Happy New Year!!!! I had my nails painted today to celebrate! It cost a tad less than a dollar, cheap entertainment!

Tonight Im going out to dinner with some friends, Im not sure Ill make it till midnight to usher in 2008 but you never know!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and interesting new year.......

Oh my God!!!! I just found the Vietnamese version of...... kettle corn!!!! All this time I thought the man with the cart blaring bad music was just selling plain old popcorn, now I can have It without having to go to a state fair!!!

Its been raining all day, but I dont mind, I would rather have it cooler and rainy that hot hot hot! I stayed in most of the day dying fabrics and working on the latest piece, which I think is almost done.

Now that I know Ill be going back to the states in September I feel much better about being here, kinda weird. I know that Ill be able to get things there and bring them back and that Ill be with my friends and get creative input. I hope it will hold me for another 8 months, I think thats what I want to do, here for 8 there for 4, did I already say that? Any way I dont feel the overwhelming need to leave like I did before.

OK!!!! I think I figured out a way to do this!!! This time I made sections of 3 curved pieces and then sewed them to another section of 3 and so on and so on, it didn't warp or grow and I really like this one!

I dyed the fabric the other day as a gradation with 8 steps, it was easy and I like the greys this one makes, thank you Carol!

I have already started on another top that I dreamt about, Ill put it here when its done.

Ok, back to the moving thing.... well, I want it both ways! Isnt there a way I can live part time here and part time in Portland? If any of you have any thoughts please send them along!

This is the latest, my challenge was to come up with a block that I liked and repeat it, I gave myself 5 or 6 colors to use... its ok.

Arent we cute? This is my friend Dung, pronounced yoom, he is a motor bike taxi driver and my first friend in Hoi An. It is now a law that every one has to wear a helmet when ridding motor bikes, I love my pink one, it matches my shirt!

And now for something completely different!!!! I wanted to do something using colors that I don't normally use so i I pulled these out of my stash, cut strips and this came out! I really like it, its about 20 x 20", I think Ill do another one later today!

I finally made the decision to take some more of Nancy Crows classes, Ill be taking best of strip piecing 1 & 2 and strip piecing and restructuring!!! They are not until fall of 08 but that will give me plenty of time to dye all my fabrics! This will be my 3rd trip to the barn and i cant wait!

The dau hu lady came to the market today she had been sick for over a week and i was going thru dau hu withdrawals! Ive tried other vendors but hers is the best!!! Ill see her tomorrow.

Im feeling better about things but Im still thinking about a move..... hummmm, it will be interesting to see what unfolds!

This is the newest creation, i really like it but man Im not doing something right!!!! I cant figure out how to keep it from growing , I'm not sure you can see but it needs darts to lay straight!!! Ive done so many different things to try to correct it but it just stays the same!!!! Does anybody have any ideas on what Im doing wrong? I really want to keep playing with curves but this is driving me nuts!!!

On a different note..... I still feel like I need to head back to the states..... I love my life here but I feel like Im creating in a vacuum. I have decided to sign up for two of Nancy Crows class in the fall of 08, no matter where Im living.

This is what I did today! Well I started yesterday but it takes me a long time to dye my fabrics because ...... I dont have a washing machine or a dryer! I even have to boil the water! There are some things I do miss about living in the states.

Today there are many things that I miss.... Im feeling blue today, im not sure why but I do have a feeling it has to do with Dave. For those of you that dont know Dave was my husband, he died on January 25th 2005 so Im coming up to the 3rd year without him.... and tomorrow will have been his 51st birthday! Boy do I miss him!

Today if I could I would move back to Portland and be with my friends, take Nancy Crows quilting classes every year, have a nice bottle of wine when i want it , but most of all I am missing the people I love and that love me back. Maybe Ill feel differently tomorrow, maybe not! Ill just have to wait and see.

well this is done.... i like it but it isnt one of my favorites! its all a learning process isnt it?!

i have been asked to participate in a food blog!!! so if you want to take a look its at travelingfriendsofmolly.blogspot.com check it out!

life is good, im feeling a bit like a hermit lately, just going out for dau hu then back home to my studio, i need to get out more! ill post some pictures of my house later so you can really see what a modern vietnamese house looks like.

well thats it for today, its getting cold and breezy out, i need to find my slippers!

im feeling frustrated today, i didnt even go into my workroom, instead i went to the market and shopped for dinner, im making macaroni and tomato sauce for some friends. now living in hoi an vietnam and wanting to cook tomato sauce, is a little challenging, for one thing the is no fennel! i did splurge for a nice bottle of red wine! the other thing thats missing is the parmesian cheese.
maybe the problem is that i didnt get my dau hu today, she took the day off!

tomorrow i hope to come to grips with my quilt!

well i think im learning some things about the way i quilt..... i tend to look at the small picture, each block is beautiful but then when i look at the big picture it doesnt always look good! i must admit that im all about the color and i forget about the composition, it just starts to look messy and busy.

the top photo was taken yesterday, again the piece has no flow, so today i took it all down and put it back up with some adjustments to the individual blocks, i paid attention to where i was placing them and how the pieces worked together. i think its better but i still need to fine tune it.

sometimes i feel very alone in my work, no one here really gets what im doing. one person asked if i was making seat covers....!

im trying so many different techniques and working so quickly, i feel if i just keep hammering out these then i will find a style thats mine and can then someday create my master piece! o well, i am so enjoying working this way right now.

today after 3 bowls of dau hu i came home and made this.... hummm im not sure how i feel about this. i like it but i do have problems with the technique, it gets very squed, is that a word? i end up cutting it in half and sewing it back together! there must be a better way!
today is a beautiful day, not to hot and no rain! i went to the market and bought interesting things for dinner, ground fish patties that i will fry and then make soup with.

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

this is what i did today!! ive never done curved piecing before, there are defiantly some things i need to figure out. i do like this and will try it again.
i needed to put the other one away for now, i will bring it back out later.
today rained all day, very windy too.
my friend hong came by this morning with breakfast, ca ri, its almost like a beef stew and you eat it with a fresh crusty baguette.
tonight ill put on my rain gear and head out for some stuffed squid and some green beans!!!

here is hung, our guide wearing all the items we bought from the lo lo tribe! isnt he wonderful!

this woman was making a head scarf, i asked her if she had any that were finished and i bought one!

this is a lo lo woman, she was making a jacket, they do beautiful hand work!

this was at the market in dong van, we were up by the chinese border.

well this is how far i got today... im still uncertan about this but will keep at it untill it works or i quit and move on to something different.

here is the new piece im working on, i got really excited about but when i put more pieces together it got VERY busy.... no i feel like i have quilters block!
i think that i will keep making the blocks and then see where i end up., i also made some triangles, they look pretty nice too.
its always a treat to see where my work leads me, i may start with an idea but it mutates as i go, i love it!
ill post more photos of the process on this one!

my landlady has decided that she needs to paint over all the mold in my house today..... so there are 3 young men in my house using watered down old paint trying to cover up the mold, it doesnt work! they are not very good painters either, big drips and messes, i went into my bedroom and they had an old dirty mat on my bed to keep from spilling everywhere.
today i asked her if she would sell me the house, maybe..... it is a good house and my studio is perfect, oh well.
im feeling rather frustrated today!

my friend hung and his girlfriend are here visiting from hanoi, we spent the afternoon walking all over hoi an, im a tour guide again! this time for my tour guide!
i found out that cyd has paid for 100 bolws of dau hu for me, im very happy about that!
it was a beautiful day today, i hope that the rains and floods are over!