Sunday, December 16, 2007

Here I am in Korea

Greetings from Seoul! I've been moving around a lot. Trying to keep up with all my computer gadgets and cameras. Dropped my camera the other day and am now relying on my i phone . yes, I am now an i phone devotee:)

Ancient culture in the midst of modern Seoul


Nothing like spicy Korean barbecue to warm you up on a cold December day!


Trees lit up for the holidays.



Christmas lights around the skating rink in the center of Seoul.



Starbucks is everywhere in Asia, but so are the pretenders - this made me chuckle!



A little local flavor with your Latte'

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Where in the world is ......... ?

Greetings from Osaka, Japan!

As the new year approaches, Japan is getting ready for the Year of the Rat.

Japan has always been into "cute". Case in point, the ever popular Hello Kitty shown here in a rat costume as a mascot/ key fob to be hung on your cell phone. Haven't taken a poll here but it seems that everyone has some sort of mascot/charm hanging from their phone.

Gingko trees along the streets in Osaka, Japan.

Here's something they never told me when I majored in textile design ages ago: That a career in textiles would lead to travels around the world, and, in my case a lot of it in Asia. For me this has been the best of all worlds. I love travel, long flights to read and think and the thrill of the hunt, whether it's sourcing new fabrics or finding great art reference. And then there's the side perks: shopping and eating!

I love all Japanese food.


Most departmaent stores have an entire floor full of not only Japanese sweets ( yum) but chocolates and goodies from all over the world.



The best way to get to and from Kansai Airport and Osaka, the Rapit train, only $13 !


Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Quilt Market Follow-up

First just a quick note about the TRIMS : To all of you asking ; When , Where and How to buy our fabulous new trims : They won't be available till January but I'll post a vendor list in a couple weeks of those carrying the complete collection.

Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of time to get out of the booth (next posting) and roam the aisles, and when I did my camera wasn't always with me (haven't quite "got" this blogging-reporter thing down yet!). But here's just a few of the terrific people I saw (and had my camera with me) at Quilt Market.


Rob Appel sporting some of his free form stitch work. New ideas are all over Quilt Market and a lot of it is in the aisles. This is why I love going to Market! It's it's such a creative fest!


Cindy Taylor Oates wearing our Dandy Damask print has the cutest Mommy and Me Aprons!

Ellen Medlock and her wonderful purse patterns.

Hoodie of Hoodies' Collection. Here she is with her fun eclectic booth.

Liesl of Oliver + S debuting her patterns for childrens' clothes with beautifully illustrated paper dolls by Dan Andreasen.

Sandi Henderson of Portabello Pixie with her wonderful husband Dustin and me. Notice the quilt she made out of the strike/offs (test samples) from her Ginger Blossom Collection coming in January.

Me and Edie McGinnis with Mark Lipinski of Quilter's Home Magazine debuting his Katmandu print Line for Troy fabrics.