Pineapples and Polyester

Sometimes I have a difficulty finding inspiration.

However, lack of inspiration was not the case with this project.

I was given a handful of men's shirts by the wearer's widow. 

All the shirts were of the Hawaiian type except the tan one, second from the left, in the above picture.

100% percent cotton.  Circa 1968.

65%cotton, 35% poly.

Rayon cotton blend.

100% polyester.

Of course my intention was to construct a quilt that reflected the story of this man's life.  I spent some time with the widow who enthusiastically shared the significance of "Hawaii" in their lives.  

I will share details of that "Once upon a time" in a future post.

My challenge with this project was working with the different types of fabric.  Stabilizing would be absolutely necessary.

I wanted to do a traditional Hawaiian applique, but did not want to compromise the integrity of the delicate fabrics with excessive handling as is the practice with traditional needle turn applique.  I also encountered the challenge of best utilizing the rather small pieces of fabric that are left after disassembling a shirt.

I imagined a way to use fusible web applique on a small scale to create the desired effect and significance that I was looking for.  I will be sharing that technique as a tutorial.

Using a resource I had on  hand which is an excellent introduction to Hawaiian applique by Elizabeth Root, I was able to find a pre-designed template that best suited my small scale needs and offered a pattern that fit with the story:  Pineapple.





Traditionally, the pineapple is the symbol of friendship and hospitality.  The man for whom this quilt memorializes was best know as a hospitable friend.
Hence the name of the quilt:  "You've Got a Friend in Bob".