Santa's Sack has arrived!!!

YIPPEE! I almost forgot to post a picture of my goodies that arrived in Santa's sack all the way from Illinois! My swap partner was Ruth
Thank you again Ruth! She was gracious enough to gift me with not one, but 2 cute windchimes (and I LOVE chimes!!!), among other goodies!!! And a BIG thank you to you Cheryll for hosting this fun swap!

Sunshine!

YAY! After the past several weeks of RAIN, intermittent lightning & thunder showers...which IS unusual for our island at this time of year...WE GOT SUN!!! And blue skies! Summer is right around the corner, which means lots of beach days! Yippeeeee!
Because of all the dreary weather we'd been having, hubby & I at least got to finish renovations of 2 more rooms...complete with freshly painted vintage desks for each room! Not much sewing at all done at this time...BUT...I must get back to sewing MORE baby blankies & what we call HALI'Is (quilts) because...my "hanai" (adopted) daughter is expecting! YAY! And she's coming to visit this summer, so I plan to have them done for her to take home to Maui when she leaves!
Have a ~blessed~ day, everyone!

MAY DAY IS LEI DAY IN HAWAI'I!!!

When I was growing up, May Day was when EVERYONE wore their mu'umu'u or aloha shirt...and you just had to wear a lei! It's really not like that so much anymore, the schools here opt to be more "politically correct" and now they do more things like outdoors field days of play. Even "maypole" dancing! WHO DOES THAT??? All my grandchildren here attend Hawaiian Language Immersion schools, so their May Day is celebrated more with what I'm used to seeing as a child. The festivity, colors, LEIS...and added to that is their May Day performances of hula, hula, and more hula! Gotta love it!!! It isn't going to be celebrated until next Friday & I'm so excited to see what they have in store for us this year! YAY!

Santa Sack Swap

Oh! How exciting that I've just received word that my swap partner is Ruth!! So I'll be seeing you all...gotta get busy!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!

HAPPY DAY RECIPE
Begin with a smile
Mix in some laughter
Add a dash of wisdom
Stir in plenty of hugs
Blend with inspiration
Combine with joy and
Top off the day with
A generous sprinkling
Of love!

Hooray!

I'm now into the 2nd day of spring cleaning & ONCE-AND-FOR-ALL setting up a "sewing cubby" for me to hide away in while I sew my days away! I'm so excited for it to be finished! Once I get all my fabric organized in there, all I have left to do is to sew my tie-on curtains & I'M DONE!!! Yay! Thank God I had painted the entire room a couple of months ago, before I got sidetracked baby sitting my 2 youngest grand daughters...and what a peaceful element to the room it is! Oooh I can't wait!!!
~blessings to you all~
Leona

So happy to be back!

After such a long blog break, I am really happy to be back...All of you continue to be such an inspiration with your beautiful blogs & creations! The past several months have been such a strain on my family with the hubby having to live and work on another island to be able to keep his job as a prison guard. He has finally returned home after almost a year away! Praise sweet Jesus! Another highlight of the past few months is that we survived yet another tsunami (tidal wave) scare, this time actually having to evacuate our home near the ocean & head for the mountains! Actually, my sister-in-law has a home way, way up on the mountain slopes, so we spent the night there!
I have just joined Cheryll's "Santa's Sack Swap" and am excitedly preparing my list of possibilities! Go check it out,sounds like loads of F*U*N!!!!! You can find Cheryll at stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com
Yes, I sure am happy to be back! I intend to stick around this time & will try & catch up with all you wonderful ladies!
~~Aloha~~
Leona

Laundry day!

My oh my! Because I've been trying to cut costs due to my husband's job re-location, I've been making & using homemade cleaning ideas that I find here in blogland...My wonderful friend, Carrie has an AWESOME recipe for fabric softener that works like a charm! Here it is:
Fabric Softener Recipe
1 cup vinegar
2 cups hair conditioner ( I used Suave's new Wild Cherry Blossom this time)
6 cups of water

Mix all this together. You may use this like any other Fabric Softener. ***I forgot to add that you must shake your bottle or container each time you use and I use 1/2 cup per load...

If you prefer dryer sheets you can try this~I diluted this down with water~ 3 parts water, 1 part softener. I then poured it into this glass container. Next I added sponges. For each load~ wring out the sponge and add to the dryer as you would fabric sheets. I added a few drops of Downy scent! Smells wonderful! I have used other hair conditioner scents, but have found the Wild Cherry Blossom best. One recipe lasts me about a week to 10 days, because I wash alot! And the best part of it is it only costs me $1.50 to make if I can get the conditioner on sale, at which time I buy oodles! Hurry! Go try it out!

I've caught the "thrifting bug"!!!

So...I guess I got a kick-start when I helped my "sister" rummage thru all that neat fabric & trims the other week! Lately I've been checking out the local Goodwill & "Sally" shops & have now found oodles of vintage sheets & pillowcases! YAY! I've only been interested in the white pillowcases so I can embellish them to my heart's desire & let me tell you....I am having so much fun!!! Again, I really wish I had a camera to be able to show off my goodies! I guess my Christmas stockings project will have to wait a little bit longer now...
~until we "meet" again, be blessed~

It IS raining!!

I never thought I'd be so happy to say "It's raining!" but after this LONG drought, I AM! We've had too long a time of Hawai'i's summer weather, and it finally started raining on this side of the Big Island 2 days ago. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to wake up in the CHILLY morning...ran out to check the thermometer this morning & it read 64 degrees! It has been a long time, alright! Time to get out my down comforter! Yay! And now my garden can get back to life!
Otherwise, I've been thrilled to be helping my "sister" go thru her mom's storage. Her mom is a retired professional seamstress,(specializing in wedding gowns~ooooh!) so she has many years of accumulated fabric & trims! Do I feel like a kid in a candy store? OF COURSE! Oodles & oodles of silks, satins & velvets to make a bunch of Christmas stockings for my grandchildren! And loads of old linens & cottons for my hobo bags for more Christmas gifts! I only wish I had a camera again to show y'all!
I've also been keeping busy doing needlework on all my white pillowcases for my bedroom once I'm finally done re-decorating! I'm making white lace-trimmed curtains for the room too! You know, the kind that will blow so gently in the breeze! Ooooh! All accents in my room will be the Copenhagen-ish blue! Can't wait!
I have been visiting all of your blogs lately & am so happy to see all of the busy-ness y'all have been up to! Please keep our friend, Teresa & her family in prayer...Her husband, Jack was found collapsed on the floor of his hotel room & is now in ICU in the hospital.
~Blessings to you all~

It's been way too long!

I must say...these past few months have been such an adjustment for me! I am glad to finally be back, now that I've "caught my balance"...My hubby's job required his transfer to another island here in Hawai'i back in February & since then I've been thrown into the role of full-time raising of our 3 grandaughters alone, most of the time! What a journey that has been...I really did try my best to keep up with all of you, so full of inspiration!!! But then, life happened! So for now, I'm back, catching up with all of your beautiful & fun creations! Maybe that's what I need for a kick-start to get going with my projects! Have a great weekend!
~blessings~
Leona

Merry Monarch Festival 2010

Every year,Easter Sunday marks the beginning of a week long celebration of the Hawaiian culture here in Hilo. We have hula exhibitions, competitions (said to be the "Olympics of hula") Hawaiian crafts and lots of "ono" (delicious) Hawaiian food! It is always one of my favorite times of the year mainly because everyone's decked out in their mu'umu'us & aloha shirts...many wearing leis, either around their neck or as hatbands on their lauhala(woven pandanus) or good 'ole cowboy (paniolo) hats! Such a joyous time! The lady on horseback is typical of our pa'u riders in the parade during the festival...The riders have a whole unit on horseback, each unit representing one of our islands in color...she is representing Kaua'i...purple..and the green lei she wears is the mokihana berry from Kaua'i...Beautiful!

While I've been away....

Oh my! How time does fly! The past few months have been such a whirlwind...I've been mainly in a cloud since the start of this year...when it became very obvious that yes, indeed, my husband would have to leave us for his job transfer to another island...So he has been gone since February, leaving ME to hold down the fort!!! It has been very trying at times, but it IS such a great thing that I DO KNOW WHERE MY STRENGTH COMES FROM!
So...hopefully soon...I will get out of this slump & be able to focus, once again, on sewing...or my needlework...or SOMETHING! In the meantime, thank you all for the inspiration! I do keep up with all of your beautiful creations & lighthearted moments that you all share on your blogs! Thank you friends!
Oh! Happy Spring to all! And I thought I'd share this picture of some of our well known quilters here on the Big Island...see our pretty Hawaiian quilts!

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!!

Falling behind.....lots of catching up!

Whew! Where did the time go???!!! It seems that only yesterday summer began...and now..it's already October, with ONLY 80 days til Christmas!!! I have been so busy babysitting now & then...TRYING desperately to finish painting my room so that I can finally sew my curtains, etc!!! And of course, doing my PIFs & Advent Swap gifts in between! I will try to post pictures of my goodies soon AND I have NOT forgotten about my giveaway that I had planned a while ago...Oh my!
I also have my grandaughters doing "shoe boxes" for the kids in Samoa that were affected by last week's earthquake & tsunami...We were on a "tsunami watch" here in Hawai'i on alert in case we neede to evacuate as well..because our home is located near the shore, we go thru this often..But, PRAISE GOD that the watch was called off when the Pacific Tsunami Center announced that there was no threat to us here!!
My family has now officially joined the ranks of so many others in this state & nation...The economy seems to have warranted our Governor to call for job furloughs AND layoffs!! My husband is a State employee and therefore received notice today that he is required to relocate IF there's even an opening in his department!! That means he'll have to move to another island for work...And we can't possibly afford rent there & our mortgage here! I am leaving it in God's hands..Somehow our state is in deficit of millions, if not billions of $$$! Oh well!
Thank you ladies, once again, for all your inspiration! It is always a pleasure to hear from you as well as visiting your blogs!
~~blessings~~
Leona

FLASH! ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!

Nicole over at Our Cozy Nest is having a giveaway!!! It's a great one especially if you have a baby shower coming up soon, because she also has a tutorial for some cute gifts! While you're there, check out her other tutorials!!!

AMONG THE GUM TREES GIVEAWAY!

Wow! Go check out the F~A~N~T~A~S~T~I~C giveaway that our friends from down under have put together! Hurry on over~winner will be named on Oct.1!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Hey there girls! Head on over to see Bonnie's AWESOME giveaway! You'll find her at calamityjanescottage.blogspot.com!! What a nice summer's end project for some lucky lady! Thanks Bonnie!
Hmmmm.....That reminds me, I WANTED TO DO A GIVEAWAY for my 50th posted & I got so caught up in life that I overlooked it!LOL! So I guess I'll have to do one for my 56th? OR maybe for my 60th!!! Stayed tuned!
~blessings to you & thanks for visiting!~
Leona

AND another giveaway!

Hurry on over to enter Linda's cute giveaway! Please tell her that I sent you over for a peek! Hurry! Her drawing is on the 16th!

Summertime going ons!

Whew! This summer seems to be flyin' on by alright! I wanted to show you some of the projects I've been busy teaching my 12yr.old grandaughter to try! The cupcakes on the stand was done by her & she so wanted to contribute to my FRIENDS swap with Lanette, she also sewed a little tote to put it onto! The fabric flower is from another endeavor of ours'~of course, we forgot to take pictures of all of them together!(Sorry about the blur!) And the teacups are just sittin' here, waiting for the inspiration to come! For now, I'm busy painting & re-doing MY bedroom & I must say I AM LOVIN' the color! LOL! After it's all done I might never come out of there! I really want to move my sewing machine in there for the peace & quiet, but we'll see! LOL!
Have a great week!