One of my favorite things to do is travel with my daughter. We have gone to so many great places over the years. I manned the maps while she drove in the United Kingdom and Ireland. She could adjust to driving on the “wrong” side of the road; I couldn’t. So, it was safer for everybody.

I’m one of those people who keep many souvenirs from my trips, including brochures, postcards, tickets, etc. Eventually, some of them end up in scrapbooks, or on something I make, like an art quilt.

My sister and I took up quilting about fifteen years ago. I enjoy trying new things, especially art projects of various types. I’ve been a seamstress since home economics classes back in high school. In the first class, we made a skirt without using a pattern… and had to wear the “lovely” finished product to school one day. We all hated that; I hated that. Still, I managed to go on with sewing and have made everything from suits to my wedding dress to my daughter’s first dresses. She looked so cute, but the frilly, ruffled style was definitely not her, at least not today.

Back to what I was talking about. I loved traveling and enjoy weaving that interest, my collection of photos, and my creative lean toward small art quilts. This photo is of the first such quilt that I made, so don’t look too closely at the obvious mistakes. I took a photo of our visit to Blarney Castle in Ireland and adapted it to the basic shapes. And I added some details such as the small iron-on pictures and the ticket for admission, with the date. I’ve made a few others since this quilt and will probably make more.