The first trip to Jakarta #3 Heavy traffic

It goes without saying that heavy traffic in Jakarta is legendary.

I was secretly thinking it must not be that bad ... but actually it was worse than I thought! 
I am used to public transportation, trains and buses, because almost everyone here in Japan uses them.
No trains run in the city of Jakarta so many people drive cars or motorcycles.

Sometimes it takes us more than an hour to get to a place which is in our sight.

Like other tropical countries, they often have a sudden shower in the evening.
Motorcycle drivers go to the side of the road and change their clothes.
When the sky gets grey and the thunder groans, it makes sense.
It is too hot to wear a rain coat all the time while driving in Jakarta.

The first trip to Jakarta #2 Workshop

Masako and I had never been to Indonesia.
Dessy and Yos, a married couple, visited our booth at the Tokyo Dome Show at the end of January and decided to arrange a workshop for the beginning of April! 
There wasn't much time but we were able to schedule two wonderful workshops.

The workshops were held on the 5th and 6th of April and we taught different techniques each day.
On the first day we did trapunto. 
Most of the students had never done it before, but they seemed to understand.
Using cotton cord is much easier than the traditional method of stuffing from the wrong side of the quilt.

First Dessy introduced Masako.

On the second day we taught punch needle.
Punch needle is always very popular wherever we go.

The students were more experienced than we expected.

Some finished the flip of the project during the workshop! 

At the end of the workshop we gave each student a certificate.
We had one male student! 
He told us that, since he was a child, he liked drawing and doing collage.
This was his first time quilting but he had done embroidery, beading and painting before.
He did a wonderful job on his punch needle project!

Day One

We didn't know where we should look with too many cameras!

Day Two

Yos, Masako, Dessy and me.

We hope to see them there again!


Emi

The first trip to Jakarta #1 Kopi Luwak

In one of my favorite Japanese movies, "Kamome Syokudo", the owner of a cafe gives a charm to make good coffee, saying "Kopi Luwak".
I am not a coffee drinker so didn't pay much attention to it.
But I found the special one in Jakarta.

Have you ever heard of it?
Kopi means coffee and Luwak is an animal who eats coffee beans.
Once coffee berries go into their stomachs, they are fermented and only beans are evacuated.
Then farmers pick and roast the beans!  That's why it is said to be the most expensive coffee in the world!

How could we ruin this opportunity? We tried a cup of 100% Kopi Luwak!

Believe it or not, a cup of coffee costs about 1000 JPY (Almost 10 USD!)
In order to see the difference, we had another cup of coffee which only included 5% of Kopi Luwak coffee.
It was so plain to see the difference between the two tastes!

A little luwak on the cup.

If you have a chance to go to Indonesia, please give it a try!


Emi

A trip to Thailand #3 Extra photos

We visited another new quilt shop in Bangkok.

Some of Masako's books and goods were displayed in the window.

We have known Joe and his wife for some years and it was our pleasure to celebrate the opening of their shop.

I especially like this photo.
Pao's husband, Kob, and Masako.
Kob was a college professor who retired a couple of years ago.
He taught art, water color painting (his major) in particular, and he is really good with his hands.
We had previously given workshops in quilting and sewing. For a change, we did a catonnage box and he was excellent!
The brush he is holding was not for painting, but he knew what to do with it.

It is a Japanese tradition to drink beer after work.
No ... wait, I cannot drink!

Our flight, on the final day, did not depart until midnight.
So we spent almost a whole day at Pao's home discussing and planning next year's workshop.

Thanks a lot for a wonderful time!


Emi

A trip to Thailand #2 Workshops in Bangkok

At a hotel called "Cinnamon Residence" we gave workshops for 2 days.

At the begging Masako gave a lecture about her quilt. It has many antique fabrics in it which were made circa 1850-70.

The project was a cartonnage box.
Using fabrics of her new line "American Country 14", we asked a company to manufacture our kit to make this special box!

They are two ladies who finished the box first on the second day.
They really did a good job!

She has attended every one of our workshops so far and brought her quilt which she made specially for her daughter. What a lovely quilt!

She also attended our last workshop. The bag and a pouch they are carrying are based on the last workshop project. She added a few of her own ideas to them.

Mon chan, a cute staff worker at the hotel.
He helped us a lot, with a smile, and bought one of Masako's books for his girl friend♡

Joy is always a great help to make our workshops successful!

I also assisted at the workshop!

At the end of both workshop we took a photo of everybody.

Day One

Day Two

Before leaving for home, some students told us that they really enjoyed the workshop and were hoping to see us next year. This is wonderful feedback. 


Emi

A trip to Thailand #1 To Chiang Mai

As one of our annual events, we visit Thailand to give workshops.
It was 2007 when we first met Pao and Kob, a married couple, in Tokyo.
They have organized our workshops many times. Time is really going quickly!

To celebrate the opening of a quilt shop in Chiang Mai, we went directly to a connecting flight gate when we arrived at the airport in Bangkok.

Knitting on the plane

Ms. Ramarin Boonsom, called Pingpong, has helped us a lot when we do workshops in Bangkok.
Opening her own quilt shop has been her dream.

Pingpong and Masako

Her shop is located in a shopping mall area and is very beautiful.
It's a three story building.

The first floor is a cafe.

The second floor is a shop which is not yet open.
The third floor is where she will give lessons. We gave a mini workshop.

Pao, Masako and Pingpong

There is a kitchen counter right beside the classroom because she wants to give various workshops including cooking and baking. What a good idea!

This is the name of the shop. 
If you live in the neighborhood, please go to visit!

Masako, Emi, Pao, Kob and Pingpong

Emi

"Toast to My Ancestors!" by Akane Sakamoto at the Tokyo Dome Show

One more good reason to visit the Tokyo Dome Show is that you can see and admire various styles of quilts.

Personally I liked an exhibit by Akane Sakamoto, which was called "Toast to My Ancestors!"
It was unique and was a feast for the eyes!

It resembles something, doesn't it?
Yes, it is one of the self portraits of Van Gogh!
Japanese images surround Van Gogh in this particular work of art.

A flock of chickens!

They are talkative pouches.

I like the idea of using a zipper as a mouth.

They wouldn't zip their lips, as they seem to have nothing they are sorry about!

This is her buddy, Mofuo, who is life size.


Masako, Mofuo and the artist, Akane Sakamoto

Emi, Mofuo and the artist, Akane Sakamoto

Emi