Hawaii This and That

Our very last stop (on the way to the airport, in fact) was a fabric shop.
The fabric was super cheap in both price and quality, but I enjoyed walking back and forth and back and forth through the aisles. I chose about six crazy Hawaiian prints and bought about 1/2 yard of each. I also grabbed a handful of buttons made from coconut shells. Very fun.

Surveying the beach...
The view from our balcony...
Paper cranes and a kukui lei on a stone "shrine..."
Kamehameha and leaves...
Another shrine...

Diversion

How about something other than beautiful pictures from Hawaii?!

I'm working on an art quilt project with the fourth graders at my kids' school this month. I did this same project last year. You can read all about it by clicking on "kid quilts" in the label section at the bottom of this post. That will bring up all the posts I've written about this project.

One class chose "candy land" as their theme. Here they are working on placing all the different elements on the background.
I've cropped out all their faces since I don't have permission to post them on my blog, but they are smiling! Other classes chose space, hot air balloon festival and Hollywood as their themes.

It has been so much fun! I just love the hour I've been spending with the kids every morning. The tops should be done this week and I'll begin quilting. You'll see the finished art soon!

Diamond Head

Our first morning in Hawaii, we got up very early (because of the time change) and walked down to the beach. There was a beautiful crescent moon. You might be able to see it as a speck in this picture.

Oh, what a beautiful morning. (Now that tune will be in my head all day.)

Jeff insisted I put my coffee off to the side for this picture. But, trust me, I took a cup with me from the hotel. That's Diamond Head in the background.
Later in the week we hiked to the top of Diamond Head. It looks to immense in that picture, but actually, it was a pretty easy hike. We saw this guy there.
The trail took us through a deep dark tunnel...and up an old metal spiral staircase...

and several steps. (We saw one gentleman going up the stairs as we were going down. He said it was his fifth trip that morning. Yowza.)At the top overlooking the ocean...

and the city!
I think hiking is one of my favorite things to do while traveling. I love all the things I see --- people, interesting clothes, interesting animals, vistas, varied terrain and plants. And the things I hear -- snippets of conversation, wind, water, animals... the voice of my husband.

Likeke Hike

One of my very favorite parts of our trip to Hawaii was a wonderful afternoon hike. We started at the Nu'Uanu Pali Overlook. Can you believe that view?!It was a bit brisk and windy.
We walked down and around the overlook to the old Pali Highway which is supposed to be "closed."
Pali means sheer cliff in Hawaiian ... appropriate.
The old Pali highway was over grown with all kinds of wonderful tropical plants. I thought it was a lovely hike, in fact... it would be easy for kids or even handicapped folks or strollers since it was paved. Until we got to the next turn off.

We were reading a step by step guide which was pretty helpful. When it directed us to look for the wooden steps, I imagined old railroad ties set into the path. Instead, we got this:Yes. Rickety old stairs rigged on the side of the hill with an old electrical cord to grab for support. This led under the new Pali Highway. See that car racing by above Jeff's head?!
Then we ducked down and crawled under the highway. It was pretty awesome.

We went from tropical hike to urban spelunking.Eventually, we made it back to the jungle.
Ah, these are the wooden stairs I imagined.Roots also made good "stairs."

The rest of the hike was somewhat technical. But we had good shoes, no bugs, plenty of time and eager attitudes. The plants and sounds were amazing. Eventually we made it to the Likeke Falls.We saw a group of people gathering at the trail head, but we were the only ones at the falls. We did see the group again on the way back. It appeared to be a guided hike. We were pretty proud of ourselves for finding it on our own.
We sloshed around in the water and took lots of pictures,before headed back up the trail.
Equally enjoying the natural and the man-made.

Home Again

Jeff and I enjoyed a fabulous trip to Hawaii.
We're home and feeling excited about continuing the every-day adventure of life together.

Thoughts

I've been overwhelmed by a variety of things this week. That's ok, though. It generates growth. Right?

I'm remembering these giant pages with inspiring quotes at the Fort Worth Science Center.
I've been dreaming of a get-away. But, I'll be back soon.

Me!

I finished the self-portrait from the Sue Benner workshop last weekend. In fact, I took the workshop on Saturday and had the quilt finished to share at the DAFA meeting on Monday. As I was debating how to do the background, Sue said, "Sometimes you just have to commit." So I did.
I brought this photo with me to the workshop. (It was taken at my birthday lunch.)
It was a little difficult to get started. I wasn't thinking too clearly when I gathered fabrics to bring to the workshop, so I had to make due. Thus the leafy face. (Which I actually like.) Sue also said during the workshop, "No one is allowed to say that they didn't bring the right fabric."

I began by sketching right on to the batting and then free cutting shapes that fit. I had the hair, face and shoulders done by early afternoon and then I had to address the facial features. I really didn't want to do them at all. What's wrong with a blank face? Sue encouraged me to press on, though she would have preferred that I used a much brighter fabric for the eyes, nose and mouth. I just couldn't. She may have been right.

There are other problems with the final result I think. But, I considered it an excellent exercise and once I went through the process, it seemed best not to over-work it and "just commit" to finishing it.

Rather than add any additional surface design or hand embroidery -- my signature techniques -- I just added one random sheer element, quilted it and zigged the edges.

Here is the random sheer element -- a chair. I like to remember that it is important to be still and patient and yet not inactive.I did not want to add contour lines to my clothes or face with free motion quilting. I know that is not one of my strengths, so I did an overlay motif of leaves and plants. I think it works just fine.

Yesterday I got a hair cut and lost about 4 inches, so it's not so long and flippy anymore. That may have been a mistake.