I will be home for a while-

I started March with this wonderful opportunity to talk about Bojagi: Stitching and Wishing Happiness, as a part of the Woodlawn Needlework Show.

Packing and leaving home to meet new people always makes me excited and happy. In March I took another trip to the other side of the country. The trip to Stuart, FL to teach a workshop at Aya Fiber Studio required lots of energy due to the travel time, the time difference between the west coast and the east coast, and the first day of Daylight Savings Time. But again, I met wonderful people who were so eager to learn about new techniques and different textile traditions.

Over time, the Making magazine helped me dream and pursue what I always wanted, but was difficult to start. So I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of their first virtual retreat, Ritual. And I really enjoyed the positive vibe of this community of makers. To me, this March seems like a month-long journey to find happiness. In Tatter's online classes, I see familiar faces and curious new faces. In MAFA's class, I felt similar eagerness from the participants' screens. I linked Tatter and MAFA's future classes just in case you want to meet me and stitch with me. Hope to see you there!

One day, I got an email from Quiltfolk magazine. Their summer issue is about San Francisco Bay Area quilters and quilt scenes, and the magazine wanted to include me in their issue! This was such an honor, and I was so busy cleaning my house, especially my neglected home studio. The zoom interview by Teresa Duryea Wong and the photographer's visit were nice surprise events for me. Teresa asked me "How many classes did you teach and how many people have you met?" I never thought about counting before, but all these classes, demonstrations, and meeting you all helped me become as confident as I am now. THANK YOU!! As I write this newsletter, I have a few more gigs till the end of March and I will start April with another class. My April will be quieter than my last three months and I hope to concentrate on my book project. Yes, I am writing about bojagi and I can't say much right now. But I hope to announce some news in the next newsletter. Please stay tuned!

My indigo seedlings are happy and grow well. I took some photos to record their progress in growth. Hopefully, I can transplant these in my garden next month. This is another joy. When I first saw my IG friend, Amanda, did fresh indigo dye, I was dreaming about doing it in my garden someday. She kindly dyed some fabric for me back then and sent it back to me. I treasure this memory and I will think of Amanda when I dye in this summer.

Progress from March 1st to March 29th, 2023

During QuiltCon2023 in Atlanta, I met many wonderful people. One of the many meals that I shared with people was at a Korean fusion restaurant near the convention center, with Marylin and Claudel from Canada. The following is one of the banchan we ate at the restaurant. Here's how to make this super easy yet very refreshing pickles with soy sauce – jangajji, 장아찌.

1. Clean a pickle jar or mason jar – I usually immerse it in a big pot and pour cold water and bring it to boil to clean and sanitize it.
2. Make brine: 1 cup water + 1/2 cup soy sauce + 1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup rice vinegar. Bring to a boil.
3. Chop cucumber, green pepper, onion, and Korean radish into bite sized pieces. Put them in the pickle/mason jar.
4. Pour hot brine into the jar with the vegetables – this will make the vegetables crunchy.
5. Let cool, close the lid, leave it out for a day then refrigerate.
6. Enjoy with a bowl of rice!