Okinawan quilts help preserve island memories

By Melissa Petrini

When most people think of quilting, they might picture their grandmothers or something that super crafty people do in their spare time. However, over the past several years, quilting among service members and their spouses has taken on a new meaning.

            In fact, several people making these Okinawan memory quilts have never sewn before, but seek to preserve the memories they made while in Okinawa.

            It all started with an idea to create a quilt with each square representing something that would help remind them of Okinawa, such as a taiko drum, Shisa dog, “kokeshi” doll or the Japanese and American flags together.

            It is unknown who started this idea, but people began getting together, and created a quilting group of about 20 or so people. Then each person picked a theme that they wanted to quilt, for example, carp windsocks, and then made that same quilt square for as many people that were in their group.

            The group would agree to a given timeline to complete their squares, such as four to six months. When the deadline approached, the group would meet once again and exchange the squares they had made. Each person, who only made one square 20 times, now had 20 different squares to complete their quilts.

            Several of these groups exist today, and it has become more popular as people realize the value these quilts have and the memories these quilts will help preserve long after they have left the island.

            Melanie Ball, a navy spouse who recently returned to the states, was one person who was more than happy to spend “a couple of hundred hours” to preserve her memories.

            “It took me about three months to make all 20 squares of my hibiscus flower pattern, then two months to finish all the hand stitching, and a couple days to piece it all together,” Ball said.

One such group, led by Melissa Kiser, meets each month to make sure everyone is on track and understands the process and timeline.

            Many of these quilters are first-timers and have never sewn before, but the allure of the outcome drives people to spend hundreds of hours making and piecing their Okinawan experiences into something tangible.

            To start your own group, all you have to do is get some friends together and do a little research online, or talk with others who have already started. Then plan out what kinds of things you want displayed and organize the group to make sure everyone knows and understands the same quilting techniques and procedures.

            Once you are done, you have something to take with you that will help preserve the memories you have made in Okinawa.

            “Now that I am home, it is so fun to show my quilt off, and explain what each square represents,” Ball said. “For me, it is the perfect way to memorialize my Okinawa experience.”