Indigo Dye in Ganghwa Island-Seoul area

On my visit to Seoul, my dear friend Songhee took DH and I to Ganghwa Island. It is a beautiful island near Incheon in the Seoul area. We visited a gorgeous Bu-dist temple, and the tidal flats that are so important to the life of the islanders. If you come to visit, make sure you eat some of the delicious seafood that is only available in this area of the world. The link below from the Korean tourism department will give you information about the island and how to get there, etc.
  http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=943519

watching and learning from the Pro.

But since my friend knows that I love textiles, we also came here to visit this wonderful natural dyes studio. Check the link below to see Chunghee studio.(Google translator is not working here).
www.chunghee.co.kr
She is a lovely lady and a most talented fiber artist that uses traditional dyeing methods for her creations.

immersion of a cotton scarf on prepared indigo

The first opening of the scarf. The blue magically appears first as this green.

Hanging it to dry after two more immersions in the indigo (it dried as a Duke Blue, of course)

All the gorgeous fabrics drying on the line. The indigo and the clay colors.

Her studio is a traditional clay structure that is very cozy. She grew the indigo that we used to dye our scarves. She also uses natural clay, and other natural dyes. The environment, as well as the keeping traditional ways of dyeing are very important to her. She also showed us her beautiful work; but I can't find my pictures of them. She has clothing, bags, scarves, and so many lovely pieces. Sorry I don't have the pictures. Her husband served us tea that he grew; and a traditional pastry. Talk about a lovely day!

Fabric Depot Portland, Oregon

This is the fabulous Fabric Depot in Portland, Oregon. www.fabricdepot.com
 It is like our Mary Joe's here in North Carolina. But the Fabric Depot also sells sewing machines. Check out the web site because like Mary Joe's they have a wonderful web sales site. So no excuses not to shop.
I had only half an hour at this very large store. Still managed to buy all that I had on my list, minus the yellow Aurifil thread that I forgot to put on the list :-(
The Web address will give you all the information you will need, so I won't bore you with it here.
Soon I hope to post what I will make with the purchases. (Wishful thinking for sure, LOL)

Bainbridge Island Quilt Stores

This lovely quilt store is the McKenna Ryan store in Bainbridge Island in Washington State.

Bainbridge is a gorgeous town that is worth visiting even if you do not quilt. It is a half and hour ferry trip from pier 52 in Seattle. The ferry runs very frequently, (times vary through the day, so check the schedule). 

The ferry costs US$7.70; but you only pay going west. I don't know the price for the car ride. I used it as a pedestrian. I highly recommend as a day trip if you are in Seattle. The store address is:

187 Ericksen Ave. NE. 

www.pineneedles.com

view of the main room

Had to buy the top right block pattern from this Aussie quilt.

The chiken pattern also came home with me.

There is another quilt store in the Island. It is Esther's fabric on 181Winslow Way E (Main drag) Suite D.
www.esthersfabrics.com
The day I was there, they were very busy with costumers from a shop hop. But I had a wonderful time visiting and the staff was very friendly. I bought a Washington/Seattle fabric (not picture.) It is a novelty black fabric with Seattle icons.

Both stores makes you feel very welcome.

Some hints:

As you leave the ferry, make sure to get a free map "Downtown Bainbridge Island" it lists all the stores and addresses, as well as the ferry schedule. This area is easy to walk (the map boasts that it is only a "10 minutes walk from one end of the town to the other". But with so many lovely places to see and enjoy, just take your time.

July update Blogger's BOM

After a long absence from my sewing room. This is what I have done. It is the last 5 installments of the Blogger's BOM.
The blocks are prettier than they look in the picture. I am all caught up until July 25 when I will be behind again. LOL. 
The blocks are 8 1/2" unfinished. 
**I also want to let you know that when I used the right button here to get to the web site with the Blooger's BOM information; my computer detect a "mall-ware" and immediately recommended that I closed it. So, use it with care. The button takes you to the "Canton Village Quilt Works" site. That is the organizer site; so I hope it gets fixed soon. She is also the last stop in October.
If you are following along, the July 25th block will be posted at "Bumble Beans Inc." I'm not linking it; but it is easy to find. If you are in the US, stay cool!!!