ALOHA!

 We have arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii! and spending time walking the streets.  Dan is standing right outside our hotel and ready to head down to Waikiki area to find a restaurant for our evening meal.  It's a long flight from Denver, 7 hours in the air-mostly over water!  Not a comfortable time for me--someone who doesn't like water! 

The streets are crowded, even in the evening hours when street performers come out to entertain the crowds who are shopping the designer stores.  Night finally falls and we place our heads on nice feather pillows to claim a few hours of sleep.

We are doing the local places--or ones that advertise the best!  Our breakfast is at Eggs 'n Things.  We are late, according to the large crowd that has gathered way before us.  But, our wait of an hour is well worth it!  Ahi steak, scrambled eggs, pineapple juice, pineapple pancakes covered with coconut syrup, and Spam--the local meat of the natives!  We had to have a taste--well, it tastes the same as the days of our youth.  Once is enough!

How about a walk down to the famous Waikiki beach--just two blocks from our hotel.  It is as lovely as the photos we have seen and we are delighted to walk along the waves as they splash ashore.

Yes, this is the popular location of many a visitor.  The water is clear, the sand clean and low waves bring many youngsters and oldsters alike to relaxation time.

Of course, the shoreline is dotted with many hotels and resorts.

Very few waves on this day, surfers are having a difficult time finding that perfect wave to ride.

Okay, this is interesting poster to see!  Many Japanese visitors are plagued with handouts advertising shooting ranges within walking distance of their hotel.

We spend another day visiting the Iolani Palace learning about the Hawaiian history and their kings. 

We are not allowed to take photos inside the palace, but these frescos dotted the ceiling of the porch where we are greeted by our docent.  We are given soft coverings for our shoes and enter into the grand hallway, whose floors are made from soft pine and the coverings will help protect the dark stained floors.

As we exit through the back gates, we see the royal crest.  We are going 'native' and take the bus to and from the palace with a stop along the way at Foodland to pick up some poke'-a traditional fish dish.  For seniors the bus is only $1--a bargain to our pocketbook!  Aloha! until another day.........................................

Twist My Arm----Please!

There are times when you can have your arm twisted easily!  All it takes is for a friend to send you a link to an upcoming "mystery" pattern!  Oh, boy, I'm hooked a -mystery- KAL.  So, here we go.................................
Here is one that has already begun--

Edging the Pink is a lace pattern concept from designer Lynette Meek.  Here are the requirements:  Materials - 4-ply version
400yds 4-ply yarn, sample Tosh Merino Light - Ms. Taylor
4.0mm needles 1000 + size #8 beads - FireMountainGems in a good source
Waste yarn, 3.5mm crochet hook and .6mm hook for bead placement, stitch holders and markers.
Materials - lace weight version
1100-1200yds lace weight yarn, sample Sweet Georgia SeaSilk
3.5mm needles 2000+ #9 beads or #10
waste yarn, 3.5mm crochet hook and .6mm hook for bead placement, stitch holders and markers.

A Mystery KAL (Rockfeller) from Stephen West  begins July 13 and here are the requirements: Recommended Yarn: 2 colors of a light fingering weight / 3 ply
Yardage: Color A – 410yds / 375m
Color B – 460yds / 421m
Gauge: 28 sts and 52 rows = 4″ / 10cm in garter stitch
Note that if your gauge is less than 28 sts or 52 rows, you may need a bit more yardage.
My Version: A Verb for Keeping Warm Even Tinier Annapurna (80% Merino, 10% Nylon, 10% Cashmere; 565yds / 517m per 115g skein)
Color A – Tomarus (deep plum)
Color B – Scarab (light orange

is another mystery KAL, beginning August 9.  Fiddle Knits by designer Erica.  The shawl will be a mix of textural and lace stitches and each portion of the design will be fully charted and written out. Pattern will offer two sizes, a small 1-skein shawlette and a larger full size shawl. 
Are you up for a challenge?  Here comes some good knitting adventures.

Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective

Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective was the recent exhibit at Denver Art Museum.  This was a great retrospective of the designer’s 40 years of creativity, Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective featured a super selection of 200 haute couture garments along with numerous photographs, drawings, and films that illustrate the development of Saint Laurent's style and the historical foundations of his work. Organized thematically, the presentation melded design and art to explore the full arc of Saint Laurent’s career, from his first days at Dior in 1958 through the splendor of his evening dresses from 2002.  Here are just four of the fashion photos that were featured on the above website.  Can you imagine walking through 200 of these fine creations and not allowed to touch???

 

Challenging Yourself!

Once every four years the Olympic athletes do their personal best to win one of the highly prized medals. They are challenging themselves so why not challenge ourselves? And our medals will be our finished projects.

This is medal one in the finished UFOs.  This is Wingspan pattern from Ravelry: 

Tri'Coterie by maylin.  This was a challenge to knit but the prize was well worth it.

Another challenge is this pattern from veera välimäki designs.  You can find "Color Affection" on Ravelry website.  It was fine working with just two colors but now

three colors are being worked!  and oh, what a mess!  talk about tangle, so to me this is slow going and not something I want to tackle every day.  It is definitely a challenge to finish this project!

Small Works of Art

It's those small things in life that make you happy--a baby's smile, a wave from a neighbor, a polite happening, a hug from a friend, any warm fuzzy feeling can make one appreciate the daily routine of life. These small pieces of work make me happy!

Fat Cat Patterns has placed an Angel BOM on her website!  Hurry over and get your free copy now.  Each month Sindy will have another pattern for you to create a small work of art.  These make me happy!

We are still working on these colorful chickens from Fat Cat patterns website.  These are so fun to make and will make a great wall hanging once completed.

Another small work of art--these Backyard Quilts hangings by Lisa Bonnegan are quick and easy to complete.

This hanging was intented for wool applique, but since we didn't have large scraps of wool on hand, we completed the hanging with fabric, which works just as well. 

Here is July small work of art from Patch Abilities.  We receive the kits from Cedar Chest Quilt Shoppe each month.

This was June small work--we had this hanging displayed for most of the month of June.  Each time, I looked at it--it just wasn't working for me!  So, here's what I did...............

now, my eyes are pleased and my soul is pleased!  This small piece of art works--just by changing the colors of the flip flops--why didn't I do that in the first place???

Love of Charity

Charity? A gift of your hands, heart and skill! Yes, there is a love for charities and one of our favorite is Binky Patrol. We've always heard the term 'binky' and wondered what exactly was a 'binky'. Well, according to Wikipedia: A binky can be one of the following:
•A stuffed animal or similar toy for small children
•A brand name for a pacifier, used to comfort infants or small children
•A blanket, used to keep infants or small children warm
•A kind of twisting jump made by a rabbit at play
•Binky (polar bear), a bear formerly in an Alaskan zoo
•Binky (Harry Potter), a fictional pet rabbit in the Harry Potter series


 

On a recent visit to a Quilting Hands Quilt Shop in Lyons, CO, we found two of these panels in the back room, which is partially a sale room.   These panels were marked down to $3.50 each--what a bargain!  We also found the border fabric in the sale room.  We have two of these quilt tops ready for the quilter.



We had fun working up these scrappy tops.  Cutting several scraps from the bins, 2.5" x 4.5", sewing them together and arranging in these blocks, outline with a 1.25" strips and then frame each block with a wider 2.5" border. 



This border fabric was bought last summer at Wooden Spools Quilt Shop, Denver, CO.  It is Kaffe Fassett designed.

Since there were more than 12 of these scrappy blocks made (once you get to sewing, you just can't stop!), we were able to get two tops.  The borders were reversed to get a different design effect and also solve some boredom.

I really like this version better--but, it doesn't really matter.  Both of these tops will be loved and cuddled by some little person.  There are a couple other thoughts floating around in the brain about the next design for a Binky Patrol quilt. These are fun and simple to make and definitely fills a joy in my heart!

Redwork

Nothing like working on a 'cool' subject during hot summer days.  We came across these stitchery patterns.  This snowman buddy comes from The Little Wool Shoppe blog.  Each month they will be a different snowman buddy for you to download and stitch.  The best way to transfer the pattern is with the use of a light box.



A pigma red pen is my choice.  Of course, the plan is to use red perle cotton for the thread.  But, you could use any color you wish.

The pattern has been transferred to white fabric and is ready to stitch. 

When visiting with the gals at the Wool Shoppe, we had a discussion about the best way to fasten the fabric for actual stitching.  It was recommend to use a batting for backing.  They used a pellon that had the fusible web included, but since there was none of that in our stash, we decided to try this quilt basting spray.  And it worked well. 



No hoop is required using the spray onto the cotton batting. Easy to hold as you stitch.  Now, we are ready to stitch.  Here is June pattern.

This is July pattern all finished.  A little wrinkled due to traveling, but this will press out fine.

Another 'cool' summer project comes from  Bejeweled Quilts and is called 'Reindeer Games'.  Soon we will have all of Santa's reindeer in red work.  Notice the little smudge near the nose--that's what you get when you try to drink coffee and stitch on a plane!  oh, well, it will either wash out or we'll just paint in some more color.

Here is another one of the reindeers that is playing in our games--the neat thing about these guys--you can either do them in stitchery or applique work.

Such a 'cool' smile on this fella!  The plan is to incorporate the snowbuddies with the reindeer into a December wall hanging--we'll see how that works at a later date.  So, if you are looking for something to keep your 'cool', give these patterns a stitch.........................