A beautiful Suzani embroidery  It is now 111 days till I leave for my 2 tours of Uzbekistan. The original tour sold out so fast, we had to add another, which will start on March 23rd. I get breathless with excitement just thinking about it . .  Since my move to Ireland I haven't been saying Yes! to too many things, I wanted to settle into my new environment and not get too distracted. And then came Covid, so I REALLY settled in. So when Isha from Aahilya Holidays first asked me to lead a tour for her, I said no.  You may remember that I led 4 tours to Jaipur with Jamie from Coluricious in the early days of tutors of and artists leading travel tours. I think I felt that I had done with travel and I was happy to be settled where I was. Discover new foods   However, I have always dreamed of exploring Uzbekistan, the colours, the textures and the general romance of the country. But never, ever, thought I would be able to actually go. So when Isha suggested we go to Uzbek...

A beautiful bowl and vase from The Blue Pottery in Jaipur  I don't often dust . . the housekeeping gene definitely missed me!  But sometimes, when I have time, or I am avoiding doing something else, I dust, and admire and enjoy the many beautiful and colourful artefacts that have traveled home with me from different parts of the world. I am particularly fond of the mementos/trophies that I collected from my 4 textile holidays to Jaipur with Colouricious. What an amazing time we all had together. Lovely long beaded, decorated cords with bells on, hanging in my beaded curtain and on the wall of my lounge.    Small, inexpensive, purchases can bring such delight, even years after, bringing back happy memories of warm, colourful days.   The simple beauty of un fired terracotta lassi cups. I am particularly fond of these lassi cups, they are quite fragile and I was delighted they got back to Ireland in one piece. The yogurt drink lassi is served in the cups and then ...

Gur-e Mir (Tomb of the Emir) Samarkand It's happening!! Hurrah!!   The Textile & Architecture Journey of Uzbekistan 2025 with Kim Thittichai is now up on AAhilya Holidays website - here is the link - https://www.aahilyaholidays.com/tour/6c2e/-a-textile-&-architecture-journey-of-uzbekistan-2025-with-kim-thittichai#Tours_Name As you can probably imagine, I am so very excited about this trip . I have always been fascinated by The Silk Road. The colours, the designs. The wonderful structure of the buildings. The huge rounded forms against the stunning blue skies. Bibi Khanum Mosque, (dome over the north iwan) Samarkand Bibi Khanum Mosque, Samarkand Bibi Khanum Mosque (courtyard), Samarkand We will have opportunities to work in sketchbooks as we travel around these amazing cities. Do these images make you feel energised and wanting to explore? Do you fancy joining me? Madrasah and minaret of Islam Khodja and Soviet school, Khiva Kalyan Minar, Bukhara Chor Minar, Bukhara Registan...