Gobble Gobble!

Okay, who ate too much today??? Hubby and I went to his sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. She always puts on quite a spread. There were about 20 of us this year. Thanksgiving in Hawaii is quite a different menu than what folks on the mainland eat. Oh sure, we had Turkey, Ham, mashed potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. But a traditional Thanksgiving appetizer (pupu) in my husband's family consists of sushi, fresh catch sashimi, edemame (soy beans), shrimp cocktail, and ogo poke (chunks of fresh raw fish with onions, seaweed, and a chef's choice of ingredients.

We came home and both took naps! But don't go thinking that I took the day off! I have no time for that! I finished up one bag that was on my order list and made two bags out of a couple of new coffee bags that I recently got permission to sew with for my etsy store. One of them is "Buddha's Cup" coffee. On one side it says "for the enlightened bean in all of us" and it has a cute Chubby smiling Buddha on the other side.

The other bag was made with Country Samurai's bag. I really like their bag too. One side says "Kona Peaberry" which is the primo type of coffee. The other side has Japanese writing that I assume says, "Country Samurai". I will have to ask Sharlene Kunitake, the owner.

So I am just trying to juggle and balance all this bag making. I sent off 31 bags to Kauai this week, made 12 xmas stockings for Kona Mountain Coffee's retail store, sold 7 bags out of my etsy store and keep plugging away at the orders that I have to finish before Christmas.

Back to the Sweat Shop!
a hui hou

just checking in...

The Kona Coffee Festival has come and gone. We had a very successful day at Hale Halewai. Met some great people and had good sales inspite of the economy and there being less foot traffic than in previous years. I took several custom orders that I will be working feverishly to complete before Christmas.

A wonderful gal named Janet Lipps purchased seven of my silk diva bags and she will be selling them in her gallery that she is taking over from Sunny Pauole. The gallery is in the artsy little town of Holualoa. I am grateful to have another venue so that people can see the beautiful silk bags up close and personal.

I have been sewing so much that I haven't had very much time to take photos or post new items. I hope to get caught up on all my orders SOON! So if you are waiting for your bag, thank you for being patient with me!

For now, I need to catch a few Z's so I can get up and do this all over again! Ever see the movie "Ground Hog Day"?

Aloha and good night.

A New Diva - Maeva

Gee, it has been a really long time since I brought a new Diva into the world! I think the last one was...May or June! But today I took a break from burlap and decided I could not keep my hands off of the new silk that arrived this week. So today, November 13, 2008, help me welcome Maeva!

The fabric I used to create Maeva, is a gorgeous irridescent kelly green silk. Infact that is why I decided on an Irish name for her. Maeva (May-vuh) is an old Irish name meaning "enchanting one". And it won't take more than one look to become enchanted with this gal!

She has one exterior pocket on her backside that is accented with custom piping. When she turns around you get the full picture of her beauty. There are 3 layers of pleats that are topped off with two gold tone metal buttons that look like french knots. The pleated panel lays over a gathering of peacock flue (the hairy part of the peacock feather). These feathers just do not photograph well to do them justice. There are so many colors of irridescence including copper, green, gold, black, and blue. I adore them!

For Maeva's lining I used a colorful paisley cotton in shaded of green. Her two interior pockets are accented with custom green silk piping and self lined with the paisley print.

I made her handles a bit longer than on some of my wristlets, but she is still a wristlet, not a shoulder bag!

Maeva is a Scorpio and true to her sign, she is passionate and bold. Determination and will power are two of her strongest traits. When you want to accomplish big things, have Maeva by your side!

A Paddler's Autograph Bag

A friend of mine is going to the Cook Islands to participate in some paddling races. She paddles for Kai O Pua but will be racing under the "Live Strong" as in Lance Armstrong, team on this trip. She saw my Ironman bag and wanted one to take with her on this trip to have all the other paddlers sign as a memory! I found a nice fabric with paddles and palm trees to line the bag with. Then I machine embroidered a single paddle on the front pocket. The back has the snap swivel hook that she can attach the sharpie pens to if she wants. She wanted both exterior pockets to be undivided so I installed magnetic snap closures on both as well as in the lining to close the rest of the bag. Tia, have a great trip!