Our first stop in China while on the cruise was Beijing. (You can find out more about the quilting cruises by going to http://www.quiltcruises.com) This city boasts over 20 million in population. I live in a city that boasts about 20,000. A world of difference. We were lucky to have our friend Dorothy’s daughter who lives in Beijing as our guild and interpreter. I am so thankful that Karen was willing to give up two days from her work, husband and children to be our guide. Thank you Karen.
Here are some photos we took around Beijing.
After driving through Beijing we headed to the Great Wall.
This is impressive. To think this wall was built one stone at a time by hand made me feel very small.
At the bottom of the Great Wall they had some Mongolian camels. Joe thought it would be fun for me to sit on the camel. Why do I let people talk me into these crazy things??
Close to the area where we visited the Great Wall is an eco-lodge with 25 rooms called the Brick Yard. We were lucky enough to meet the owner in the lobby when we checked in. He is a retired professor from Berkley, CA. After several visits to China he fell in love with this small community of Beigou Village. And after being there I can see why he fell in love. He renovated an abandoned tile factory. They used a lot of the tile in decorative ways around the lodge. Above the bed they built an inset using broken pieces of tile. You can find out more about this lodge by visiting their website http://www.brickyardatmutianyu.com
The bathroom was lavish and also used some of the broken tiles.
One wall in our room was glass and through it we could see the patio area and in the distance…the Great Wall.
And of course they used tile on the roofs.
In this little village we found numerous walls decorated with different types of art.
And Confucius protecting the village.
From there Karen took us to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing .
The art work on the interior and exterior was really incredible.
Isn’t this little girl adorable?
As we drove out of Beijing I snapped this photo.
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BOOK REVIEW
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See seemed like a good book to read before going to Shanghai! And it was. The book starts in 1937 in Shanghai where sisters, Pearl 21 and her younger sister, May, are living a great life. Both girls are attractive and pose for an artist who paints their portraits for calendars. Their father’s rickshaw business allows them to have the things they want and be carefree. Until….their father owes money from gambling and offers his daughters to an American business man who is looking for wives for his sons. The girls are supposed to take a ship to the states but decide nothing bad will happen if they do not go. Shortly after this decision Shanghai is bombed by the Japanese and the girls lives take a drastic change. As they travel through the country side of China they encounter some bad situations. The girls finally make it to America and marry their arranged husbands. There were some good twists in this book and it kept my attention.
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STUDENTS’ WORK
On the cruise Judy took several classes with me. After we got off the ship Judy continued on for another two weeks to Canada, where she lives. During the cruise and the following two weeks Judy sewed and sewed and sewed and finished the three blocks we worked on in classes. Great job Judy. Your blocks are fabulous!!
When I was recently in Texas, Nanci shared her block she made after taking my Magical Medallion-Block Three workshop. Nanci is a member of the Coastal Prairie Quilters Guild.
And while I was just in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania some students shared some of their blocks from the Kansas Rose workshop they took with me a few years ago.
Angela had her finished quilt from the Kansas Rose machine applique workshop. Fantastic block and great smile Angela.
Cathy also shared her finished project from the Kansas Rose workshop. Cathy used hers as a center for her Round Robin project, simply wonderful.
And then Angela shared another quilt she made after the Kansas Rose workshop. Angela said she had so much fun making Perfect Circles she designed an entire quilt using them. She is still in the process of quilting this project in case you wondered about all the pretty colored pins still in the quilt.
This is a big thank you to everyone who shared their blocks and quilts with me and you. You all know it makes me very happy to share students’ quilts with you.
While in Texas I first visited the Quilter’s Guild of Dallas http://www.quiltersguildofdallas.org which has around 450 members. Nice, big guild. Then I flew to Houston and worked with the Tri-County Quilt Guild http://www.tricountyquiltguild.org and then the Coastal Prairie Quilters http://cpqg.org It’s true what they say about southern hospitality.
I got home Friday afternoon and then Friday evening I drove to Bloomsburg, PA to teach for the Quilters in Bloom guild. Angela and Kathy who shared their quilts above are from the guild in Bloomsburg.
Next week: Photos from Shanghai.