December adventure

I took a road trip to Utah and Arizona last week. Zion canyon, Antelope canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona and Scottsdale were places I went to. At the Zion canyon, I took a short trail in the rain and it cleared my busy mind. Rain made the morning very mystic and peaceful.

Antelope canyon was the one that I wanted to see the most during this trip and I enjoyed a lot. I took a guided tour and our Navajo descent guide herded the group down to very steep stairs. After 10-15 steps down I was surrounded by beautiful spiral rock arches. Every corner was beautiful and I was busy taking pictures. Somehow camera lens was taking more colors from the scene and made very dramatic pictures. 

After this Mother Nature's creation, we drove a few more hours to see another place called Monument Valley. Another place runs by navajo tribe people, We drove around the Monument Valley and stayed right next to it. The hotel we stayed has a magnificent view of the valley. 

It was windy, cold and sometimes snow was falling but again, it was very peaceful. My hotel room has several artworks and a few of them caught my eyes. Navajo dye chart and a rug they made.

The next morning I went to the gift shop and found Navajo rugs. I could only afford very small one but I am happy to bring it with me to my home. It's in my living room with lots of memories and I appreciate Navajo woman's craftsmanship every time I pass that room.

I went to Sedona and enjoyed another scenery that makes you feel calm.

The last day I went to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale. My travel buddy (my husband) is very fond of Fran Lloyd Wright's style. We took a tour in Chicago (Robie house), Pittsburgh (Falling water) before and this Taliesin West in Scottsdale was a main reason that we pack and drove over 2200 miles in one week. As always my husband found his favorite room in the house we took a tour and it was nice to see him happy.

After a week long, 2200+ mile driving road trip I am sitting in my favorite corner of my house and say good bye to 2015.

It's been a busy but wonderful year and I am looking forward to have another one.

Happy New Year! The year of Monkey!

Un cafe per favore!

First, I bought books and maps of Italy. Reading a book about the place you are going to go is exciting because while you are reading it, you can imagine and dream about the place in your mind. When you actually arrive and see those places and experience new things, anticipation turns into excitement. I took a trip to Italy as a family vacation a few weeks ago. When we were planning this trip, all 3 of us agreed to go to Italy out of many other European countries and we all agreed again this was a right decision after we came back home. I loved Italy!

Espresso was the first thing that I fell in love with. Taking a tiny cup of (less than 2 oz) concentrated dark liquid with crema on top became my daily ritual throughout  my Italy stay. I practiced "Un cafe per favore!" but never recited the whole sentence when I ordered my daily espresso. I am not that shy but speaking another language with foreign accent is intimidating enough (Yes, I vividly remember how I felt when I first came to this country 22 years ago :) I just said "Un cafe please...." Next time when I go back to Italy, I will use a whole sentence!

Italian breakfast was very simple. un cafe e cornetto alla marmellata! A cup of espresso or cappuccino and a breakfast pastry with jam. You could be served at the table but many people eat and drink at the counter or bar. There no time needed to be adjust to this custom :)

At the Autogrill (Rest stop in the middle of the highway), I got this single does of caffein. It came with a tiny straw for your convenience. What  simple way to get coffee.

Coffee was one of my daily rituals along with gelato and wine. Coffee with meals, coffee after meals, coffee with deserts.....

So many things that I miss from this trip and I will share more with you soon! 

Dear Carlene,

It has been a while since you were here but I still miss you sometimes. It was very short this time but please plan to stay longer next time! We have many things to do if we had a bit more time. First, we can make a trip to the Quilt museum in San Jose. http://www.sjquiltmuseum.org/exhibitions.html

By the way, how do you like your new clear frames from the Muji store? That store has lots of simple but interesting things. I am looking forward to wear my new scarf from that store in Italy :)  Second, we can make a trip to the Korean Market in Santa Clara and eat Korean BBQ for lunch. We also can visit Asian Art museum, De Young and  Legion of Honor in SF. Asian Art Museum shows old antique bojagi all the time and I'd love to see them with you.  

http://www.asianart.org/

Fabric dyeing class with Jasna was fun and I hope she can use her fabrics to make something very creative. 

Can we try Indigo dyeing next time when you are here? I wish I can go to Sisters, Oregon in September to take your workshops but I will have to wait until your next visit to my house..... http://www.stitchinpost.com/quilt-class-workshop-retreat/quilting-retreats-workshops.html

Here are some pictures of my Indigo dye from Yoshiko Wada's Boro workshop. My attempt of shibori wasn't that great but I am happy from the result.

Did I tell you that I am going to teach workshops at the Richmond Art Center in November? They will show my bojagi in their display case from July. 

http://richmondartcenter.org/

I just finished my Coffee & Tea dyed bojagi and it even smells good :) 

Well, off to my kitchen to cook dinner now. I will write to you again soon! Hugs~

EBHQ workshops

Last 2 weeks of busy days were full of excitement! One of the biggest things was EBHQ workshops and a lecture.  I met Ellen from SDA small group meeting a few years ago and she suggested to teach at her guild, EBHQ. And she invited me for this time.

지난 2주간 몹시 바빴습니다. 그중 젤 큰일하나는 EBHQ 워크샵과 보자기 강의였지요. 몇년전 어느 작은 모임에서 Ellen을 만나고 그 인연이 이렇게 가르치는 기회가 되어 돌아왔답니다.

I was excited but at the same time worried a bit. Because EBHQ is well known as their quilt shows and many talented members.

On Saturday early morning, I drove to Albany and 3 wonderful ladies greeted me. Marty was a workshop chair person who took care of me so well!

Arleen and Barbara helped moving all the chairs and arrange the workshop room so we can start on time.

Mosi, ramie jogakbo was a bit complicated to learn ( but only at the beginning part) but everybody was very patient and eager to learn this new technique.

At lunch time, we sat around the big tables and talk about our common interests.

Since I was teaching this workshop as a hand sewing/ stitching class, I made many people tired at the end of the day. However I don't doubt that people will have a difficult time to finish the project. These ladies are group of experienced and talented quilters anyway!

EBHQ에서 가르칠 수 있게된 일은 신나지만 실력있는 퀼터들로 알려진 이그룹을 가르치려니 좀 긴장이 되는 건 사실이었답니다. 토요일 아침일찍 짐을 싸서 워크샵 장소로 갔지요. Marty와 Arleen 그리고 Barbara가 저를 맞아 워크샵 준비를 도와주네요. 모시조각보를 가르치면서 시접의 크기와 방향을 따지면서 진지한 하루를 보냈답니다. 점심시간에는 큰 테이블에 둘러앉아 공통관심사를 나누면서 즐겁게 보냈지요. 손바느질을 하다보니 생각보다 빨리 피로가 몰려오는지 다들 파김치가 되어버렸답니다. 하지만 프로젝트를 완성시키는데는 아무 문제 없을겁니다. 다들 경험많은 노련한 퀼터들이거든요.

After take a break on Sunday, I drove again to the workshop location. This time Marty and Jean helped setting up. The project that I taught on Monday was Sukgosa (Korean silk) jogakbo. Some people took Mosi Jogakbo workshop and some came for this project only. I reunited with Mary and Roberta (sisters who are well known as quilt teachers and authors) and Stacy. They took my mosi jogakbo class at PIQF 2013. This time they all encountered a new material, Sukgosa and stitched many colorful silk pieces together. Presence of Mary and Roberta gave a mixed feeling. Excitement, nervousness and comfort all at the same time :)

월요일 아침 다시 차를 몰고 워크샵 장소로 달려갔지요. Marty와 Jean이 저를 맞아주네요. 이번엔 숙고사 조각보입니다. 토요일에 이어 다시 돌아온 사람들도 있고 새로운 얼굴들도 보였습니다. Mary와 Roberta 자매와 Stacy를 여기서 다시 만났습니다. 2013년에 PIQF퀼트쇼 클래스에 와서 모시 조각보를 배웠던 이들입니다. 그중 Mary와 Roberta 자매는 퀼트계에 아주 잘 알려진 선생님이면서 퀼트책을 여러권 써낸 작가들입니다. 그들 자매를 가르치는 건 여러가지 느낌을 한꺼번에 주지요. 흥분되고 긴장되게 만들지만 제뒤를 든든히 받쳐주는 사랍들입니다.

In between the workshop and a evening EBHQ meeting, I had nice dinner with Ellen who invited me. 

After strolling on Solano avenue, I was ready for my bojagi lecture. I thought I was..... But when I went into the church that has EBHQ's monthly meeting, I saw many people and got nervous! But many familiar faces greeted me as I am their old friends. I've been known most of them for just 2-3 days. When the lights were off, it was my turn to tell them a story about Bojagi and I survived. 

What a weekend! I had so much fun sharing bojagi with many people and met wonderful people. Now my wish list gets longer (wish for happiness of the people that I met through bojagi) and my story about bojagi will get longer and longer.

워크샵을 마무리하고 엘렌과 잠시 이른저녁을 같이하며 긴장과 피로를 풀었지요. 솔라노 거리를 거닐면서 편안한 마음을 다시 찾은 저는 EBHQ월례미팅이 열리는 교회로 향했습니다. 건물에 발을 들여놓는 순간 또 긴장이 되었지요.... 하지만 아는 얼굴들이 여기저기서 십년지기처럼 인사를 하면서 제맘을 편하게 해주었습니다. 소개를 받고 불이 꺼지고 파워포인트 슬라이드가 시작되고.... 어찌어찌 끝났습니다. 살았다.....

보자기를 나누며 새로운 사람들을 만나고 그들의 행복을 기원하는 제 위시리스트는 점점 길어집니다. 

I was a bit distracted....

Last Saturday was my annual Cinderella Classic bike ride ritual day. I started 7-8 years ago with my friend and I was hooked on. In January a group of women start training for this fun 65 mile bike ride. We started training from 15 mile ride to 55 mile ride. 

On the day of the event, we rode 65 miles with a style! Our jersey is turquoise and socks are matching colors, too.  Helmet was decorated with ribbons, feathers and flowers. I am very lucky to have these friends who are sharing this joy with me. This year, I got my best PR time! Life is good~ I will be back with more bojagi related stories soon.

Mosi Bojagi for So Yong Ssi

So Yong and her son came to my bojagi workshop. They both were very enthusiastic students. 

지난 겨울 소영씨와 아드님을 제 보자기 워크샵에서 만났습니다. 두사람 모두 바느질에 매우 열심이었지요.

 

So Yong really liked my yellow/blue mosi jogakbo. 

소영씨는 제 모시 보자기 하나를 몹시 마음에 들어했지요.

She asked me to make something for her bedroom and I started to make a rough draft. But it took me some time to get right colors for this project. I wasn't happy with fabrics that I have at home so decided to dye by myself. When I went to visit Carlene in Hawaii, I took 19 yards of fabrics with me. Some of them were used in this bojagi and I dyed more after I came back home.

어느날 그녀는 제게 보자기를 만들어 달라고 부탁을 했습니다. 침실에 걸어놓을 보자기를 만들기로 했지요. 아이디어 스케치는 금방 했습니다만 딱 맞는 모시 색깔을 찾기가 쉽지않았어요. 부분만을 만들어 놓고는 한참을 고민했더랬답니다. 하와이의 칼린을 방문할때 작정을 하고 갔지요. 제 맘에 드는 색으로 모시 염색을 하리라! 하고요. 

Once I have fabrics that I like, bojagi making process was enjoyable work! 

그래서 색을 얻고 집에서 좀더 많은 양의 모시를 염색한 후에는 일사천리로 보자기가 커지고 어느새 완성이 되었습니다.

I wish my happy thoughts delivered to So Yong's house with these bojagi. Thank you So Yong for letting me to have this fun project!

소영씨 집으로 보자기와 함께 좋은 기운이 함께 자리잡기를 바랍니다. 소영씨, 정말 즐거운 작업이었어요. 고마워요!

Sophia's Bojagi

Sophia has a beautiful house and she wanted me to make bojagi for her dining table. She asked me to make two bojagi and it took me long time to design one of them. Sometimes designing process takes long time but I was glad that I finally finished it. 

소피아씨네 집은 참 현대적이면서 아름답습니다. 그댁 다이닝룸 테이블에 깔아 놓을 보자기제작을 의뢰받고 디자인하는데 꽤 오랜시간이 걸렸답니다. 색을 맞추고 모양을 고민하면서 여름과 가을이 다 가고 겨울이 되어서야 겨우 완성해서 한숨을 돌립니다.

First thing to do after I finish making new bojagi is- taking lots of pictures!

산고를 거친 보자기가 완성되면 사진을 찍는데 공을 또 들입니다!

When I deliver these bojagi to her, I wrapped them in bojagi shaped like a pouch. Bojagi in a bojagi.

Inside of these pouch shaped bojagi, I put bojagi runners. 

보자기를 소피아씨댁으로 배달할때 주머니모양의 보자기에 잘 싸서 갑니다.

I wished Sophia's happiness and good fortune throughout the bojagi making process. 

Just like women in old days in Korea wished the recipient's happiness and good fortune.  

보자기 제작과정 내내 받는이의 행복을 비는 옛날 한국여인들이나 현재의 제자신이나 다같이 복을 비는 마음이지요.

행복하세요~

Happy Lunar New Year! 양의해, 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

I forgot how many years that I've been participating this fun celebration. More than 10 years for sure but can't remember when was my first year.... One thing for sure, I had a great time again! Happy Lunar New Year! The year of Ram (or Sheep or Goat)! I was sitting next to the lady who came with her books and sign her book when people purchased them. Her name is Lee (actual name is Eleanor Herz Swent) and we had a great time talking each other. I got her book and this is going to be my next read. I will update you when I finish reading it.

Outside of the museum, there were many live events and this was one of them. Japanese taiko drum.

It surely was a fun day and Happy new year! 새해 복 많이 받으세요!