Last minute activities

I had a lovely Monday with the ladies at Bridges in Monmouth...

...printing, collaging and stitching their Hmong-inspired tri-fold books.

(Except Anne...who made hers into frame-able panels!:-)

Some piccies for you to browse through...

...enjoy the messy tables! :-)

as always...

...some beautiful work was produced.

well done ladies!

...and thanks for having me...


Suit cases are now all packed and I'll be off to Gatwick on Wednesday bound for Barcelona. I've got my ticket for Park Guell on Thursday...and am looking forward to finding all sorts of treasures to kidnap into my camera! Won't be back until late November. Hope the Atlantic is not too lively!! Will post again as soon as I am able......


 x      C

It's nearly time to go ......again!

It's been a very busy few weeks since we came back from the last cruise...

...and now it's almost time to leave for the next one!!

Final docs came this morning...

...coach ticket booking made yesterday...

...and sample Travel Journal for Atlantic Showcase is done! YEY!!

I've used loads of Brusho Sprays...

...some stencils...

...and printed pages with blocks from Colouricious.

All the packs that I've put together for the two cruise legs have been folded and block-printed too...

...so they have a head start as soon as they join the sessions! :-)

I've also put together my own sketchbook...

...and have decided to focus on colour and pattern this time.

I treated myself to a new set of Schmincke watercolours, and filled-up the extra spaces with some Sennelier half-pans.....so no excuses...painting SHALL be done!!

(Yes...I know I haven't shown you any pages from the last trip's sketchbook yet...but all will be revealed at some point...promise! :-)

The next couple of weeks will be taken up with writing the final chapters of the book on Colourcraft Liquid Batik Dyes...

...and stitching final samples to be photographed.

My work table is completely covered in pots and trays of beads for stitching onto a piece of dyed silk that will (hopefully) be pictured on the front cover.

Oh Boy!

...do I need a 72 hour day right now!!

x C

Whew! What a Trip!! Part 3

We sailed out of Kalamata and headed for the island of Crete.

No berth ....so little boats ferried us backwards and forwards to the shore at Chania (pronounced Hannia).

Scorchingly hot again!! ...so we hugged the shade and wandered around the little streets off the Venitian harbour.

First things first though.....

....a Greek coffee!!!

After a lovely day wandering...

...we set sail for the island of Santorini where the ship drifted around in the caldera all day. (No anchorage was available because of the depth of the water!)

Wow! Wow! WOW!!!

I'm already itching to do something with these images! :-)))))

We finally set sail for Piraeus so that we could all be transported to a hotel for the last night.

Should have stayed onboard....but Voyager had suffered prop. damages because of a French fishing net and had to go into dry-dock for repairs before the next cruise could set sail.

This put us in the centre of Athens which was a real boon because we could grab a cab and go visit the National Archaeological Museum!

(Is there a theme happening here do you think?)

I was in a prehistorian's HEAVEN....

...and took 729 photos!!

A beautiful building...

...more Greek coffee...

...and lots and lots of ancient stuff!

I took a total of 1834 photographs throughout the holiday.

Aren't you lucky I didn't post them all?!

x C

Whew! What a Trip!! Part 2

OK...

...to pick up where I left off yesterday...

Thursday 3rd September - Valetta - Malta.........

In the morning we took a wonderful excursion to the prehistoric temple of Hagar Qim (pronounced Hadjar Eeem)....

...with it's massive standing stones and enigmatic atmosphere.

In the afternoon we took a walk into Valetta...

..and I saw my very first Pomegranite tree!

We found the Museum of Archaeology...

...where I took loads and LOADS of photos of all sorts of stuff including carved stones from some of the other temples on the Maltese Islands.

This last one is from the most famous temple at Tarxien.

The morning trip had been scheduled to visit Tarxien (pronounced Tar-shen), but the site is currently closed while a protective cover is put over it. (Maltese stone is a bit soft and the wind and weather are taking their toll on the temples now.)

Friday was a day at sea...

...with two workshop sessions - morning and afternoon.

Travel journals coming along VERY nicely!!

...and lots of messy tables :-)))))

Saturday 5th September - Kalamata - Greece

...and another excursion to Pylos...

... and the Methoni Fortress.

After wandering around in 36 degress...

...we settled down for a cold drink before heading back to the bus!

Delightful!!

Final part of the journey tomorrow...

x C