[From February 2019 to May 2020 I tried blogging with konafarmgirl.com. Although it was fun at first and I received compliments and good feedback, it was time consuming. I'd rather be weaving. There were some entries about lauhala that I thought may be entertaining here at lauhalahats.com. In the past I tried not to post my own personal lauhala stuff on lauhalahats.com but now think evolving is important. I'll keep all the weaving events in the "News" section. The first few of these blog entries will be copied and pasted here as I will not be renewing the konafarmgirl.com domain. It may be out there in cyberspace in perpetuity, but in case it actually does disappear I'll have my favorite entries available here. And BTW, "EH" means my "Excellent Husband."]
Weaving lauhala requires several important tools. One of which is a water spray bottle to occasionally spritz the lau so the koana (strips) stay pliable, don’t crack, and have surface tension to easier manipulate. Weavers usually buy spray bottles or give/get them as gifts with other weavers. They are not difficult to find. Small ones are convenient and found in the travel sized toiletries section in grocery and drug stores. I’ve found that spray bottles from hair products are pretty durable and make good spritzers. After cleaning them well, I cover them in lauhala so I know which one is mine from the patterns I weave on it.
This spray bottle came from an essential oil mix I bought at the South Kona Farmers Market a while back. It cleaned up nicely so I wove a “lovers knot” pattern on which has puka that allows the bottle to show through.
Weaving bottle covers requires almost all of the skills needed to weave papale (hats). One needs to know how to make a piko (the beginning), hau nu (add koana) to expand the size, and hi’i (closing the edge).
On the right is the cover I finished today. The koana are 3/16 inches wide. It took me about 3 hours of weaving. On the left is one I did over a year ago with 1/16 inch koana. Although it is smaller, the narrower weave took me over four times longer to complete. I also had to add and reduce to follow the shape of the bottle. It was my first time “reducing” so the weave is rather uneven, but the bottle feels good in my hand and the spray works well so it is my go to spritzer. I might switch to the new one or I might give the new one as a gift to one of my weaver friends or kumu. It is nice having recycling/upcycling options.