Hawaiian Quilting Research Paper

The both stories give you a clear understanding of what the characters think about the quilts and why they're so important.The main idea behind the quilts is to let the reader know what the characters have been through and what memories were formed in their lives.In “Everyday Use”, The quilt was made from their grandma's old dress and the grandpa army uniform. In “My Mother Pieced Quilts”, the mom used old dresses and nightgowns.The Daughter reflects on her mother's memories when she runs down and up of the quilt.There are sculptures of their family and in the quilt, there's death and life, love.The quilt becomes a

There can be great comfort in understanding one’s heritage especially when it involves the deep love and devotion of a strong mother. The poem combines family and love with the quilt to show the memories that she has shared threw the generations that have had the quilt. In the poem “my mother pieced quilts” by Teresa Paloma Acosta and the short story “ Everyday use” by Alice Walker, both author’s use imagery and figurative language to establish a quilt as a symbol for family, love and memories to illustrate their themes.

Almost everyone has something in their family that has a very special meaning. Most of the time that object has something to do with family heritage. This is definitely true for the poem "my mother pieced quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. In the poem "my mother pieced quilts" by Teresa Acosta and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, both author's use imagery and figurative language to establish the quilt as a symbol for family heritage to illustrate their themes. Family heritage is what brings family together.

Native Americans are the indigenous people of the North American continent and the cultural traditions and art forms are unique to these regional groups. The people in these groups have several names and the first adopted name Indian by Spanish explorers proved erroneous, however, now accepted names include either American Indian or Native American. I will refer to these groups as Native Americans or by their tribal affiliation. There are diverse tribal groups original to North America who lived on the Great Plains, in the Woodlands, on the Northwest coast, and in the Southeast or the Southwest regions. Various Native American tribes created art forms such as the Apache, Cherokee, Pueblo, and Hopi communities. In my research, I found that the Navajo also contributed in many ways to Native American art through making jewelry, beading, drawing, painting, sculpting, carving, and weaving. These art works provided their tribe notoriety with countless “years of experience through their creativity and sense of design”, lending to an “astonishing volume and variety of artwork which has created a lasting legacy”, per NativeAmerican-Art.com (2010). Understandably, art comes in various forms and from various cultures, but the Native American Navajo tribe contributed vastly and merits mention for its beautiful contributions. Therefore, I

Quilting can also be used for expression of oneself or for social commentary. Back in the 1800’s when there were many wars women would usually make quilts because they were what was needed in those times and the fabric was often hard to come by and it was usually saved for clothes making.” It was a means to escape from the isolation of their lifestyle and it allowed them the artistic freedom to express themselves. The quilts produced by our ancestors told stories about their lifestyles that could not be captured by pen and paper. Every quilt we see today, regardless of when the quilt was made, relates a story. The types of fabrics, the design of the quilt, the signature of the quilter, all reveal an intimate story of the woman or man who made the quilt.” (Meeske,Quilt Me a Story) They used quilting to get out of the bleakness and horrible things that were going on in their lives at the moment and put how they felt in the quilts. Around the mid-1800’s women quilted a lot more to show artistic talent, political views, and even their emotions. “Prior to a woman’s ability to vote, some women used their artistic talents and expressed their political views through a quilt. The issue of slavery in the United States in the mid-1800s led to quilt patterns called Slave Chain

The quilts are used in the representation of what heritage means to Mama and Maggie versus Dee’s view of them. Mama describes that:

History and the wide variety cultures has altered the way women quilt. Quilts in Colonial America resembled their culture and lands from which the quilters had come from. The wealthy and social prominent settlers in the south began to make patchwork quilts after the middle class and poor women had been working on patchwork for hundreds of years. The Puritans brought sturdy fabrics and simple designs, and in northeastern America the colors were more colorful. Linsey-woolsey, also known as woolen bedcovers were not often made as a staple within the household.

The rich society and convention of the Hawaiians are likewise communicated in their works of art. The greater part of the fine arts of the antiquated Hawaiians are made both for tasteful and practical purposes. The kapa, for occasion is an illustration of the Hawaiians' recognized art. This is a fine material delivered from the paper mulberry plant. The completed item is utilized as swaddles for children furthermore formed to be worn as a skirt by the locals. Kapa is additionally used to make appealing covers. Other privately created works of art are produced using Lauhala or hala takes off. The completed results of Lauhala incorporate bowls, caps, and floor

Hawaii, translated from the ancient Hawaiian language should mean paradise because that's what it is. Hawaii has a climate that varies only several degrees in temperature year round and the sun always shines. The rainy season is in January, but it isn't so rainy that it deters visitors. In fact, winter is one of the most popular times of year to visit Hawaii. This is probably because it is cold and dreary just about everywhere else in the United States. Hawaii makes for the perfect getaway for Californians because it is only about a three-hour flight.

The first person to unite the island was Kamehameha. He was born as Paiea, the lonely one. His uncle, Kalani’opu’u was the ruler of Hawai’i before Kamehameha conquered the islands. He/Kamehameha wasn’t supposed to become the king after all. Until he achieved so many mana from all the battles he won and from the people who respected him, he was able to become the king, Kamehameha the Great.

Waniek describes the quilt in great detail, describing the memories show it’s history, which tells the reader it has been around for awhile. When Waniek does start to describe the quilt’s physical appearance, she leads into talking about the owners of the quilt, noting what color they are. The color of the people goes much deeper than we think, in fact it holds both a connotation and denotation. Waniek uses those elements to further explain the complex meanings of the quilt.

The earliest people believed to come to the Hawaiian Islands were Polynesians from the Marquesas and they came between 500 and 750 A.D. Later, in 1000 A. D., the Tahiti came. The Tahiti brought over the belief in gods and social hierarchy, resulting in the hawaiian people following a Kapu system. In `1778, James cook, the first westerner to reach the Hawaiian Islands, paved the way for other explorers to come. James cook name the Islands the “Sandwich Islands” so show gratitude for the Earl of Sandwich. Cook dies a year later because of Hawaiian conflicts on Kealakekua Bay. In 1795, King Kamehameha led a campaign through the Hawaiian Islands, capturing and uniting all the islands under his monarchy in 1810. During his conquest, many ships anchored

Culturally, the symbolism of a quilt is understood to be an heirloom piece that is closely guarded and highly prized. The ownership of the quilt and the generational lines it passes down is known before the piecing is begun. Stitching the pieces together is done by groups of women. The tiny bits of cloth each carry a memory, one from grandpa's shirt, one square from an aunt's Christmas dress, a piece from the flannel nightgown a mother wore as she pulled her sick child close to her bosom. The pieces are carefully and artistically pieced together into a collage of

The Flower cloth is intriguingly designed by hand. Hmong women were responsible for sewing the cloth and the beautiful embroideries. Several Hmong women use a rare method of reverse appliqué, "designs made by sewing on a patch to the underside of a fabric and then cutting away and turning under the edge of the top fabric" (Fadiman ). The design is extremely difficult and takes years to acquire this skill. Hmong dresses are elaborated with trimmings, coins, and a variety of colorful yarns. The dresses were highly decorative and added bulk to the man or woman wearing the dress. However, the Rooster hat is a modernized tradition when the Hmong people came to the United States. The base of the hat was normally purchased and decorated with the coins and trimmings.

There is nothing more interesting, and rewarding, than hand piecing a quilt top. An assortment of articles is needed, such as: straight pins, brightly colored scraps of material, your quilt block pattern pieces, scissors, a needle, thread, and a thimble. One other item, not necessarily needed but very helpful, is a good warm fire and a lot of heavy snow clouds. First of all, your scraps need to be flat, and pressed, if possible. You need to start with a simple pattern, such as the "Nine Patch" if you have never pieced a quilt top before. Choose the kinds of material that you desire for each color that you want to put in your quilt block. Place the pattern piece on the material and pin down with straight pins so that the material won 't slip while you are cutting and cause your piece to come out oddly shaped. Proceed in this manner, with each pattern piece, until you have enough pieces cut out for the block. It is better to cut pieces for enough blocks to last for the length of time that you plan to work. It may take some guessing on this part. If you desire to, you can cut enough pieces for the entire quilt top, however I would suggest not trying to do too much cutting at once because you may get ready to quit before you get to the fun part. I prefer to cut for awhile and then do some sewing, then you can go back and cut some more. More than likely you will not be able to finish the complete top in one day, anyway. After your pieces are all cut, find a good, comfortable