monkey hands

Home and Giving Thanks

Day breaks on this frosty morning in New Hampshire

 

A couple hours past dawn, and it is a blustery, sunny morning

 

Flying Turtles, Rainbow Quilt, Leaving Soon

flying across the moon

Stitching continues on my Diary Cloth  (one of  Jude Hill's inspiring online course at Spirit Cloth). It's a relaxing way to begin to process change and transition. 

part of the diary cloth

I think flying turtle is leading the way home!

rainbow quilt for, and designed by, a very special niece

The top is finished, and just in time to pack and thento pass along to Phyllis Dewey, longarm quilter at Quilter's Pantry, when I get back.

stuff accumulated over the past two years

workers from Roundabout picking up donations for migrant workers and their families

Roundabout Organization is an NGO in Beijing. They run a store similar to Salvation Army or Goodwill in the U.S., and also donate goods to people in need, which includes the 14 million migrant workers living and working in Beijing.  

The so-called "migrant workers" are Chinese, but don't have a hukou (offical government papers allowing them to live in a city other than their rural hometown).

Migrant workers have few rights and often little access to public schools, healthcare, or other social services. These guys were great sports who pick up our air filters, my post-surgery-for-the-broken-foot gear, household goods, and so on. 

More Images: Mongolian Quilters and the "Black Market"

Mongolian Quilters and the "Black Market" in Ulaanbaatar:

Selenge Tserendash, founder and director of Mongolian Quilters,  and her daughter, Aryuka. Selenge studied law in Japan and is fond of Japanese food, as am I, so I took my gracious hosts out for sushi and tempora one night (Japanese is Selenge's third language, and English is her fourth!). 

Dressing (and talking to) a new doll

I love the southwest-colored shipping crates that surround the black market

playing cards amongst a traditional furniture vendor's "shop"

Housewares in the Black Market, Ulaanbaatar

Stainless steel and plastic wares

steaming hot goat head--easy to carry from home for lunch at work

lunch break

Cheers! Aryuka attends a science-intense high school in Ulaanbaatar; she plans to go on to medical school after graduation.

 

Shopping at the "Black Market" in Ulaanbaatar

I love the colors, the textures, the sounds and the smells.

Today, here's a look at some of the fabric stalls. Tomorrow (or the next day) I'll show photos of some of the other things the market has to offer. It's an amazing experience!

Sign marking a fabric shop

shooting pool outside the market

a stall with rabbits for sale

people selling wares on the market periphery

Selenge of Mongolia Quilters (red coat) entering the fabric part of the market

Selenge negotiates

Selenge loading her Prius. At night the wares are stored in these colorful shipping containers.

Small World: Quilt Drive for Hurricane Sandy Relief

I'm in Beijing now, and I recently visited my online quilting friend Etty's site about her quilting group in Israel, Zahava Quilters  ( I found Etty through another online quilting buddy/fellow world traveler Carol of Quiltfever). At random, I clicked on one of Etty's links and found my way to My Imperfect LIfe in the U.K. Up came a post about a  Quilt Drive for Sandy Relief  which led me to Imperfect Mom where I got more information about the drive for quilts being organized by Quilt Gallery in order to donate 700 quilts to those most in need through Bumble Beans Quilts, a great organization where I have donated quilts before

.   

It's a bit ironic, I guess, but also a sad commentary on climate change and global warming, that just a couple months after my two year China stint began in January 2011 I was making comfort quilts to send to Japan after the triple disaster, and now, just short of the end of my "China years," I'm making quilts to send to New York.  

You can find out more about how to donate--blocks for the group effort,  as a team leader who will sash, back, quilt and bind the blocks for one to five quilts, and/or where to send a quilt of your own design and making--by clicking the link at the top or the links embedded in this post.

Note: Sorry the links are so pale--I haven't figured out how to fix that yet. 

Diary Cloth, More From Mongolia

As part of my ongoing stitching in Jude Hill's online class at Spirit Cloth, I had planned to make wings (a large flying beastie-bird?) for my connected hand-foot creation. As I stitched late at night in Ulaanbaatar, the handfoot (I had surgery on both this year, so they are embedded with personal significance) morphed into a sailboat and that just felt right. Also, I was happy to discover that I had taken my little treasure pack of moons made by Glennis Dolce aka the talented, creative Shibori Girl , here with me back to Beijing, so I've added this sweet linen gem to the mix. The "whale" (see a couple posts ago) lost out for now, but probably not forever.  Maybe too literal at the moment?

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A few more pictures from my visit north to work with the women at Mongolian Quilters: 

These two tables are basically standard 30" by 72" tables, and during the day six women work at each table while others work on the floor, on a small side table, at a square ironing table, and even in the shop if necessary. I hope to help with some fundraising for expansion next year. 

I went to the center straight from Ghengis Kahn airport with my suitcase full of bird-making materials as well as an electric sewing machine and converter to donate, some rotary cutters, and fabric.  Taking a test drive--trying out various stitches and tension as I show how to work the "controls." This is a hard-working basic machine that will be put to good use.

Back from Mongolia

I'm back in Beijing after another good trip to Ulaanbaatar. I brought a sewing machine and converter, taught a bird-making workshop, and worked on the new website with the organization's founder and current director, Selenge Tserendash. More info and pictures forthcoming! 

The center workspace is too small, and women have to work in day on, day off shifts.

Sometimes small and not-so-small children accompany their mothers or grandmothers.