Korean Bead Soup with the Help of Vonna

When we moved to South Korea, I began to collect (among other things) little charms which were reminders of our time there. They included the very first thing I noticed when we first arrived in Korea which was a maedeup (Korean knotted) key chain. I bought it and knew I was going to learn how to make these beautiful knots. I had a couple of hand painted bottle caps from Nabi Island and a few pieces of chilbo (Korean enameling) made by my teacher, Nan-Young.

Also there was copper mask that I bought at the Hope Market in Hongdae in Seoul and a couple charms from Dongdaemun. There was a charm of my beloved Hwaseong Fortress which was designed by metal guy and enameled by Nan-Young. And finally a wooden carving handmade by my body guard. Each piece is priceless to me for the many memoires they hold.

I knew I wanted to incorporate them into a bracelet but I was at a loss as to how. That's when I thought of my dear friend, Vonna. Her jewelry designs blow me away and I own several of her pieces. You can see her creations in her Etsy shop here.

I sent her everything you saw in the first picture and this is what was returned to me. I was in shock. It was amazing what she did with all those charms and I find myself staring at it and remembering so many wonderful things. Thank you Vonna for your talent and for being my friend. I'm very blessed.

More Hanji!

I picked up these forms during my last visit to Korea last year. Luckily, I had ordered ahead because I wasn't able to do the proper shopping I would have liked to do due to Rocketman's kidney stone. We are thinking about a trip over to Korea in the Fall although we haven't made any firm plans yet.

 These were so fun to make and very easy. The hardest part is always choosing the paper to use.

I sorely need to buy hanji paper and it's really something I can't have my Korean girlfriends do for me. I have a feeling I will need a suitcase just for hanji paper the next time we go.

Spring is supposedly this week but you wouldn't know it here in Minnesota. Right now it is snowing and we are expecting 2-4 inches by morning. I'm still looking forward to seeing a green lawn although I haven't missed mowing.

Bojagi on Etsy



Every once in a while I'll do an Etsy search on bojagi to see what pops up. It had been awhile and when I found Harim Kim's etsy site I almost jumped through the screen. She had the most amazing bojagi and I immediately ordered several things. If you know me, you know how obsessed I am with bojagi and especially Korean thimbles. She was offering handmade thimbles at an unbelievable price. I know all the time it takes to make a thimble.

 

She is in South Korea so it took awhile for my package to arrive. You can see what I bought in the photo above. So if you want some Korean bojagi and can't get to Korea, Harim Kim can ship to you. She also has a Ebay store. She also sells the ramie that I use in a lot of my bojagi.

Speaking of ramie, this is a photo of mine. I had bought just about every color the Korean vendor had. This is one of my happy boxes.

Louie has been really affectionate since I returned from our daughter's. He loves to sit on my lap or Rocketman's and purrs up a storm.

 



A Week with Noah, Ezra and Our Newest Grandson, Judah!



I was on pins and needles the last week two weeks of February waiting for the call that Laura, our daughter, was in labor. She was due March 4th but I really thought it would be a February baby especially since she went early with her two previous pregnancies. I was right!

 

I got a call from her Monday night, February 24th, that she felt she was in active labor. She never had consistent contractions but she was pretty sure. I packed the last minute things and Rocketman loaded my car and off I went. She lives about an hour from me and, luckily, it wasn't snowing or rush hour.

 

I arrived in plenty of time and they went to the hospital around 10pm. Judah Corwin Anderson was born 5:16am on February 25, 2014. Daddy Brent came and picked me up with the boys to visit after Noah came home from school. They were so excited to meet their little brother.



Ezra had a great time as you can see.

                                  Rocketman drove over after work and joined us for the fun.

We left baby and Mama and went out to eat and then home to get the boys into bed.

                                  Judah and Mama came home a day later in -20F temperatures.

                                           Noah was definitely smitten with his little brother.

                                                 Ezra liked being the big brother.

I stayed a week to help out and the boys were so good. I never got tired of hearing Noah telling me how much he loved me and that I was the best Grandma in the world. This is Ezra's look when I told him it was naptime.

 Judah changed so much just in the week I was there. He is also such a good baby. Sleeps and eats great.

            I took the kid's stuffed animals and did this to surprise them. Noah sleeps on the upper bunk.

             I took these pictures of Noah coming home from school in -20 degrees temperatures.

         Yes, he took his sweet time getting home while I watched from the window freaking out.

                           It was 20 below zero!!!!  He should be running all the way.

                   When it was bedtime, look who thought he was a stuffed animal, Finnegan.

                                                  Ezra loved the stuffed animals!

             Here's my baby girl with her baby boy. She is such a good momma. I'm so proud of her.

                             She sent me home with these eggs from their chickens.

I came home to this, my favorite candy bar in the shape of a heart along with a beautiful plant and a sign. He said he didn't want to buy so many Reese's but that's how many it took to make a heart. I'm sure they will get eaten:)

                 Rocketman said that Louie just wasn't himself all week. I guess he missed me too.

Ahn Kum-Joo, My Korean Bojagi Teacher

When I returned to South Korea a second time, I knew I wanted to learn bojagi (Korean quilting) and chasu (Korean embroidery) but finding a bojagi teacher was another matter. I was lucky to find Kum-Joo through a friend who knew her through the SIWA organization. SIWA is an organization in Seoul which offers classes in all sorts of things to ex-pats and it is where Kum-Joo taught bojagi lessons members. She is also a teacher at the Icheon Global Center in Seoul.

The photo above is the first thing I made in class. We met once a week in my apartment in Suwon.  I was so impressed with her English. It is not an easy language to learn and she spoke and understood it very well. Kum-Joo always brought all the materials needed for each project. She also brought samples that she had made to show me what we would be making. And then the stitching would begin with her watching and instructing me to make sure I was doing it correctly. The time flew during those hours and I couldn't wait till the next lesson.

                     These are some of the amazing things I made under Kum-Joo's guidance.

These thimbles had a lot of steps to complete them but they were so much fun and I feel like each one is a little work of art. Kum-Joo also included the instructions and patterns so that I could make them again when I returned back to the States.

I also took chasu (Korean embroidery) lessons from Kum-Joo. Korean chasu uses very thin silk thread and is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. I had done embroidery in the past but not with silk thread and not with just two strands. It takes a lot of time to fill in areas and to make them look great. Kum-Joo was a great help in instructing me.

This is another one of my chasu pieces. It was one of the first ones I ever did and I love how great it turned out all thanks to my teacher, Kum-Joo.

Here are some things that Kum-Joo made and brought to show me. When you see what she has made, it makes you want to work hard and make the same things.

I couldn't believe the chasu shoes she brought one day. She did the chasu flowers and then had a shoemaker make the shoes. They were so beautiful.

As you can see, Kum-Joo is very talented in bojagi and chasu. She also holds a Master's degree in Cultural and Arts Administration from Kookmin University in South Korea. She taught and lectured not only in South Korea but in the United States and New Zealand. She has had her work appear in numerous exhibitions where she received several awards. And if that wasn't enough, she is also certified in maedeup (Korean knotting) which is a beautiful addition to bojagi.

I highly recommend Kum-Joo as an expert teacher in bojagi and chasu. Any organization throughout the world would be very lucky to have her teach at their institution. She not only knows the craft of bojagi and chasu but she knows the history which is also fascinating to learn. If we ever got the chance to live in South Korea again, I would take classes from Kum-Joo. She is a wonderful teacher and I hope that you will get a chance to take a class from her someday.

Hanji Clamshell Boxes

 

I finished the Korean clam boxes last week and they turned out great. I have been running into the same problem though with finishing. I haven't found the right varnish to finish them with. It's been really frustrating. I'm almost ready to buy some from my hanji teacher and have her send it over.



My one sister in a Packer fan and the other a Bear fan so I made them each a box. But as you can see, the varnish did not play well with the hanji paper.

Grandbaby is due March 4th but she has gone early with each pregnancy. I am mostly packed ready to leave at a moment's notice but am finding myself jumping every time she texts me or calls. She is also so uncomfortable that the momma in me just wants to make it all better for her. So I wait keeping laundry up and the house picked up. Come on little one, we can't wait to meet you.

Missing My Hanji Teacher

And so it begins, another hanji project. This time I am making clamshell boxes. I had bought the forms in Insadong in Seoul when we first arrived in 2011 for our second stay. I had never taken a hanji class but I knew that I would during our stay. I bought 20 clamshell boxes not knowing how much it would weigh and poor Rocketman ended up carrying 40 cardboard sheets all around Seoul that day. I didn't do that again to him and luckily, I found my hanji teacher and I could get forms from her.

The first step is super gluing the top and the bottom to make the box. This is one part I love where a flat piece of cardboard turns into something wonderful.

I have a sister who is a Packer fan and my little sister is a Bear fan so I decided to make them a box based of the colors of each of their teams. I found the logos on the Internet.

 I was so spoiled when I did hanji in Korea. Every project was ready for me as soon as I walked in the door. My hanji teacher would cut out all the paper so that I all I had to do was the fun part, glue everything onto the form. Sometimes I would hear new people grumble to her about the treatment she gave me and she would answer them that it was because I was the foreigner. The hanji regulars knew about it and it didn't bother them at all, they were so happy to have the foreigner there.

But now that I am home, I don't have my hanji teacher to make pattern pieces let alone cutting everything out for me. I made the pattern pieces for the clamshell box and it took me the better part of an afternoon. I miss her so much.

Next came the fun part of picking out the paper I was going to use on the boxes. I don't know what is wrong with me but every time I use some paper out of my stash, I feel the strong need to replace it with more paper. It's the same feeling I get when I use any of my fabric stash. But unlike fabric, I can't jump into the car and drive to Korea.

Then next step was covering all the boxes. It is so fun to see how they turn out. And yes, that is our kitchen table where we eat our meals but after all these years, Rocketman doesn't mind eating around my crafting. The boxes have had two coats of hanji glue and they need to dry overnight. Then I apply a coat of varnish but I'll have finished boxes to show you very soon.