Crib Quilt Tour To Ireland And London 5

The first day in London. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine.

We visited The Knitting & Stitching Show!

There were many booths selling mainly yarns and embroidery products.
The four hour shopping time just flew by.

See everybody carrying a big shopping bag with a smile!


In the afternoon we went to Liberty of London.

A gorgeous exterior with plaster walls and woods looks lovely.

From the first basement to the fourth floor beautifully selected items including our favorite fabric "Liberty" were on sale.

The London Eye is one of London's symbolic sites.

It is an observation wheel which shows you a spectacular view with a 30 minute ride.
One capsule allows 30 persons to get on at one time and we could have it all to ourselves.

River Thames and Big Ben at dusk.
It was very special!


Emi 

Crib Quilt Tour To Ireland And London 4

The last day in Dublin.

In the morning we visited Saint Patick's Cathedral.

The look of the sky shows the typical weather of Ireland in autumn.

Then we went to the Library of Trinity College, University of Dublin to see The Book of Kells.
The library's history dates back to the establishment of the College in 1592 and it is the largest library in Ireland.

The main room of the old library has more than 200,000 printed volumes !

We wandered around central Dublin.

How beautifully the leaves are changing their colors!


Emi 

Crib Quilt Tour To Ireland And London 3

One morning in Galway.

It was not raining, but gloomy, and the wind was still strong.

In the morning a knitting workshop was held on the second floor of  a cafe.

The teacher was Anne O'Maille, owner of the beautiful O'Maille's yarn shop located on the main shopping street of Galway.

There are so many styles of knitting. Many of our students including our staff are knowledgeable about knitting; but Anne taught us a totally different way of casting on, using a knit and purl method! This way of casting on was an eye opener to all of us!

We tried a couple of different knitting patterns. They came out nice!

Since the venue was on the second floor of a cafe, a nice aroma was spreading around while we were knitting. At noon finally the lunch time has come! There were three choices and I chose a salad with quinoa and lentil. 

We left Galway in the afternoon and headed to Dublin by bus.

We had dinner at a pub in Dublin.

You must try Guiness at least one time!

A special event was waiting for us.

The travel agency invited Irish dancers who showed their wonderful talent!  

While we were watching how fast their legs could move, they suddenly asked for some volunteers to join their dance!

I felt as though I was a dancer in a school play! But it was so much fun.


Emi

Crib Quilt Tour To Ireland And London 2

This was the highlight of the stay in Ireland and mattered most if it was good weather.

We left the hotel at 9 am to enjoy the view from the cliffs on Inishmore Island.

A seven minute flight by a small airplane, Cessna, brings you to the island.

It only fits 10 people! Big sounds and moves make you a little bit nervous, but it was so much fun and felt like an adventure.

The island consists of rocks. Every road is rocky, lumpy and rough. But there was nothing but just walking up to the top in order to see fantastic views!

On the way up we saw a herd of cows looking so comfortable sleeping or eating grass, which was a treat to the eyes. Look at the pretty yellow bird above. He was in a good mood and sang a beautiful song for us!

The wind blew strongly that day. But it looks calm and peaceful, doesn't it?

There you are! You are now on the highest point of the island!

It was so scary to approach the edge of the cliff because of the strong wind. I found it very surprising that there was no fence on the edge! I felt the powerful Atlantic Ocean was going to swallow me up. Although Masako looks pretty happy!

We had lobster for lunch at a restaurant on the island. It was really a nice taste. We highly recommend visiting the island!

Emi

Crib Quilt Tour To Ireland And London 1

Crib Quilt organizes an international tour every other year and it is exclusive to our students! Last time was the trip to Norway and Sweden 2014.

And this year ..... it was to Ireland and London!!!

First we arrived in Dublin in the evening of September 30th.
The following day, at the venue of our hotel, an Irish crochet workshop was held by Ms. Anne Greene and her friend.

She brought some of her works to share with us and they were breathtakingly intricate and gorgeous!

She mentioned that it took her six months to finish one work.

The key to improve your any handcraft skill is to see beautiful examples which will keep you motivated and inspired.
We tried one of those traditional Irish crochet motifs, which is Irish rose.

Oh, you see a huge difference between two examples. The one on the left is mine and the one on the right is Anne's.
It might have been better to pull the thread more tightly!

A group photo with Anne.

We had lunch together at a restaurant of the hotel and talked about what we do.  See the fantastic crochet cardigan!

In the afternoon we went to a  town called Kilkenny, by bus, to visit a famous porcelain shop, Nicolas Mosse.

How pretty they are! I felt like bringing all back home. But it was just a beginning of the trip and I ended up buying a set of nesting bowls.

The exterior of the shop is also very attractive. 

 Masako and I saw some of our students talking to a local gentleman and later found out that he was the owner, Nicolas Mosse!

On a bus on the way to Galway , we were lucky to see a big double rainbow!
It was so unlikely to happen in Japan that all of us tried to capture it with our cameras.

Emi