Kenya! My First Trip to Africa!

My friend Anne invited me to join her on a photo-safari to Kenya.  And since my motto is to never pass up a unique travel opportunity, I agreed to join her!

In addition to Kenya we opted to spend time on Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain.  So this trip took me to places I hadn't been before.

I flew to Paris where I met Anne, and we flew directly from there to Nairobi. We arrived a day earlier than the tour was going to commence, giving us time to make sure we arrived without any delays and also a chance to rest.

Here we are enroute to Nairobi

With our extra day we opted to take a tour of a tea plantation just outside the city of Nairobi.  The woman pictured above is a third generation tea farmer.  It was fascinating to learn more about this and she showed us what the ideal picking of the pekoe tea leaves looks like (below).  We finished with a lovely tea and luncheon on her estate.

Her home was populated nearby with many tamarind monkeys.

Above are a couple of the bird species I saw while we were at the tea plantation....

The following morning we met up with other members of our small (18 total) group for breakfast at our beautiful hotel before departing for the first game park.  Our tour was organized by ESA-Safaris with organizational assistance by Amy Leader of Follow The Leader LLC.

This is a view I saw a great deal of during our 10 days in Kenya:  

the inside of a safari vehicle.  I opted almost every time 

to be in the third row, left side, in order to stretch out my 

still-healing right knee!

Note the roof.  When we were out driving on game drives either pre-dawn or early evening, this

roof was popped up in order for us to stand and see the animals safely.

While transitioning from one area to another we certainly witnessed a different way of life.

After a long drive from Nairobi we arrived at Amboseli Park.

Some of the local Masai tribe were there to greet us and offer their beautiful

beaded objects for sale.  Naturally, I bought some!

These guys were everywhere around us at the lodge. 

We were warned not to feed them, and how to deflect an aggressive one.

It was awe-inspiring to be this close to these magical creatures. 

SO many elephants!

This is Chris, one of our guides and also one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.

Each of our three drivers were just great:  really nice and so knowledgable about the wildlife.

We enjoyed each of them and they all became friends.

Soon after arriving at Amboseli we got back into our safari vehicles and went on our first 

game drive.  Magical!  Look at this place!  It was very close to spring solstice so the sun was 

brilliant as it lowered in the sky.

There was something about the dust being kicked up by this large herd of zebras

that captivated me.

And our first views of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  

forgive me for all these photos.  I just couldn't believe 

how beautiful it was!

Below is a map showing Kili, in Tanzania, and Amboseli (our location) just north of it in Kenya.

First Morning Game Drive, March 21st 2019:

Lions!

Quilt Retreat with the San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild

For the spring retreat with the San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild I did something I NEVER do:

I was organized!  I knew what I was going to make at the retreat!  I actually PREPARED!  In Advance!  People, this is a rare moment for me.....

I read the winter issue of Quiltfolk magazine.  (Have you subscribed yet?  If not, you should!  It is such an unusual and amazing publication!).  I've linked it here so you can click on over.  

In this issue (Issue #4) Anna Maria Horner collaborated with another quilt artist and they each developed a quilt pattern: one is a traditional iteration, and Anna Maria's is a modern take using her fabric collection.  I was enamored with Anna Maria's version and I purchased some of her fabric, added some from my Urban Garden Collection from RJR, and made the quilt!

This is the unheard of part:  I actually CUT EVERYTHING in advance of the retreat and had all my pieces organized into a 3-ring binder.  Gasp!

Here is a photo I took from the magazine article showing Anna and the other quilt artist 

(apologies:  I cannot recall her name!) showing Anna's quilt

Here I am at home, prior to the retreat, selecting and cutting my fabrics

I'm at the retreat and sewing all my blocks...

Blocks going up on the design wall....

closeup of a section.  I think Anna's collection and mine go well together!

the back....

here is the completed quilt.  It is, as I write, at Joanna Marsh's to be longarmed!

QuiltCon 2019: Nashville

The first image I'm showing you is a pretty good summary of what the weather was like:

It was WET!

There were torrential rains most of the time we were in Nashville, but

we didn't let a bit of rain stop us from having fun.

My only workshop happened on the first day and was with the wonderful Nydia Kehlne.

This was a fun value exercise using solids to create with half-square triangles.

Nydia demonstrating her work flow.

One of Nydia's beautiful sample quilts.

 Also in the mix:  spending time in the RJR booth and visiting with friends who stopped by to see my fabric collection, "Pollinator".

The Hatch Show Print business was really interesting to visit.

Seeing friends is one of the most fun parts of coming to any QuiltCon!

Here I am with Gina Pina and Alisa Haight Carlton.

Jeannie Moore and I went to the Grand Ole Opry.

What fun!

We took the back-stage tour after the performance and got to stand in the "circle" onstage!

Craft Napa 2019: Another Wonderful Event

It is possible I am the luckiest teacher in the world.  I always seem to have the most amazing people in my workshops!  I can't tell you how much I enjoy working with students.

Craft Napa has evolved to have a really wonderful culture.  Some people have come every year and new people come each year.  Friendships have developed and people are keeping in touch as a result of this event.  What could be better?  I love teaching at Craft Napa.

This year was no exception!

In my two-day surface design workshop a wonderful group of artists joined me at Pokey's art barn.
We delved into all types of work using a variety of tools to make marks on cloth and fabric.

We really enjoyed our morning meeting and lunch discussions.

How could it have been better?! 

The evening between my two-day workshop I taught a hand-stitching workshop which was equally enjoyable.  I instructed people that it was casual, so much so that they were welcome to come in their jammies.  And.....one person took me up on it!

Frances Holliday Alford, always up for a good time!

Students worked with sheers to create a lovely abstract composition and 

stitched it with embroidery thread.  

This was such a fun evening!

The next day my husband arrived in Napa to do a screening of his film, "Tim's Vermeer", for the retreat attendees.  It was so much fun to have him visit!

He had fun talking to Earomicha.

We had Ritual coffee at the Oxbow Market the afternoon before the screening.

Students enjoyed asking him questions post-screening...

While some of the teachers posed on the floor:

Jamie Fingal, Lyric Kinard, Judy  Coates-Perez, Victoria Findlay-Wolfe, and myself

(counter-clockwise from top left)

 Finally, I taught a ruler-free improv class with the theme of "Housetops and Variations".

Students creatively made compositions with this theme in a variety  of colors and prints.

I certainly hope my students had as much fun as I did.  Truly, being able to interact with all these

wonderful artists is a privilege and I enjoy every moment of it.  

2019: Where Has The Year Gone?

I have been exceedingly negligent in writing on my blog.  I've had my reasons, but still.

Here are a few images to partially explain why I've been absent in the blogosphere:

All these photos represent a small sampling of the very large renovation project that was underway in our home beginning in July of 2017 and finishing in February, 2019.  We had major roof repairs, new windows and walls to replace the rotting, leaking ones, cut a larger hole in the entry and installed a beautiful door, and in the process had a flood in my studio.

I moved everything back out of my studio and was not back in until just before the holidays as a new wood floor was needed.

Old one being removed....

and..UGH!...the sheetrock had to be cut out.

I had to move everything out of the studio to storage.

New wood floor (same type, but wider plank wood) was applied.

This time we put a cork underlayment to provide some nice cushioning and also a bit of noise attenuation.

One little bright spot in all this is that I added design wall to two more walls.  I realized shortly after doing the studio remodel that I "should" have put more on the existing walls.  I used the disaster to update those areas.  See?  Lemonade from lemons!

Here is the cork underlayment...

Moving back into the studio!  Yay!

Here is one of my new sections of design wall which is 

immediately to the left of my sewing table.  It is handy for pinning notes 

and even small sections of a construction while I work.

I love the addition of these two new design wall sections!  I

cannot imagine why i didn't put these in when we did the original 

remodel, but I am so happy I have them now!   See?  From something unfortunate comes

something good...

In November I finally had my right knee replaced.  This was LONG overdue.

The months since my surgery have been focused on recovery and rehabilitation.  I was in physical therapy twice per week from November through mid-May.  Interspersed I have been traveling.

In January, I taught at Craft Napa.  I was very careful to use the stationary bike at my hotel to keep my knee moving!  More on that in the next post.

Thanks for stopping by!