2016

2016 yes, it is here! I read so many online New Year resolutions and they have inspired me. Sadly I didn't make any myself! What will be will be! That how it is for me in 2016. Having had a busy and exciting year last year I must admit I'm a bit tired and want to take it easy this year. I can hear you think, that's not like you! 

Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and even better New Year! Whatever you did I hope it was safe, fun and healthy. 

Looking back to 2015 for me was busy, exciting and fun. I had the best time on our Around the world in 80 days trip. The planning now seemed easy, but to think how many countries and cities we visited. It is hard to believe we did it. Everything we planned turned out perfectly. We didn't have any cancellations, delays, missing flights or sickness! In a trip like that one you can't ask for more. The arrangement with families and friends along the way went very smoothly and better than we expected as well. We visited some places for the first time. The places that we had already been to turned out to be as enjoyable as we were hoping for. The accommodation we booked through Airbnb was better that we saw in the pictures. We loved each and everyone of them! Thank you Airbnb! If you haven't already read my posts about my trip please click back to older posts or click HERE.

Today I'm going to share with you some of my Christmas decorations and a some small finished pieces I did since I returned. I've also got a few inspirations that I hope to start soon. Enjoy!

Summer New Year banner to wish you a Happy New Year

Colourful hearts ornaments I have been making

The Treehouse Christmas

My favorite Dear Santa Quilt came out
to play at Christmas

The Trio. Angel, Santa and Snowman

Over sized Christmas Crazy quilt brooch

Complete this Peace for Paris
I started on the trip.

A long slow cloth for 2016 stitching project

A quilt I really like to make in 2016

Vintage cotton yukata at the Blue Alchemy
Exhibition at the NGV

That is it from me. I'm now back to work. It's a holiday period for my university. The only students around are there for summer school. My library is going through a major renovation at the moment. It is due for completion at the end of 2016. I'm excited to be working in the newly renovated library once it's finished. 

I would love to hear what everyone's New Year resolutions are. Please share.

Until next time.

Nat

Vancouver

Entering Vancouver from Seattle by train the first eye catching image is this The Pattullo Bridge. The bridge reminds me of the Auckland harbour bridge in Auckland where we lived for some time. The train ride was very pleasant. It was a good way to arrive in Vancouver. The morning was mostly foggy along the way, but when we arrived the fog had cleared. We would really like to do it again; maybe Vancouver to Seattle next time! 

As I said on my last post the Vancouver part of the trip was supposed to be easy going with no specific itinerary except that I wanted to see my friend Elizabeth. Elizabeth and I met on the Silk Study Tour in 2011. The day after I arrived Elizabeth and her friend Suri picked me up from our Airbnb apartment in the city. They plan was to take me to Grandville Island and visit Maiwa Stores. That is exactly what I was hoping to do! Off we went from the morning until late in the afternoon before they dropped me back with the promise that we will do it again before I left. 

The 76-year old Pattullo Bridge, Vancouver

One cold foggy morning, Vancouver City

I could see a cruise ship docking at the harbour from our apartment 

The girls got to have fun!

Piecing new project on the trip

Naturally dyed silk threads from Silk Weaving Studio

Bundling with local plants and flowers

Maiwa Handprints

Vintage indigo fabric at Maiwa Handprints

Fun day in Stanley Park

Watch-out for a bear in Stanley Park!

Spreading out what we gathered

Look at the hands gesture!

Result on silk blouse

BORO piecing for more stitching on the trip.

Vancouver was a much more enjoyable stop than I expected! It was lovely to be reunited with Elizabeth again and got to meet Suri who has been following my blog for a long time. I think Suri knows more about me that I know myself! 

Thanks Elizabeth and Suri for taking good care of me and showing me your unforgettable city. I love all my goodies I brought home. I will miss our fun time together in Vancouver. 

I spent a few days putting up my Christmas decorations before returning to work. Everyone at work asked what my favourite place was on my journey! To be honest, I can't answer that. I enjoyed all the places I visited. I will highlight them in my future posts. 

For now, thanks all for following my wonderful 'Around the world in 80 days' trip. You can revisit all the posts from my trip again by clicking here, or click under the 'around the world in 80 days' labels on the sidebar. 

Until next time

Nat

Seattle

We only stopped in Seattle for 4 days. I didn't plan to do anything myself, but Mr Notjustnat's wish

was to visit the Boeing Museum. We stayed at a hotel for the first time on this trip and it is right in the city centre, so we could go everywhere by foot. The first morning in Seattle we walked to Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. The market was just setting up, but was already buzzing with lives. 

After the market we went to SAM (Seattle Art Museum). As it happened, there was special exhibition on "Intimate Impressions" so we thought we might see something that we haven't seen before on the trip. We weren't disappointed. We found 2 small paintings by Edgar Degas and Edouard Vuillard.

When we arrived back at the hotel I received a text from dear LeeAnn, Nifty Quilts to meet up, if I was available. I was happy to meet LeeAnn. She is a quilter I have admired, and have followed her blog for a long long time. LeeAnn picked me up that afternoon and took me to her warm and beautiful home. On the drive to her house she told me one of her friends is visiting from NYC and would I mind meeting her too. Her friend is Victoria Findley Wolfe. It was double luck for me to meet both LeeAnn and Victoria at the same. We had a lovely lunch and visited my favourite kind of place. A Japanese Yukata fabric Okan Arts. "A small world" moment happened there. I had actually mail ordered from Okan Arts in the past and now I was standing in the studio. 

A brief visit to Seattle turned out to be another memorable visit. Thank you all textile artists in this world. You are so very kind, generous and lovely! Here are some photos from my Seattle visit:

Meet the Pike Place Market's famous pig!

Seattle sunset city view 

Basket spotted at Polish Pottery store

Edgar Degas, Dancer Backstage 1876-83

Edouard Vuillard, The Artist's
Paintbox and Moss Rosses 1898

LeeAnn and I at Okan Arts

Victoria, LeeAnn, Patricia and Victoria's
daughter and grand daughter

Double Tree Arctic Club Hotel, Seattle

We took the Cascade train to Vancouver.
Never too old to take a romantic getaway!

Breathtaking view along the way

Another breathtaking view along the way

Next stop was Vancouver. Again I thought it was going to be a week's stop for Mr Notjustnat to attend a professional development course, but as it turned out, it was a memorable stop. I will have to do a separate post for Vancouver.

My around the world in 80 days is coming to the end in a couple of days. I'm looking forward to getting home and have started thinking about going back to work and Christmas. Life will be back to normal and routine again. I miss my dyeing and the dye bundles awaiting me at home to be opened!

Until next time
Nat

New York New York

New York, New York. I always wanted to say that! It was a busy stop in New York. We stayed in Brooklyn and took daily trips into Manhattan every day on the Metro. There is so much to do in NYC. We covered a lot in the eight days we were there. Mr Notjustnat and I enjoyed taking photographs in NYC. Every little single thing was worth photographing there. Now you understand why there are so many great photographers coming out of NYC!

There are wonderful museums and galleries in NYC. We visited many of them in a short time. We walked the High Line and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge by foot. I visited Etsy head office and I met up with my childhood friend of fifty years! 

Map of Manhattan

Traffic in Manhattan

Celtic design on the wall of Halsey St station

One of these houses was our Airbnb apartment

Looking for breakfast! What's for breakfast?

Tall buildings in NY

We visited MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum, Brooklyn Museum and the Guggenheim Museum seeing great art. We saw works from the same artists in Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Munich. It made me wonder how many of these great works these artists actually produced? I have a lot of reading to do about these paintings.

Broadway Boogie Woogie 1942-43
Piet Mondrian

Agapanthus 1914-26, Claude Monet

Girl Before A Mirror 1932, Pablo Picasso

By Gustav Klimt

By Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt

Portrait of Joseph Raulin 1883
Vincent van Gogh

Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat 1887
Vincent van Gogh

Little Dancer 1879-1881 Edgar Degas

A book by Alberto Burri

Ground 0, 911 Memorial 

The new World Trade centre buildings

Bench at Times Square

Rockefeller Center Ice-link

With Julie Schneider at Etsy HQ

I walked the Brooklyn Bridge

I also walked the High Line

My stitching journal of Brooklyn

We've left NYC and visited Seattle for a quick stop for 4 days. We are now in Vancouver before heading home with a short stop in Auckland. I'm feeling a little sad that our trip is coming to an end. But I'm also looking forward to going home. No place like home right? 

I will cover both Seattle and Vancouver on my next post. Don't miss it. I'm having a fantastic time in Vancouver with my friends here! I hope to be able to get the post up before the Christmas holidays. I hope everyone is gearing up for the holiday season. Having travelled through the US and Canada and seeing all the holidays ornaments everywhere in shops and malls, I now feel that it's time to get home and start to decorating my house too. 

Until next time

Nat