Maui No Ka Oi

My trip to Maui was a business trip and I really meant to leave my knitting at home, but at the last minute Mr. Sockfish decided to stowaway. The Trekking Monkey sock posed in front of one of the Wailea Shops, where Paris Hilton is alleged to shop. From a crafter's POV, this shop is full of great projects. Who doesn't need a dial phone that looks like a pink dog, or a dress so stiff with beads it's impossible to sit in? I suppose if I was 20, a size o and rich I would ...errr, well maybe not. But I certainly wouldn't mind making some of this stuff for fun!




I managed to finish one sock. I made it a little shorter for our tropical weather. I also stopped at Sew Special - Maui at the Kaahumau Shopping Center in Kahului. No yarn, but lots of great buttons and I picked up the Clover felting needles. No, I don't have any plans, for needle felting, I just "collected" the kit, heh.


Both of my parents are from Maui. After my grandma died, I lost my desire to go to Maui for awhile. My last trip there was 3 years ago and I was amazed and dismayed at all the progress.

Downtown Lahaina, is lot of little shops and restaurants and a lot of traffic.

Kula still has a breathtaking view but there are so many new houses up there. This picture looks down on the "neck" of Maui, which is said to look like a kneeling woman. The West Maui mountains, viewed from the south, make up her head.

I ate pineapple every day. It was so sweet. This is a great pineapple year, hot! Woohoo!!

DP Knitting Needle Case, A Tutorial

1. Cut one each 9.5 x 29.5 inches outside fabric, inside fabric and fleece. Pin together like a sandwich, right sides out.



2. Cut one pocket 6 x 29.5 inches. Make a 1/2 inch narrow hem by pressing 1 inch on a long side, then folding raw edge to pressed line. Sew down. Use a decorative stitch if you wish.



3. Pin flap on inside, matching raw edge of pocket to bottom of sandwich.



Mark you sewing lines from top to bottom. I put two 3.5 inch pocket on each edge to fit my needle gauge, and added other pockets from 1 to 1 3/4 inch wide. Sew these down through all thicknesses. Use a quilting foot if you have one.

4. The top flap is 29 x 5 1/4 inch. Either use one piece twice as tall and fold it in half or two separate fabrics. Round the corners with the handy cd template, trim and clip the curve. Sew 1/4 inch seam along raw edges. Turn right side out and Press. Decorate flap now if you wish.



5. Pin flap opposite pocket. I should be 5/8 inch or so from the raw edges.



6. Center a 36 inch piece of ribbon on the left edge of the outside.



7. Bind the edge. I used self made binding, 2 1/4 inch wide. It does not have to be bias. I like to use a serpentine stitch or serge the edges before turning the binding to compress the edges.



PS: found this great Continuous Quilt-Binding Instruction by Heather Bailey.

Howard the Hedgehog, FO

Pattern: Fiber Trends Huggable Hedgehogs
Yarn: Ella rae Classic, Fuzzy eyelash
Thanks to the talented Kai for lending me her needle felting kit for the eyes and nose. No blood was drawn during the process! I wonder if he needs a mouth?

I named him Howard after the Bee Man. Bev suggested he needed a name and after my bee adventure, Howard just seemed to fit.

I'm not sure whether my last pineapple to grow (there is one other) is just starved for nutrients or a different variety. It is smaller, has a different shaped crown, and purple striped leaves. Time will tell.

Happy 4th of JulY!

Happy 4th of July!

Pineapple 3 picked itself, by falling over. I think it is the sweetest one so far. Pineapple 4 is ready already, but I'll pick it tomorrow and share it at work.

The Bee Man came yesterday to study my bees. Unfortunately for them they took up in the wall by the front door and could not be removed intact without major carpentry required. While listening to the bees, he heard a larger critter, darn, probably a rat. Sigh. The trials and tribulations of home ownership. At least it's outside, but I know they get up the double walls into the attic and was starting to get suspicious some had found their way in. Every 10 years or so, those crafty critters find their way in.

I finished knitting and felting Mr. Hedgehog. I want to needle felt his eyes and nose but for the life of me haven't located needle felting needles anywhere on this rock. I bet Isle Knits has them, but Sue is not open today as far as I can tell. Maybe I'll end up with plastic eyes. I didn't have enough brown yarn so made two white feet. It took 10 minutes to felt in the washer. The short row shaping of the back was very cleverly designed IMO.