Monday, January 23, 2012

I spotted a Hawaiian Quilt in The Descendants!

Last night I saw the new movie The Descendants which stars George Clooney as a dad raising two girls as his wife languishes in a coma after a boating accident.  I enjoyed it - it's subtle and sweet, and I like George Clooney when he isn't playing wickedly charming.  One of the best parts of the movie is that it's set in Hawaii and shows the islands from the perspective of the locals as opposed to the tourist postcard version.  

Several scenes take place in his wife's hospital room and I couldn't help noticing the beautiful Hawaiian quilt covering the bed.  It was similar to the examples below, in yellow on a cream background, and it's seen again at the end of the movie in their home.  Hawaiian quilts have this distinctive radial symmetry featuring appliqued botanical motifs and they are usually done in one solid colour on a white background, and have lots of intricate hand sewing.  I absolutely love all of the different flower designs and they remind me of the snowflake cutouts I loved making.  My mom made a quilt a few years ago inspired by traditional Hawaiian quilts and it's so stunning; it's one of my favorite quilts that she has made.  I thought that the movie did a really good job of visually incorporating distinctly Hawaiian elements without having the characters running around in grass skirts and leis.  Come to think of it, looking at the weather forecast, I can't think of a better place to head off to right now!






4 comments:

  1. Love this post, where could you buy one of these quilts?

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    1. there is a woman here on the big island her name is catherine her website is catherinewynnequilts.com :)

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  2. I'm trying to find a pattern for a full size quilt, like the ones pictured. Not the small blocks. Does anyone have any advice on where to find one? These are just gorgeous!

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  3. I like the quilt patterns for sale at Poakalani's Hawaiian Quilt Pattern Shop. The web site is a little hard to navigate, so here's the link to their page with patterns on it. http://www.shoppoakalani.com/servlet/StoreFront

    They sell books on traditional quilt patterns as well and seem to be the real deal.

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