I'm behind with the blog.

I'm a day behind with my blog.... and this is possibly the last blog in this format... hopefully I can go back to the real one tomorrow or the next day.

We have about 20 hours of travel so I might miss a day.

Yesterday I visited my friends and Students at Classic Quilts.

Mala, YES, you are my Sister !!!!

I was touched that some of you came from so far away..... even flying in from neighbouring countries...
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I was too busy to take photos, so hopefully someone will send me some, the cameras were certainly flashing.

I will be having a teaching trip back next year so I hope to catch up with more of my students and of course lots of new ones. There is an exciting new venture in the offering.

Today we went to the Fish Market  which is just a short drive from here.... just 10 mins or so in the taxi.

I had read other blogs about the market and I figured we just couldn't miss it.

The venue is huge and I've never seen so many varieties of fish.
I was aware that I was only there to photograph, not buy, so I sort of kept out on the fringes rather than blast through the middle aisles.

Despite the fact that there is water on the floor, it smells like fish (of course) the place is spotless and I would have no problem buying fish from here if I lived in here.

I admit, I only eat fish that doesn't taste fishy.... strange but true.

Every time I've been in Dubai, people ask me to take their photograph.... Its delightful, these two young me were walking along the street near the market.
"Take our photo"

The market next to the fish is a fruit and veggie market... I just love dates... I live on them when I travel and I was able to buy some to take to Thailand with me.

Unlike us at the central market in Adelaide with our trolleys, you can hire a guy with a brightly coloured wheelbarrow or a cart to follow you and carry your goods.

We wandered for some time, chatting with people and just taking everything in.... we left and wandered down through the back alleys.
We came upon a mens hairdresser.... Keith needed a haircut and one of the guys saw us stop and signalled for us to come in.
So we did.

I had the most entertaining hour I've had in a long time.

Sadly I deleted some of the photos by mistake...

Those guys know how to pamper their male clients.
First Keith had his hair wiped....!!!

Then he began to scissor cut and that process took about half an hour.

The ears, the nostrils, the eyebrows..... and then came the facial and the beard trim.....
Aha, but it wasn't finished.... he was pounded on the back and then on his head, his arms lifted in the air... Oh, my, I was laughing too much to film...

He shifted to another chair and they washed the cream off his face an the pounding began again....

It was hilarious... but it was the best haircut and beard trim he's ever had.

We had lunch at a restaurant by the water and caught the water taxi back to our Hotel.

Working on the road.

1.  Glasses are on their way to completion.

2. Yes, I did have a back up of the drawing that went overboard. It's incomplete but getting there.
The drawing that went overboard to the fishes was the intense pencil drawing.

3. I'm working on the quilts too right now and designing the fabric specifically for each quilt.
That way they will be unique.

I really want these to be diferent.

I photographed this guy with his groceries coming from the market today.

I love this area of Dubai, the backstreets with the fabric and gold souks, the fish market and the vegetable market.

This is the exclusive side of Dubai. The buildings are unbelievable. I've never seen building like then before.

The beaches are stunning, but I'm falling asleep so more tomorrow.

The books have arrived.

Just a few more days using this format for my blog and then I will be back to normal.

I've been a little nervous the past few days waiting for the books to arrive...and here they are....

Those boxes look big...
The printers have been amazing.. everything has arrived on the date they gave us.

BOOK ORDERS

You know I want to talk to everyone who orders a book and so this is the method we've decided on for the time being.

Part of the proceeds of the book are being donated to the Children of Alamogordo.

Its all in the detail.

I don't know about you, but I have an inbuilt mechanism that makes me look at things in depth.

I desperately tried to turn it off when I was a child but I had no choice but to put a lot of detail into my work.

My Dad, bless him, did the same....


I tried to be 'free' with my childlike drawings... but it didn't work, unsatisfied  I gave up drawing and took up reading.

Well, that didn't work either, I became engrossed in books.

Right now I'm at a cross roads with my quilting.

I have the Bayeux Quilt in Process.... 7 years of musing, designing, researching. Its quite traditional raw edge machine appliqué. I love it, I love the details and everything about it.

More recently I discovered that I could illustrate in a reasonable form with the machine.

It's detail, once again.... can't get away from the detail.

But I want to do something different...

For the past month or so I've been designing quilts for my Alphabet....I want them to be completely different with a lightness and a whimsical quality. I'm trying very hard to make them simple,  fun and at times just a little challenging.  26 quilts in all and each one with a personality of its own....

Can I do it... I don't know but I'm giving it a darn good try.

Right now, they are meeting the challenge... but I hope I don't slip into "Detailia"

3 more weeks to go.

3 weeks of adventures to go but I've got to do some illustrations next week, I have a significant event to work on.

I need to plan my time well. Next year I will be criss crossing the globe monthly. Its going to be hectic.

So this holiday is an important wind down and preparation......

Our gorgeous Granddaughter is experiencing the same in Vietnam. So proud of her working to save money to travel. We will meet up with her in Thailand for some joint travel....
Chi, I think we should visit the fishing village and travel by boat out in the mangroves to view the wild monkeys....!!!

When you travel, you never know where you will end up.

Yesterday we had a delightful french breakfast.

A snack (not so healthy) in the Museum.

We viewed an amazing piece of art made from recycled chairs....this was exhibited at the Gallery at the Saadiya cultural district 
Located on Saadiyat, this artistic venue houses exhibitions with international collections from around the world, including three major galleries, a central events gallery, sales centre, 250-seat theatre, and restaurant.

The main galleries of Manarat Al Saadiyat constitute of permanent spaces for a series of exhibitions and educational programmes organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. This is part of an ongoing cultural programme dedicated to developing awareness and understanding of art and culture prior to the launch of the Saadiyat Cultural District.

Next we discovered this amazing place and this was the view as we dined. I'm sure my Sister will be back there again some time.

While the guys rested, Jan and I went out to the Heritage centre and joined 1000's of people relaxing on the beach.

Women and men in National dress enjoying the ambience. However one young lady decided to take matters into her own hands and dressed in a short red dress over a bathing suit.... she donned a white face mask and set out on a jet ski. I guess she couldn't be recognised.

Families picnicked.... young men jumped off the rocks into the turquoise water  and some just swam.

There was an extraordinary feeling of calm as people enjoyed what nature has to offer in this amazing place.

The museum is interesting with a great variety of stores and small business showing us a glimpse of the past.
This place is moving so quickly its important to remember the past.
For instance we saw picture of the city in 1960. It was just a collection of small huts....

Now look at it. I have never seen such beautiful buildings in my travels around the world.

The evening ended with a wonderful dinner and music at the Jazz club.

What a fabulous day.

Blue

We had lunch here today.... Monte Carlo Resort in Abu Dhabi

I love the colors from the blue tumblers to the throw away cotton napkins... I asked for a sample and the waiter gave me some...
Made in Spain, they are just lovely cotton.... and they come on a roll.

Of course I want to sew them together. !!!!

Mydrap

Color and composition.

We've been here for over a week now and I have to use this format for my  blog for another 8 days.

This blog format is probably a little easier to use but I've been with Typepad for so long now its part of my daily regime so I will stick to it.

This is our annual holiday, but one never puts aside the creative aspect of your personality. I, personally  have no control over 'composing'. Its a nice way to look at things.....

Today I'm going to 'collect color and composition.

I love this chair its in the Viceroy  Hotel at the Ferrari Track in Abu Dhabi.
The wooden legs and back frame are painted the same color as the fabric.... what a great Idea.
It looks fabulous.

Even better in two's against that fabulous wall.

This is the ceiling.... I would love to try this, lights play on the drapes and give a soft flow to the fabric.

The internal walls in the passages and restaurants were this design which appeared to change at every direction you looked.
It was just amazing... it made me think about the way we view things. Could you do this with a quilt?

I think so.

My Sister does Hanji, Cutting intricate designs from paper and cardboard.
I will do the same pattern in fabric.... should be interesting. !!!

 How a space is designed sets things in motion for how people feel, interact and experience the world around them.
How do we want our spaces to serve us?
What makes us comfortable.  There are so many examples here... I almost don't know where to begin.

Even the composition of the skyline is amazing here.... windows reflect off the sky and other buildings. everything is pleasing to look at. Is that the Idea behind all this beauty.?