Yesterday I spent about 10 hours working on the quilt. I did take some breaks to get up and do other things but have been determined to get a good chunk of stitching done as I have been away for a few days. The quilting on this is pretty simple with straight lines so there is no need for any pattern drafting. The rows are a little more than an inch apart and I use my ruler to chalk in my line. This just helps me to maintain the distance between each row however I dont have any intention to be precisely, Im just following it and stitching away. Each line of stitching starts and ends the same way. This thread is made for quilting so its thicker and stronger, and the needle Im using is very sharp, thin and a little longer than the standard sewing needle. The eye of the needle is very small, and this just prevents the batting from being pulled through in the stitch. Thats just my preference. I have tried embroidery needles and I dont like them. I thread my needle and then knot the end. This type knot is more elongated as opposed to round which helps to pop it through the fabric easier. You will notice that when my needle dips in Im directing my needle up and down as I push it through and this is so the thread weaved through the batting and the knot gets caught in it. Once the knot is popped through the fabric you want it will be anchored in the batting and not just be sitting there. If its not anchored, when you tighten the thread the knot will pop in and then out again. So this means that you need to give the stitching a little runner up, meaning where I insert my needle is not the beginning of the stitching. You need to start back a little(this is why I like a longer needle) dip my needle, do my up and down through the batting and then the needle comes up wher I want my stitching to begin then pop the knot through. The other thing is that when you are threading the needle through the batting, you do so without catching the top or bottom fabrics. Once the thread is anchored then away I go stitching, giving the thread a pull every 4 stitches to cinch in the layers. The thread shouldnt be too long, you should be able to pull the thread through in one movement👇cont.

I want to first start my post by thanking you all for thinking of my Mum, for your messages and comments sending her well wishes. Today she is feeling a bit better and getting closer to understanding fully what is happening. Mum is very private and hates me sharing anything about her but Im a bit of a rebel. Tēnā koutou katoa❤️ The pari is coming along, one hour a day and its slowly taking shape. I learnt to do tapestry when I was a teenager, Aunty Nihipora Wallace taught me how and I made my own tātua with her guidance. She even let me hang it up next to her tapestries when I finished it. She and Aunty Val Jeremiah would sit on the mahau of the wharepuni and do their stitching, I still see them clearly. I finally finished this tahā huahua. I have already shared a bit of info about it so I wont go on about the same things. I made this one pretty rough and fast. This is going into an exhibit about traditional food gathering and so it needs to look old and used. Using hau wood was cool and worked ok. I love being resourceful and making do with what I have at hand. I used a tannin dye to stain the wood and the hau just absorbs it like a sponge. I painted it on like I was doing watercolour just to give a more rustic texture. Once the legs and hoops were dried I used untwisted muka to temporarily lace together the hoops to stabilize them. Then I used the braided cordage to lash them together properly, after which the temporary lacing was removed. After that I lashed on the legs. I used an old garden pot to prop up the gourd as I lashed on the legs. Lastly let me tell you about the manutukutuku/manu taratahi/ kite. I did a flying test the other day and the balance was off so I have made some adjustments. Eventhough this is going in an exhibit too I still want to fly it cuz its so fun! I have lashed on a rod to the side and slowly cut it shorter inch by inch until the kite came into balance. Also in my test flight there was not enough wind so tomorrow Ill go to a windy spot and see how that goes. I want it to get some height. The next thing I did is adding these tufts from hau bark. These are traditionally the flower heads of the toetoe(native pampas)…continued👇

I have been visiting my parents for the past few days, my Mum hasnt been feeling well this week so Ive been out in the country, my favourite place. I took a few projects with me but didnt have time to do all of them except harvesting some hau branches and preparing them to make these hoops for the huahua. I harvested branches that already had a bend in them. This bush growing on the beach was had thin winding branches. There are other woods that I could use that would be good too but I didnt have time to go on a hunt so I am just using whats growing in the vicinity. So I split the branches, debarked and shaved it down to retain a consistent thickness. Then I slowly bent the branch into a hoop and bound the two ends together. One of the hoops will sit on the upper latitude lets say, and the other on the lower latitude. A cord is then used to lace the two hoops together pulling them towards each other. This stabilises the hoops to the gourd. The woven covering creates a soft barrier between the hoops and the gourd while also being beautifully ornamented with patterns. These would be given as koha(gifts, offerings or contributions)alongside other foods.

My last job for today was working on this manu tukutuku. Manu, meaning bird and tukutuku refers to the process in which it is made which is the same technique as tukutuku(decorative lattice weaving). This is a style of traditional kite that is made of the flower stalks of toetoe(native pampas), raupō(bulrush) leaves which are called and muka(harakeke fibre) these materials are very light but strong the whakapapa or genealogy of these plants are as follows. Tāne procreates with Kākaho and Toetoe is born. Tāne procreates with Hineiterepo and Raupō is born. Tāne procreates with Pākoti and Harakeke is born. These are all very important resources and are used for many practical uses, one being for houses. This is one of the 30 tāonga Im making for the matariki exhibit and will be one of 3 tāonga associated with the star Ururangi. Kites were used for many reasons like relaying messages between villages or communicating with deities. It is said that Tāwhaki ascended the heavens on a kite. There are so many awesome stories about kites and how our tupuna(ancestors) used them. Kites can be made with different materials like Aute, raupō and toetoe ūpoko tangata. Some simple and others ornate.

So heres my mahi yesterday, setting aside roughly an hour for each project. The quilt I spent more time on so that I can move on to the next section. This is my quilting and embroidery frame. I made this many years ago, and have different length cross beams depending on the size of quilt Im working on. I didn’t make this quilt but Im doing the quilting and edging on it, as you can see it’s beautiful! I enjoy quilting, it’s very therapeutic for me. The quilting pattern on this is easy so I don’t have to draft any chalk templates for it. Its just straight lines every inch and a half. A few rows a day adds up quickly in a week. The size of this quilt is full size. The frame is made up of four beams, or slats. The long just have a hole for the bolt on either ends and then the short side beams have two slots that run the length of the slat. This allows me to create tension no matter what the width is. The backing fabric is rolled around the back beam and the batting and quilt top are rolled individually and sit on top. I start from one end and work segment by segment. When each segment is complete I roll up the forward beam and unroll the back beam like a scroll. I like that because it allows me to focus on a small area at a time. So last night I finished the first segment and rolled open the next segment and Ill complete that within the next week. There are probably 5 or 6 segments in total. I ended the night doing papale kine tings, It has been a while since my last piko so I have alot of reconnecting to do here with this papale.

I finished working at around 10:30pm and laid down to edit my video and bam I was out for the count lol. Im really happy I am not confined to making 1min30sec reels and that I can share more in my videos. Im working on multiple projects at once, so management of my time is key. I live my life by to do lists and it has to be on paper, I cant do a digital list. I make my list every night before I go to bed and transfer all my worries and stresses onto that paper. If there are things that are really worrying me, I break that down into very small bite size steps so that I have my plan to complete it. Lately I have actually been feeling a negativity that tries to push me into a space of thinking and doubting. The best remedy for this is just getting hands on. My list carries my worries and my hands and mind work together to complete my task. Once my hands get working I feel a sense of confidence again. I hate that the videos can give off a sense of ease but the truth is I feel weighed down by my own thoughts too and the thing to know is its ok. Be kind to ourselves and think of ways to help us push through. One of the projects I am working on is a Matariki(Māori New Year) exhibit for our Marae here. For this exhibit Im working on almost 30 tāonga associated with traditional food gathering practices and others associated with Matariki(Pleiades star cluster). The first is a patu aruhe which is used to pound bracken fern root to remove the starch from the woody fibre after being steamed in an underground oven. The small gourd on a braided string is called poi-āwhiowhio, it was used as a bird lure. When it is swung it creates a unique sound similar to our wood pigeon or kererū. The next is called a tahā huahua which is a larger gourd used as a container for preserving cooked birds within their fat. I have a few more steps to finish this. I will show a picture on my stories of what they look like. Cultivating food and gathering wild food within the appropriate seasons as well as the preservation of those foods is such a vital part of our identity and our relationship to our land and environment.

Testing out my pattern pieces went well. I used some scrap pieces for this so I could see the pattern better. My tester came out well. This pattern requires that I work on the entire pattern in rows. So I will join all the segments of each row and then once the rows are complete I will then join each row together to form the larger pattern. This is a traditional pattern called “Poutangata,” and it is from the Tāmaki area. There are two kōrero I have heard about this pattern. The first is that it speaks of the many hands that work together to ensure the well being of an iwi. The second is that this pattern represents the many peoples/iwi that resided in the Tāmaki area which is hāngai to the proverb, “Tāmaki herenga waka, Herenga tāngata.” Tāmaki the converging place of many canoes, Tāmaki the converging place of many peoples. I want to acknowledge the whakapapa(lineage) of my sisters name. My mum named my sister after her great grandmother Arihia Pua. My mum described her as very loving, she had long white hair that was plaited into a long braid and she had a moko kauae. Her mother Puahaere was from Ngāti Pāoa and Waikato so that is the connection there. When my sister Arihia was in her last days during covid, my parents and my younger sister worked together to look after Arihia. That life changing experience has made me value even more the values of my people, which is to work together, to help bear eachothers burdens, to mourn together. Our practices and beliefs affirm these values and not having that for us at that time really helped me to understand why we as Māori do these things the way we do things.

I myself prefer to work on one project at a time but that is a luxury I dont always have. Yesterday I started these 4 personal projects, personal projects I work on after doing commission work. Yesterday I set aside my evening from 6pm to midnight. I did it while making chicken broth for a pot of chicken long rice. I already spent time previously doing all my planning/mapping and preparation so last night it was just starting. The first is for a new quilt that I have been wanting to get to for 3 years now since my sister passed. I will be making it from her clothes which I have already prepared and cut away all the seams. Im happy to start that. So I have drafted my pattern, Ill talk a little bit in a later post about the meaning of the pattern and why I chose it. I used my cutting mat to create a template with painters tape. This template creates the main pattern components that are just repeated over and over. Im using these acrylic rulers to create cutting pieces to cut layers of fabric at a time with the rotary cutter. Personally Im not big on the big bold patterns I like more of subtle things, but when doing quilted patterns this helps to maintain precision in the pattern. Ive added the seam allowance when I transfer the blue template to the ruler. The next project is practicing my piko,it has been a while since I last wove a piko so I need to get onto it. It is so important for me to be in practice of the skills I have learnt throughout my life. I dont want to just learn something and put it on the shelf, I want to honour it, I want honour those that gifted me that knowledge and show them that I treasure it by doing it. Over the past few years I have been fighting for time as life seems to just snatch it away here and there so Im buckling down and renewing that commitment. Its not easy when you have learnt alot of things over the almost 40 years of my life. Next is a pari, which is a patterned bodice. I am remaking my mothers pari that she was gifted by her Aunty Kahu when she was a young adult. Aunty Kahu recently passed away so I wanted to honour her and that relationship by recreating it. Continued in comments…

Its hard to believe that we started this kaupapa almost a year ago next month, thats just crazy to me. I found out a few weeks ago that I can post videos longer than 1min30sec so I have been working on this video that shares a little bit more of Punarua’s creation. I could make an hour long video but this is a good gist of it. I have shared alot about Punarua already I dont want to ramble on about the same things. I do want to acknowledge these wonderful wahine. I could not have done this mahi without them. This was not an easy journey and it required so much of each of us. I look back and Im filled with gratitude for their belief in this kaupapa. A while back I did a story asking if people wanted me to do a live about the making of Punarua and so I havent forgotten about that. Its taken me all this time to wrap my mind around all that has happened and there is just so much to cover really and I dont want to leave anything out. Today I finally added final pictures to my workbook, I need to add in all my notes and kōrero but even though I have my instagram where I document all of my processes I still like keeping a workbook. Im a bit of a documentarian, that is a full time job on its own lol. I wanted to share this part of the process because great ideas can become a reality with just simple tools like a pencil and paper to work through ideas step by step. Funny story. So started with making the small paper draft, then we did all the calculating and then made an actual sized paper pattern which was 2 metres x 2 metres. So we glue and tape all the papers together to make the big one and then started colouring in the pattern. Well when we were lining up the join, the pattern was not lining up. After trying to solve the mystery, I went back to the small draft and realized the same mistake was on the small paper. Yup 🤣 that was me. Sooo we had to go back, redo the small paper. Then redo the big paper, Paehoro re-did a whole new giant paper pattern and then it worked… ⬇️comments Photgraphs Installation view, 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2024, image courtesy and © the artists, photograph: Hamish Mcntosh

Well Im finally out the other end of taking care of whānau responsibilities as well as the past two weeks being stuck at home glued to my computer, which I hate doing, taking care of writing for different kaupapa, organising digital files from this past year and planning for kaupapa on the horizon. I try to embrace any opportunities to learn and grow even if it means doing things that dont seem related to my mahi. I actually surprised myself this time. I realised that I actually write alot about my work in my posts and that I have grown to enjoy it. With that being said I think I have done enough writing over the past 2 weeks and need to get back to what I looove doing the most. This quiet work that is accompanied by the sounds of the natural world and a tv series. I cant imagine doing anything else. I have to say that this peaceful space you see in these videos is perhaps misleading in that for us as weavers this does not come easy. This is an artform requires alot of time, the money to buy alot of time or selling your weaving to make time to weave. For many weavers it is a constant fight for time and space to be able to keep these practices and knowledge alive within our whānau, hapū, iwi.

Yesterday was a very special day because we got to host educational programmes based in our communities that focus on teaching ‘ike kupuna(ancestral knowledge) to our keiki/‘ōpio(children)through land and ocean based learning. These programs have helped to change our communities by nurturing our future leaders, knowledge holders and kia’i of our ‘āina and moana. It is in moments like this that it all comes full curcle and we are reminded why we do what we do. Why we endure the many challenges that come alongside the preservation and nurturing of our language and culture. It is for our keiki and mo’opuna. Yesterday in another forum I was asked what I do in times of struggle, when I am worn out and under the weight of the struggle? I didnt mention this but it is in spaces like this where we are brought back to the source and are reminded of the why. It is an opportunity to step back from our personal view and cast a wider view on all the moving parts that are working together to nurture our communities. It is a reassuring and rewarding feeling to see that direct connection between our efforts and the growth, the change, the healing and successes of others.

Yesterday was day 6 of sail making. It was a quiet day a quiet day with the numbers of people coming out is dwindling down. Our work continues to move forward under the direction of Placito marking the outer hem of the pe’a. This hem conceals the thickest cordage made of coconut husk and it carries around the perimeter of the sail twice. As the sewing of that hem is done one panel at a time, the horizontal stitching joining each panel is stitched before continuing the outer hem on the next panel. We all watch and listen attentively as Placito quietly examines our work, shows us what needs to be done next and then returns to directing the carving of the canoes. As each part of the process is explained and demonstrated we start to understand why, because the process is not as you think it might be. So its surprising and amazing to be shown this artform not only by a navigator but a builder/maker of navigational tools.

We started this project on May 23rd with the preparation for this project and yesterday was day 5 of the weaving. This kaupapa is in collaboration with @hoouluaina which is an ‘āina based community organization dedicated to cultural education and community transformation. Ho’oulu ‘Āina have been hosting the family of Papa Mau Piailug here at Kualoa over this period of time. What a privilege it is to be here with them. The woven panels were all completed tonight and today we will begin stitching the panels together under the guidance and direction of Placito, Son of Mau Piailug. The edging we completed yesterday was shown to us by Placito’s wife Agnes. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for Placito, Agnes and their whānau for sharing their mātauranga with us, for Ho’oulu ‘Āna for making this all possible, for my good friend Tiana who had the foresight to align the making of this sail to the carving of these canoes and for the many many hands who have joined in to make this a reality.

Yesterday was day 4 of weaving pe’a down at Kualoa. It was a beautiful day with many more hands joining in to weave. You never know who is going to pop in, we got a surprise visit from @christinawirihana and Glenda Hape with Maile Andrade, soo lovely to have them with us yesterday. We are up early again and starting our pickup this morning and heading back out to Kualoa, we have a goal today to finish the tāpiki(edging) on the 7 panels ready for them to be stitched together. Ok Im late, Im running out the door to do my pickups❤️.

Yesterday was another beautiful day at Kualoa/Hakupu’u. I tae mai te marea! Im not going to write alot because I am up getting ready to head back out for another day of weaving. Yesterday we were so lucky to have the daughters of Papa Mau lead us in the preparation of the panels to be sewn together with sennit cordage. Placito, one of Papa Mau’s sons also came to help. He will be the one doing the sewing and advising us. We are so grateful to them for making allowance to help us and be with us in spite of their own protocols. In this shared space where we have weavers and carvers from many cultures who bring with us our own customs, beliefs and protocols, we wouldnt be able to share space and time if we were to be too rigid and the purpose for this Festival is to gather together as people of the Pacific, to strengthen our relationships so I see it as this time has been set apart as a time of noa to allow this unifying to happen.

Well the pe’a(sail) is underway. This video is from yesterday we got home last night and crashed. We are up early again and headed back out to Kualoa for another day of weaving. Today is the. Big community open day where the public can learn all about the wa’a(canoes) and even go out on the wa’a. Its a beautiful environment to be in. Our weaving throughout the day was as steady, with people moving in and out. The four biggest papa(panels) will be done by today and starting on the last four smaller panels. Once the panels are woven they will be sewn together with coconut sennit. Next to us are the carvers who are carving two hulls. Placito, who is the son of Papa Mau Piailug is overseeing that work and both of our spaces are spaces open for hands to come and share in the work that is happening. The sound of the toki(adze)accompanies the ruffling of pandanus strand lifting and laying. I want to share a beautiful kōrero spoken by Uncle Chad Paishon but I will make sure I have it correctly before I share it. These spaces have a beautiful wairua. There is alot of kōrero happening, deeper connections being formed between all those who come into the space from across the Pacific. I see that reflected in the weaving strands themselves. They came from many different places prepared by the hands of many different weavers and so they are all different but blend soo beautifully. That is a true reflection of the work thus far. As the work slowed down in the evening before dinner, everyone was sitting taking a breather both carvers and weavers. The singing was nourishing to the na’au, but we had to wrap up in preparations for today. So we are in the car now driving to Kualoa with all of todays supplies and tools for our next phase of work. All are welcome, just come to Kualoa beach park, drive all the way down and you will see parking and where to go.

I first want to start by thanking everyone who has contributed Kūka’a, ‘aha and help preparing all of the fibres for the weaving of the pe’a next week. We have so received so much support in this project for which Tiana and I are so grateful. When my whānau moved to Hawai’i, I was 13 years old and I didnt want to move here. I longed for my culture, for my kura and the whānau I had there. I remember seeing a hala tree and being drawn to it because it reminded me of harakeke only it was growing on a tree. Feeling mokemoke(homesick) I planned one day to go cut some leaves and make things with the leaves. I took my knife and a kete and went to a tree I saw at the beach I would go to to surf. With my sharp knife in my right hand, I reached up to the cluster of leaves with my left hand to cut the outer leaves just ad we would do when harvesting harakeke. I grabbed the leaf and I felt a sharp prick. I quickly pulled my hand back and stumbled backwards. I looked up at the tree confused as to what had just happened. Are there snaked here? I thought to myself. As I looked closer at the leaves I then noticed the sharp thorns along the edges of the leaves. I was feeling a bit mamae, not just my hand but inside I felt hurt because I so wanted to feel like I could still carry my culture here. I returned home without any leaves but I did gain the courage to try again and so I did again and again. I still have a bundle of leaves I prepared way back then. Since then I have learnt so much more and continue to learn more about this precious fibre, I have planted my own trees and harvest from them over the years. I was able to gift kūka’a from my trees to towards the weaving of the sail and for all those strands to be interwoven with hala from across Hawai’i and across the Pacific.

Gearing up for the next kaupapa ahead of us. With Pacfest happening there is alot of mahi our communities are doing to malama(manaaki) all the manuhiri coming to O’ahu. Tiana and l are organizing the weaving of sail alongside @hoouluaina and will be woven alongside the carving of a canoe. There will be sail makers, canoe carvers, navigators and canoe carvers from across the Pacific that will be present and so this will be a space where we can be connect with eachother, build those relationships and connections and be in a space of learning and sharing. This sail will be woven from hala(pandanus) and follow Hawaiian sailmaking processes. Last week we reached out through our networks to ask for donations of kūka’a or sennit and we have been soo overwhelmed with the generosity of so many that have shared their time and their precious resources with us. We are so grateful. Big big mahalo to Emma at Kīpuka who allowed us to use their beautiful space as well as help from members of Keanahala. Mahaalo!

Mahi on Hale Huliāmahi has come to a close, fortunately having a small window of fine weather before the life giving rains resumed its nourishment of the land and people. Tiana and her team of hale builders have worked so hard to honour this hale and breathe new life into it so that it can continue to shelter and be a space for ancestral knowledge and practices to be shared. Not only did the hale builders bring their physical ability to do this work but the ancestral knowledge and practices associated with this artform. Once all the work on the roof was completed, the olokea(scaffolding) was dismantled and the area was cleared and cleaned in preparation for the final protocol and ceremony. The space was immediately changed and the feeling within it took on a new form. Almost like the hale has been cared for and now it can continue to shelter us. The moena(mats) were laid down and we all gravitated to that space, Kahiau making lei la’ī, Megan weaving pāpale and me finishing off the side lashings. To have these spaces here scattered across the pae’āina is so beautiful, knowing that future generations will be able interact and experience these ancestral and special places

Another beautiful day yesterday of hale building here in Kapālama. Tiana and her team, Ida, Kainoa, Scotty, Alia, Kehau, Kahiau, Meagan and Ewaliko have been working hard not only restoring this hale but hosting groups from the community coming to learn about this important work through protocol, through the sharing of ‘ike(knowledge) and through hands on learning. When hale are being built, it is so important that the community are involved in the process because they will be kia’i(caretakers) of the hale so it is important that that relationship is formed and continued on. Prior to starting our day yesterday, we gathered together in front of the hale to welcome the group and share about the hale and space where the hale stands. The name of this hale is called ‘Hale Huliāmahi’. Laulima(working together) is a very important value in this work. It is through working together that great things can be accomplished and so coming into the space with respect for each other and humility is so important to be able to do this work together. I enjoy being in this space and being reminded of these values that we all grow up being taught. Doing this work allows us to fully understand these words and what they truly mean. The words of the past are of great value for us today, they are still true and we are so fortunate to have knowledge like these hale builders who create these spaces and opportunities for others to be immersed in this work and the immense knowledge that is instilled in it. One of the things I also really enjoy being in a space like this is just listening to all the dialogue that flows freely while everyone is working. There is a strengthening of relationships as the work is taking place. Kūkulu hale, Kūkulu kaiāulu.