Christmas Greetings

As we are all rushing to get those last few things wrapped up, I wanted to take a few minutes to post a Christmas wish to all my fellow blog readers/quilter's. Thank you for still 'checking in' here. My blogging has taken a back seat to other things this year, so as I look back, I see that as a good/bad thing. Good that I have been busy and enjoying life, but bad because I have learned so much from fellow bloggers and felt like I finally had the quilting connection that I needed through blog land and I have let that slide. 

 

Although I am in the midst of a move, we still ran away from the colder days and headed to Hawaii in late November. We landed in Kona and spent a few days there seeing some of the sights on the Big Island. Of course that included a coffee plantation tour. Very educational, and yes, we bought a lot of Kona coffee to bring home.

 

One of the resorts had these quilts hanging in the outdoor walkways.  Glass covers made for challenging photos, but they are still great to look at.

 

We heard one of the big resorts on Maui closed in July and they sold off everything, including the vintage Hawaii' an quilts they had.  I hope they went to good homes!

 

I love the lava rock that pokes out from the sand in random places.  It reminds us how the islands were formed, and that they are not all soft sand and warm breezes. 

Here are the old coral blocks in Lahaina.  At first glance they look like old bales of straw. 

While in Lahaina, it's a must that we head to this restaurant for lunch. The best Chopped Steak!

Hibiscus are everywhere, and this bush was loaded with blossoms at Sugar Beach Resort.

Nothing compares to the smell of Plumeria.  My guy surprised me by picking and stringing enough blooms to make me a lei.  I wore it proudly, and enjoyed every whiff of this amazing aroma. 

I found this fabulous piece of green coral, along with these few funky pieces of the ubiquitous orange and white.  I took it home via a photo.  We left them for the next visitor to enjoy. 

I love this shot, the sun shining through the palm leaves.

Although poinsettias thrive in Hawaii, our friend has a hedge of them in her yard, this picture was taken of one from a local greenhouse. 

With only a week between returning home and Christmas, and finding this huge poinsettia, I have decided to use this as my tree.  Add a few quilts, some Christmas pillow cases and, voilà, it's Christmas in the condo.

And I couldn't pass up a class on Hawaiian applique while in Maui.  Once quilted, it will join my stack of Christmas pillow cases. 

So as the sun goes down, I wish for the best to you all. It has been a rough year for many, I hope that 2017 brings some peace to people, health and a belief that "life is good". Keep your loved one close, and be kind. Everyone has some struggles, we just can't see most of them.

Merry Christmas and all the best in 2017!
Keep stitching,
Sharon