Kona museum pieces together history of Hawaiian quilting

One of Karen Barry’s favorite exhibits in the Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum is a 90-by-90-inch quilt that was never finished.

According to Barry, the museum’s founder, 21-year-old Lena Rasmussen came to Hawaii from California in 1895 to be a teacher on a sugar cane plantation in Waimanalo. She wanted to make a quilt to celebrate her marriage to the plantation’s engineer in 1900, so she started it by cutting and basting a red pineapple pattern on white cotton cloth.

At some point, however, she set the quilt aside and never completed it.

“No doubt, life happened,” Barry said. “Lena had four children, and her family became her priority. They moved to California in 1911. More than a century later, her granddaughter discovered it in a trunk in Lena’s garage and donated it to the museum. It’s the oldest item that’s displayed, and it’s in excellent condition. A dangling white basting thread shows exactly where Lena stopped working on it so long ago.”

Growing up in Rosemead in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, Barry learned to sew, knit, crochet and embroider from her mother, aunt and grandmother. She began quilting in 2007, shortly before she and her husband, Robert, moved to Kailua-Kona where they purchased a 369-square-foot shop named Quilt Passions.

Over the years, the couple expanded the business three times in size and scope, and now sell finished quilts along with fabric, patterns and other quilt-making supplies in a 2,200-square-foot space.

In 2016, as they were planning Quilt Passions’ third expansion, a lightbulb went off in their heads: Why not open a museum of Hawaiian quilts? Although museums throughout the islands exhibit such quilts, which are characterized by designs appliqued with stitches that create a rippling “echo” effect, none at the time was focusing exclusively on them.

The Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum Society organized and received its 501(c)(3) designation in March 2016 with a threefold mission: to guide the operations of the Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum and Gallery, to educate the public about the unique art and culture of Hawaiian quilting, and to facilitate the conservation and restoration of vintage Hawaiian quilts.

It took the Barrys nearly two years to find a location that could accommodate both the museum and Quilt Passions; they finally found the perfect spot in the heart of Kailua-Kona town. An enlarged Quilt Passions opened there in February last year, and across the hall, the Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum and Gallery welcomed its first visitors that July.

“Soon after we put the word out that we were going to open a quilt museum, the quilts began coming to us,” Barry said. “People brought quilts they had stored in their attics, closets and garages for years. We also have new quilts. Some were deeded to the museum, others are on loan and some are available for sale on consignment. Prices range from $800 to $25,000.”

About 45 quilts are exhibited in the 1,000-square-foot museum. Accompanying each quilt is signage that notes its dimensions, the names of its designer(s) and maker(s), date of completion, materials used, method of construction, any awards it has received and interesting stories about its background.

Most of the quilts are from local sources; that said, Barry accepts Hawaiian-style quilts from all over the world (four from Japan are currently on view). The museum has more quilts than there is space to display them; more than a dozen are stored in a climate-controlled room.

“The vintage quilts section remains pretty much the same, but we try to change the rest of the displays quarterly,” Barry said. “For one thing, it’s good for quilts to ‘rest’ after they’ve been hung for a while. We also like to spotlight different quilters and display entries in local competitions such as the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Quilt Show in November. Robert quilts and is hands-on with everything at the museum and Quilt Passions. Every time we change an exhibit, he’s the one who makes it happen. We have active volunteers and board members, but he’s the one who’s climbing ladders.”

A visit to the museum usually begins with a guided tour that points out the highlights. Most of the docents are quilters who are happy to show the projects they’re working on and demonstrate their techniques. Also available are video presentations on kapa (tapa) and Hawaiian quilting as well as kids’ activities, including a scavenger hunt which requires keiki to study the displayed quilts for clues.

“The Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum and Gallery is more than just a place to see beautiful quilts,” Barry said. “It teaches people about the history of Hawaiian quilting because that’s fascinating too. And it’s helping to perpetuate the art. Many visitors, both men and women, leave inspired to learn more and start their own quilting projects.”

Tropical Inspirations Quilt Show

The Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum Society’s fourth annual Tropical Inspirations Quilt Show is set for July 20-21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the lobby of Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona.

Karen Barry has once again partnered with Pam Bocko of Pieceful Designs, a quilt pattern design company in Eugene, Ore., to produce it. Admission is free.

More than 70 tropical-themed quilts from Hawaii, the mainland and Japan will be displayed. Many will be available for sale, and prizes will be awarded to best of show, viewer’s choice and the top three entrants in seven categories.

Be sure to “talk story” with the guests of honor, Hawaii island quilters Roberta Muller and Viv Smith.

The show also features a made-in-­Hawaii arts and crafts fair, an exhibit of vintage quilts and a Keiki Korner offering a simple stitching project for kids 8 through 12. Go to tropicalinspirationsquiltshow. weebly.com for more information.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.