More Frocks

Before I left to go to Kauai I posted some frocks but didn't get all of them loaded because Blogger was being cantankerous that day and I ran out of time.

Here are some more frocks. I will be selling these at the May Day show in Santa Cruz this Sunday. If you live in the area please come visit us!! See the postcard to the right of this post and if you have questions just contact me! It's a nice show with a variety of fabulous art.

Get out and walk

Most everyday that I'm on Kauai I walk. I need to purchase a pedometer to see just how many miles I clock. Do you know of a good, reliable, inexpensive pedometer? If so please let me know.

I don't know if it's the beauty of the island itself, the call of the beach, or the tradewind breezes that urge me to get outside. I know where I live in California is a beautiful place too but when I'm there and tell myself to take a walk I do it grudgingly or more often than not I make excuses to not walk. Why is that?

I have to leave this place tomorrow so I'm packing up my things to put back in the storage closet and cleaning but I wonder what it would be like to stay longer. Would I be able to live here? It's a possibility but would I really want to live here full time? I need to come over and spend some real time here, a month or two and then assess how I feel. With my youngest son graduating from high school this year that possibility becomes more real.

Things certainly slow down when on island, Hawaiian time. The maximum speed limit is 50 and that's only on a few straight-a-ways. This gives you an idea of slowing down. As soon as I hit the highway in California you can just feel the pace picking up a few notches and you're off to that lifestyle. And as I said I walk a lot when I'm here, my world becomes smaller and closer to nature. I gather, shells, seed pods, bark, driftwood, rocks, feathers, small crab shells and dried up sea urchins that have been washed ashore Why? I find them unusual and interesting.

I have good friends here. I told you about Connie and I taking some art classes together. I went to Bea's the other night and we made chili rellanos, I'm also meeting her for drinks and pupu's a little later this afternoon. Yesterday I went to lunch at my friend's near Kapa'a and spent the whole afternoon chatting with Tish and listening to her husband Heifara play his new ukelele and also the wooden nose flutes he carves. Heifara also makes jewelry, He weaves fine coconut fibers into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings adding Tahitian pearls, carved bone or shell, and sea shells. Here are a few pieces of his that I have.


Notice the fine weaving and the tiki mermaid carved from horn.





These were shells Heifara found on the beach. See how he has woven a little cocoon for each shell?



This is the bracelet that Heifara gave me during the visit. I love his work and appreciate his hospitality and giving nature. Likewise for Tish! She too is a talented lady and so generous and full of Aloha.

I'll fly home tomorrow and begin to dream of returning. My husband wrote a song about that .........
"I don't wanna leave the place I've grown fond of
Don't wanna get on that silver bird and fly away
It's growin' on me like ivy up a stone wall
Starting to take root in my someway" .............

You can here a short sound clip of it here Click on "Dream On"

aloha kakahiaka

Aloha, good morning!

I have lots to tell of my trip here on the Island of Kauai. Everyday day but two I have taken a long walk. Yesterday I must have walked at least five miles. Here are pictures of my journey. So many things to photograph and I have tried to narrow it down and also to put as a slide show. My first pictures are of a self portrait challenge that Misty has challenged readers of her blog to. I may post more of these later in the day but so far here are mine:





Last week I took a couple of classes from Marionette in Waimea with my friend Connie. One day a silk painting class. Believe it or not all these years I've dyed silk scarves I had never tried silk painting. I enjoyed the process and will probably do some more of this. Marionette has an easy technique. The second day we took a water color class. Marionette has posted about this class on her blog . You wouldn't believe the 93 year old man who was another student. He was a sweetheart and a very talented painter!

The weather has been unusual for the Island. More cloudy and rainy than ever. When I was here in Dec. I only had one sunny day. This time has been better but still rather cloudy and windy. Rain is predicted to start tonight and get worse on the weekend. I am leaving Friday and I am hoping things are not too bumpy as I dread turbulence on planes!

I'm off for my walk now and here is a sample of the path I take.

Preview of Wayward Frocks

Jennifer and I have been working hard on our line of reconstructed vintage slips and bedjackets. We're calling them "wayward frocks" and I will be showing and selling some of these at the May Day show in Santa Cruz Here is a preview of some of them with many more to come. We will have a boutique at Art Unraveled selling our wearable creations of these reconstructed vintage slips and bedjackets along with hats, hand dyed and sewn flower pins, and dyed silk scarves and wraps.

This is a bedjacket I shibori dyed (it's subtle) and then added dyed silk scarf lengths as a skirt. I'm still working on the top front. The dress has a "wayward bloom" from silks I dyed and passed along to Jennifer who crafted the fabrics into this hand sewn flower pin.


The pictures of this dress show it pinned but I have sewn it since these pics were taken. I'm leaving town tomorrow for ten days and wanted to get these on the blog but don't have time to photo. I think you get the idea. Again the flower pin was hand sewn by Jennifer.


Here is the packet I sent Jennifer:

And this is what she did with it.

I've sent her many packets and you may see that she uses parts of one with other slips.








Blogger Photo uploader is not cooperating with me and I need to go pack so posting the rest of the photos I have will have to wait until I return after April 24th. I'm headed to the Island of Kauai that I love so much.

Aloha!

Nuno Felted Scarves

I finally finished the scarves I made when Sharon Kilfoyle was here and got some photos taken. I am very intrigued with this process but need to practice more to achieve the nice felting that Sharon gets.

Nuno felting is when you add wool roving to sheer fabrics, preferable silk, wet the wool with soapy water and agitate by rolling in bubble wrap so that the wool fibers migrate into the sheer fabric and form as one fabric. Sharon taught us how to collage the silks and then lay the roving on top.

Here are my creations and following my pics are some images of a piece Sharon made while in my studio.








In Sharon's piece you can see in the first picture how the fabric was layed out and you can see the "stripe" of black wool roving layed on top, this is the part that gets felted.

The Dance Party

Okay several people have written urging me to post the dance party pics. I hope no one gets bent out of shape about it but it was quite obvious I was taking pictures and if anyone did not want me doing that they had the opportunity to speak up and I would have gladly erased their's. I didn't publish any that were unsightly or showed anyone's behind that had danced in front of the camera lens. So on that note........ here they are and I hope no one is disappointed that they aren't more racy! LOL! It really was just good, clean fun dancing! Except the people who's dorm rooms were below us and hadn't joined to the party thought the roof was coming down, the ceiling and the doors were ashakin'!