As a few of you may know, I have recently returned from travelling parts of South East Asia and taking in some of the amazing sights to see in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangkok.
Alongside photographing and absorbing the spectacular scenery and life, I did have my eye out (as always) for interesting hand made goodies and skills and was rewarded with a feast for the eyes in all the areas I visited – the culture of handmade goods is rife in these parts and always has been.
Luang Prababng in Laos had some amazing night markets that start up at about 7.00pm and go on past midnight, with all the stall holders making things as the night goes on.
This little guy (a moon bear) was part of a rescue organisation in Laos that is working throughout Cambodia, Vietnam. Laos and India to save these bears and protect them from poachers and changing environments. You can donate and adopt a bear, which is the only way they get fund for their projects. It was lovely to see them! This is the website link.
Hanoi Old Town in Vietnam was like nothing I had ever seen – quite amazing! Alongside the colonial architecture and more motorbikes than you could possibly imagine, they had streets that specialised in different objects, putting serious meaning to the term functional cluster! This was part of button street – not ribbon/fabric/cotton/wool – JUST buttons! And it wasn’t a short street either!
These beautiful lanterns were a common sight in  Hoi An, Vietnam. Another very colonial town, beautiful cobbled streets and wooden balconies decorated with these lanterns. It was a lovely place to be.
This is another charity plug from me – these quilts were all handmade by women throughout South East Asia along the Mekong River – they are known as the Mekong Quilts. They all live in the rural parts of South East Asia and spend their days hand sewing and quilting these amazing works. They are beautiful and have fully inspired me to get back to work on my quilt!
This might be a strange one to include, as I made it myself! However I made it throughout my travels, a lot of it on a sleeper train travelling down through Vietnam, so this funny little thing has been all over the world! I probably would have got most of down on the flight there was it not for the ban of knitting needles in hand luggage!