Showing posts with label a journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a journey. Show all posts

Friday, April 4, 2014

Dongdaemun Fabric Market - A Review

So... In case you're ever in Seoul, you might need to know about this place.

{Yes, this is my round-about way of talking about the adoption without actually talking about the adoption.}

{Which was given initial approval on Tuesday, so now we're in the 14 day waiting period before the next round of approvals and visas and appointments and...end game! Maybe! Soon!}

{And now would be a good time to "like" or tell your friends to "like" my Facebook page, because I'm going to list a few quilts for sale. Because last minute tickets to/from Korea ain't cheap, and Momma's ready to bring her baby home!}

Ahem. Anyway. The market. Holy crap, the market.


We're talking whole city blocks covered by this complex.


Every bit is packed with booths and people and stuff.


Need beads? You might be able to find a few here. There's also an entire floor of ribbon. Booths and booths of paracord {the Dude would love it!} Giant bags of zippers. You name it, it's there...somewhere.


So much silk and polyester fabrics. Bolts usually could be cut, and the swatches were for wholesale. And they would move fabric constantly - men were bringing in rolls right off the backs of motorcycles, and people would carry out a whole roll at a time.

{Booth 3247}

Luckily I did a little research and knew a couple booths to find - they're all numbered and in sections. {Though it took us an hour to figure out where the D section was.}

The selection is varied but limited - don't go in expecting to find the newest Moda line, but do stock up on loads of basics. I found a lot of novelty kids fabrics, some soft florals, and tons of stripes and dots.


This booth, across the way, had lots of modern-ish fabrics and a random selection of Civil War reproductions. I found the teal in my stack here - from Laurie Wisbrun's Brrrr line.

{Map from the Korea blog}

If you don't enjoy wandering about tiny passageways crammed with people and fabric, these two booths are at the arrow on the map. Or at least that's what my husband tells me. {True story: I once argued that we couldn't see Mount Spokane from our house. This is, apparently, a fallacy. I have a pretty poor sense of direction.} 

Most of the cotton fabrics, and some minkee, is nearby. Note the stairs: easy in and out!


And this is what I bought - 15 yards for 48400 won. We were doing a 1:1 translation in our heads, but it's a little less than that, so it came out to just about $46. Yes, $3 a yard.

Yeah, I'm taking an extra suitcase for the second trip.

Linked

Thursday, January 2, 2014

2013 - In Review

I'm doing this a little backwards - since 2014 is already up and running. Oh well, here's 2013 anyway!


Not bad, huh? 21 quilt finishes, including five commissioned t-shirt quilts and six commissioned not-t-shirt quilts.

Of course, a lot of these were pieced or partially pieced in years past, and a couple are nothing more than borders on a panel, but a finish is a finish, right?

I also kinda sucked at naming quilts this year. Nine-Patch Snowballs? Really? Okay...


I also had some smaller finishes, and even added that to the blog header. They might be little, but they're something I did, and pillows ought to be celebrated. Especially Minecraft pillows.


Life had some ups and downs. 

My husband came home from a seven-month deployment, we went on a cruise, Lori and I qualified for Half Fanatics and set some personal records.

But my beloved lap cat died, we had a rough move from Oklahoma to Washington State, and our house sale...well, it sold.

In addition, our adoption stalled when Korea halted all international adoptions for about six months. Now that we've finally been submitted to court, it's hard not to be bitter that we would have had him for at least Christmas, if not his second birthday, if it weren't for that stoppage and a couple snags with the move.

Bright spots at the end of the year include my sister's wedding, learning how to long-arm quilt, and for the Dude, CC the kitten. Tycho and I are still not huge fans of the kitten.

So, we're hoping 2014 will be a little better as we finally settle into our home, bring the Little Man home, work through the FIZes, run some races, and convince the kitten to stop acting like a kitten.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Weekly Progress - Goodbye 2012

Ah, the end of another year. 2012...wasn't a bad year, but with my husband deployed or away in training for deployment for nine months of it, it wasn't a great one. It was more of a waiting year.

Some highlights:
15 finished quilts - four of which were commissioned

2013 will be the opposite, and I'm looking forward to everything that has managed to cram itself into the coming year. It'll be crazy!

In progress this week
I complained about my sister wanting her book back last week. My mother should play poker, because she let me rush through some blocks without letting on that my sister got me the book for Christmas. Back on the back burner!

{UFO Challenge} After Christmas was cleaned up and the guests went home, I finished up some projects just so I could claim I finished some UFOs this year. Blue Bowties is done!

Sunkissed Jewel Box is done! But as it's snowing raining, it will have to wait for better light for pictures and a post.

{Design Wall} No change. Seriously. The wreath is even still there.

{Fifteen Minute Challenge} In a quest to start cleaning instead of just organizing what I have, I sorted through the scraps leftover from my t-shirt quilts. Let's face it - I'm not going to use them.

One of our local charities takes stained/ripped clothes for rags, so they're getting two garbage bags full. I saved a small rainbow in case I need to make running shirt logo/costume.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Weekly Progress - On The Little Things

Lots of little updates this week!

 First, William's first birthday was Sunday. And this part of adoption? Really sucks. Oh well - we will celebrate his second and onward with him!

Second, this old fat boy is doing well. Stitches come out today, and hopefully we'll figure out a diet that prevent the stones coming back for both cats! No easy task, since they get stones for opposite reasons.


Third, since I have a picture of almost all my other kids... I took out my minky scrap box to show to a client. Someone loves minky.

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization
Another week with no organization. I really need to get back into the fifteen minute habit, because the flat surfaces are getting covered again!

Design Wall
The Toyland row quilt is pretty close to the assembly stage. It's been a good leader/ender project - I'm going to miss it! Oh wait, I have another one just like it.

Finished
{How to tell if you've exceeded your design wall space}
 My second version of Raspberry Dessert! Full post later this week.

I also finished a wall hanging for my mother, in PEO colors.

And now I really need to work on the to-be-quilted pile!

Blocks

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

WiP/FMC - Lots of Little Things

So, where to start...?

How about...we accepted a referral for this little guy!

His name is William WooYeong, he's ten months old, and we have about a year to wait until we get to bring him home.

So that's my favorite little thing...but I did do a lot of other little things this week.

Finished:
Nine-Patch Snowball {Well, the top, at least.}

Fifteen Minute Challenge
 I decided to do Big Blue's binding while supervising the Dude's daily homework. {Which is one worksheet page..but also torture. Apparently. And often takes longer than fifteen minutes.}

I've forgotten how nice a hand-stitched binding looks. Need to do it more often. Anyway, I stitched every day but Sunday, and I'm done with 2.5 sides.

In-Progress:
Layer Cake Snowball Fight - all ready to be assembled!

Central Park Sudoku - really doesn't look like it's changing, but all the blocks are in rows, at least.


LQS Saturday Sampler 2012 (12/36 blocks) - despite screwing up my block last week, I could still make this set by switching the green and brown...and then I miscut the green. That's a six-piece 3" square to make into HST on the top of the green pile. Attractive.

Quilting:
Bad Romance - lines all the way in one direction, third of the way in the other. So I unpinned so that I could free up the basting pins for...

Fall-gyle! I'm probably going to need a new category - Quilted Enough So That I Could Baste Another Quilt. Because buying more basting pins would be silly!

Joining:
Picture-Perfect Polaroid Block Swap - searching for a good charm pack, since I don't have access to my scraps!

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Week
Fat Quarter Stars (6/12 blocks)

In-Progress-But-Not-This-Summer
LQS Saturday Sampler 2011 (12/12 & center) 
Chunky Log Cabin (13/20 blocks)
St. Paul's Cross (2/42? blocks)

Adoption:
Application Submitted - 2/12 
Home Study - approved 5/12
USCIS paperwork - mailed 6/12
Home Study to Korea - 6/12
Referral Accepted - 6/12

New Projects: 0
Completed Projects: 1
In Progress: 11

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

WiP/FMC - Life in Progress with the Military

The first bit here is going to be a bit heavy, so just scroll down to the pictures if you don't want to read about life.

So... We're in the process of adopting from Korea.
{I know. I talk about it A LOT.}
But then my husband was put on a deployment list, and we put life on hold. Then he went on from the deployment list to the moving list, so we rushed to finish up the last bits of paperwork.
Then...
{I bet you know where this is going...}
Yeah. He's deploying.
I threw a bit of a hissy fit. We've put off the adoption process for five years, and this specific adoption for six months, because of the military holding us in limbo.
Cried. Prayed. Called our agency.
They rock.
The application is in, and the home study starts immediately, so that everything can be sent to Korea before he leaves.
And then the Dude and I have a lot to look forward to - Daddy and a brother/sister coming home in the winter/spring of 2013.
{And then we move.}

Anyway, on with the WiPs!

Fifteen Minute Challenge - still Sew Starry. Who would have thought cross-hatching would take so darn long? Anyone who only did it for fifteen minutes a day, probably.
I quilted it for fifteen minutes every day except Monday (road trip to Stillwater!)
I want to get it squared and bound today, so it's time to pick a new FMC!

I'm making my first mini-quilt for the Ellison Lane contest. It is not modern - built from log cabins and courthouse steps - but it's something I've wanted, so... I'm making it! Any guesses?

Quilt-Alongs:
Fat Quarter Stars - 6/10 blocks - skipped ahead to #9 because I'm out of background fabric. LOVE this one. So simple but so cute.
Plus, look how cute the bonus triangle from the flying geese is! It's going to make a great couple of pinwheels.
LQS Saturday Sampler 2012 - 3/36 (new blocks to work on)
 
Quiltville Orca Bay {Skorca!} - lots of blue filling in... I'm so ready to start assembly!
Made in Cherry - see above
Swoon A Little, Swoon A Lot - the blue box? That's my Swoon fabrics... (Newest block to the side.)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

A journey begins

You know how they say journeys begin with a single step?
 Well, some begin with a two-hour drive to Tulsa.
111 miles on 1/11/11. I'd say that's fate, or something.
And this is cryptic, or something. ;)