All things Japanese

While at the Craft & Quilt Fair last week, I was drawn to these vintage Japanese fabrics sold by Kimoyes, a Canberra based business. There were lots of cotton, wool & silks to choose from. The 3 on the R are wool & the blue & white are cotton. I need to stitch up my rubbings from Japan, so am buying some appropriate fabrics- but then I can't pass by great fabric without fondling!
Thanks Jan, I fixed it.

Food?

We were taken to this restaurant in Murun for lunch, before our flight. Lovely decor & we were the first customers for the day. What do you do when you can't read the menu or speak to your companions in their native tongue?

Begin a mime of slurping soup & keep your fingers crossed!

Beneath the Southern Sky

Brenda Gael Smith is curating a touring exhibition named 'Beneath the Southern Sky' which is open to quilters internationally. For more details re size, submission date & conditions of entry please see the button on my blog sidebar & get stitching!

Pacific International Quilt Festival- USA

I'm very happy to be returning to teach & judge at the Pacific International Quilt Festival held in Santa Clara, California October 13-16 2011. PIQF is celebrating it's 20th year & will have  many great quilt exhibits, booths & workshops. I'll be teaching 3 workshops, the popular Oil Stick Intensive, Mono Printing Magic & Opal Fever. These are all 1 day, no sewing classes, so hope you can join me for some fun. Above, an example of mono printing from my Colour Patch Series.

This number plate & the background was rubbed using oil sticks & is a detail from my quilt 'Rusty'. Last year Francie enrolled in all 3 of my workshops & wrote this in my comments book- 'These 3 days with your classes have given me one of the best experiences I've ever had at PIQF and I'm a 13 year "veteran" of this festival. I look forward to using all of my newly learned techniques in future quilts!" Thanks Francie & see you soon.

Denise at the Queenstown New Zealand, Remarkable Symposium with her Opal Fever quilt top. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.

Murun Airport #2

At Murun Airport, this display gave me a different perspective on where I was in the Universe.

And then I observed a toothless  Deel-wearing Granny, talking on her mobile phone & texting. That's Gran with the walking stick, as we walked out to the plane.

Lunch was an impressive sandwich.

Arriving in UB to clear skies & no wind.

Murun Airport

We were greeted by this  impressive statue of a Mongol warrior sporting wings, at Murun Airport. The terminal building was undergoing extensions to the right hand side. A horse race was getting underway with the airport fence used to tether the horses.

We didn't make it into the VIP room but sat patiently, with our fellow passengers, waiting for the plane to arrive from Ulaan Baatar.

Saffron Craig

Australian fabric designer Saffron Craig has fresh, fun fabric ranges. I was lucky to meet her at the Craft & Quilt Fair at her booth which showcased her latest range 'Imaginary Flowers'.

Luckily there were some panels of the elk, which I particularly love & will make into a baby quilt later. Oh, the bugs & owls were so cute too- such great choices for clothing, home decor, cuddly toys or quilting.

Thanks for the congratulations Linda & Jan.

Murun, Mongolia

We were driven into the town of Murun for a flight back to UB. Our driver asked directions of this obliging woman, but as our driver didn't speak English we didn't quite know what was going on, but we had a few hours to spare before our flight & enjoyed being part of Murun & the festivities of the National Holiday for Children's Day.

Everyone was heading to the square for the festivities & being a warm day this man was going to sell cool drinks or perhaps ice cream.

Children were dressed in their finest clothes & colourful stalls sold toys.

Sydney Quilt Show #2

The Craft & Quilt Fair had a very colourful entry this year & lots of 'must haves' to buy. The 300+ quilts were amazing, showing a great variety of traditional & modern designs & some bold colour choices. The Quilters' Guild of NSW don't allow photography for blogs unless permission from the quilt maker is given. Thanks to Merelyn Pearce, the maker of 'Preston Dreaming' Bernina Best of Show, who has allowed me to include some shots of her hand appliqued, machine quilted quilt. The Guild website has images of the winning quilts.

We were asked to pin the rosettes to our quilts after the Award Ceremony.

Mongolian summer #3

 What looked like dead branches were sporting near green clothes & Nature was celebrating the short Summer season.

Sydney Quilt Show

I'm visiting the Sydney Quilt Show for a couple of days, to see the quilts from members of the Quilters' Guild of NSW, chat with friends & enjoy other displays, vendors booths & the atmosphere at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour. My quilt 'Counting' has been awarded a Judges' Commendation & as I've been a quilt show entrant for the last 16 years, certificates are being awarded for that too. Sixteen years! I couldn't believe it, but I guess time flies when you're having fun.

The show continues until June 26, 9am- 5pm.

Mongolian food

Mongolian hospitality as we arrived at the Munkh Tenger Tourist Ger Camp for lunch, meant we all drank milk from the bowl offered, while holding the blue khadag.

The restaurant ger was very large with 4 roof support posts & had some costumes to look at or try on, while lunch was being prepared.

We ate tasty Buuz, steamed mutton dumplings & Khuusur, fried meat pasties.

Petrol stops

We stopped at modern service stations, which were sometimes short of fuel & this hand cranked pump at the soum before the bridge, of yesterday's post.

The bridge crossing was nail biting stuff, although the photos may not show the full extent of the deterioration of the structure. Deborah, you never know when quilt inspiration will strike!

Broken bridge

We found bitumen roads near UB, but further out in remoter areas of the country road conditions deteriorated. This broken bridge was a challenge, but 1 our driver was willing to take, when faced with a 60km detour & no guarantee of a better crossing. These 2 teenagers, below, crossed before us.

We didn't realise they were carrying 2 calves until they stopped after the big dip had been safely negotiated.

We walked across & were very thankful our vehicle crossed safely.

Gotta love those Yaks, Ali!