Paducah Show, all from Tokyo.

I suspect that Kathy Nakajima has been a big part of the movement in throughout the country. If you don't know Kathy, she really is the quilt celebrity. Kathy was born on the island of Maui, Hawaii. She now spends the vast majority of her time in Tokyo, where she is a very popular TV personality and author of books and DVDs -- most, if not all, on making Hawaiian Quilts. She runs three quilt studios and shops, too. A very busy lady, to say the least.

Kathy teaches in Toyko, and obviously the fruits of her labor have paid off. The diversity of the Hawaiian Applique Quilts in competition this year is amazing. If you get the chance, visit one of the competition quilt shows.

Here is a bit of trivia about Hawaiian Quilts. Around 1820, native Hawaiians learned to quilt from missionaries. But it was not a revolutionary concept to the Hawaiians. Their traditional bedcoverings were made of kapa, a cloth made from the inner bark of native trees. Strips of the inner bark were beaten and felted together to transform it into a smooth and soft fabric. Like a quilt, kapa moe was made in layers. The layers were "sewn" together only at one end though, so that a person could adjust the number of layers slept under based on the need for wamth. The kapa moe were often embellished with dyes and stamps, and often scented with native flowers.

I was thinking about creating a fabric (cotton & batting) "kapa moe". Maybe with keeping the tradition alive, I'll embellish with natural dyes and leaf stencils. I thought it might be a great way to deal with cold nights in my family's Colorado cabin.

JayJay