The Mauna Lani re-opened after a big renovation and COVID-19 shut down. This was their first May Day/Lei Day celebration in a couple years. I was the only lauhala weaver that was able to attend this time. In the past I would bring whatever project I was working on and weave and talk story with the other weavers and visitors. I decided to change things ups and take 1/8 inch mauʻu bracelet kits and invite Cara to drive out with me to make bracelets. I forgot to take pictures of our finished lauhala bracelets. We dolled up with pāpale, lei, and vintage mu'umu'u that were found online: Cara in a Mr. D's of Kailua-Kona and I in a homemade bark cloth. My lei pīkake, by #piliponoi, was a gift from my cousin.
There was a lei contest and auction with proceeds donated to charity. The white one in the picture was a two strand lei wili tiare. Many cool and interesting varieties of lei.
There were other demonstrations along with live music and occasional hula auana going on. I didn't get pictures of the hulu displays. I was very preoccupied with the bracelets but managed a couple pictures of the others.
I did remember to snap a picture of Bob's cordage. Saw kaula olonā IRL for the first time. It's surprisingly very silky and soft. Bob kept busy during the shut down!
Also remembered to snap a picture of Mele doing launiu baskets. It was so nice to see everyone after such a long hiatus.
Last month I had wrote about a Mamo Howell pīkake holomū I bought through eBay. It was coming from Scotland and scheduled to arrive in June. It arrived early in a most beautiful mailer bag!
I had shared pictures from the eBay posting, but in person, the lauhala mat pattern was more evident.
When first I posted about this pīkake holomū I received immediate responses from two lauhala patron friends who had the same or similar design Mamo Howell(s):
Agnes, whom I figured would know about my holomū, immediately emailed saying she had a tan version! Her hemline is asymmetrical but the fabric pattern is the same.
Kevin has the exact same color pattern shirt. He shared this pic he had taken back in 2021. Kevin is adorable! He offered to send "a more normal" picture but I said no, why be normal? LOL. He validated my intention to do a pīkake outfit. Thank you Kevin!
So now I need an excuse to dress up and take my new-to-me holomū for a spin.