OUR TRAVELOGUE 2008 - 2018

This post documents all the 45 cities that we visited within the last ten years. Altogether I did 45 layouts and compiled them into one album. We love travelling and living. Life is short and the world is wide..

THE FRONT COVER

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

The summary

DRESSING UP WOODEN SPOONS

I had a session with the Irish Countrywomen's Association (Castletroy) where we dressed up the humble wooden spoon.

Because time was limited, I prepared most of the materials before hand.

Ribbons, dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and berries do make a difference!

And that reminds me of a similar project that I did with some school teachers in Hanoi in 2007, eleven years ago.

I was there to train them in the teaching of English and just to add some fun to the training, I introduced craft sessions as well.

And music sessions too

This is the school where I conducted the training

We all had tea in the canteen. Love the vintage flasks.

Hanoi is pretty with all the rice fields but in the city it is rather polluted 

The Education department took great care of me and put me up in a 5 star hotel and presented me with a bouquet of flowers.

And that was me, eleven years ago.

BATIK PAINTING

 Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth, or cloth made using this technique. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a canting, or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a cap.

What a better way to spend a cool morning then to have friends from the International Women's Organisation (Limerick) over to do some batik painting. I brought the materials over from Malaysia and we had great fun.

It is always lovely to see the artistic talent in every individual. 

No get together is complete without copious cups of tea or coffee and apple pie. We had a delightful time.

WINTER PROJECTS

I love winter and the thing that strikes me most is the silence. It is a period of winding down and contemplating. The cold, the wind and the rain outside means I spend more time indoors doing what I like best, which is crafting.

I adore Raymond Briggs' works and every time I see anything remotely related to the Snowman, I know I must have it - from paper towels to sewing kits. So here are some of the stuff that I've made with the Snowman theme.

This is for a lovely lady in Malaysia who enjoys reading my articles in the paper. I've only met her once and I know she prefers snail mail to cyber connections. The weather may be frosty but our friendship is warm.

This Advent Calendar is hand sewn and quilted. I like it that the numbers are all over the place so the child has to figure out the dates leading up to Christmas.

Then I sewed another advent calendar for my grand niece in Australia.

Hand sewn teddy bear quilt

Blanket stitched every bear

Made some pom pom sheep magnets ( I saw them in a shop in Iceland, and said to myself I must make some)

Made a bay leaf wreath. My friend gave me some fresh bay leaves and I sprayed them with gold paint.

A draft stopper for a beloved aunt

Paint brush santa for my artistic friends

Upcycled a rolling pin (which reminds me of a vintage cartoon)

Salvaged and repainted a tired hen and transformed it to a cool chick

Personalised baubles for the little ones

Lots of cards

 And finally a miniature Christmas house for my friend