Blog

The past ten months blew by.  As in one big blur.  Somewhere in there were the holidays, massive storm flooding, and being 4 miles from the epicenter of an earthquake... still cleaning and repairing.  We had damage from both the storm and the earthquake but blessed it was not as bad as others.  I am grateful I was able to get out of the vog and go to Maui for the Fiber Arts Conference in June.  I got to weave with the most excellent Kumu Pōhaku Kahoʻohanohano and long time fellow haumana Sharon and Judy.  Made new friends and met...

Not long ago I had mentioned that my posts were getting redundant.  So, in breaking monotony and fulfilling a long time desire, here's to introducing a new category... "history." Backing up a little, I had started teaching high school in 1996.  I took two years, finished my MA in Pacific Island History at UH Mānoa, then returned to the DOE.  At that time I was a little burned out and had no idea what I wanted to do for my PhD dissertation.  By 2004, I had taken up ulana lauhala and thought I would return for my PhD to study...

Lately it seems like this subject has been coming up in conversations...  When I first learned to weave, I was told "if a tree looks good, someone is probably already taking care of it" and "always ask first, don't go help yourself."  More recently, during the talk story session at HalaFest in September, I learned that good sources have become like fishing spots- weavers keep their locations secret.  With invasive species like Hala scale wiping out groves, Little Fire Ants taking over Hawaiʻi Island(s), more people taking up ulana lauhala, and overall urbanization, access to local lauhala has diminished over...

There were more than three events in September that were lauhala related.  I'm only writing about the ones that I attended.  I got to the 2nd annual 2025 HalaFest after lunch.  I missed the Talk Story with Kaohu Seto, Sr., but attended the Biocultural Conservation of Hala.  BIISC's exhibit table was informative with lots of examples.  Very interesting and exciting stuff going on in Puna and UH Hilo & Mānoa.  The celebration of Hala and emphasis on learning and conservation was exciting and palpable.  I'm glad I made the drive. Next was Aloha Festivities at Mauna Lani.  The hulu and...

I’d been putting off writing while gathering pics to write about, but then realized it had been NINE months since I last posted something.  Things kind of get redundant after awhile.  I imagine it may get boring reading about the same topics over and over.  I’m currently in a purse making phase…  Trying to use up fabric, interfacing, and handles.  It started with needing a “white” purse to accessorize my Daughters of Hawai’i regalia.  I had ordered "white palaka" from Little Cocalico but then decided to use white on white fabric (fig.2&4 above), from Kimuraʻs Fabric Store, that was leftover from this...