Victoria is an international award-winning artist & quilter. She is an online shop owner, author, fabric & pattern designer and a teacher who lectures on creativity & process. Her quilts have travelled all over the globe, including Japan, Australia, and England, as well as exhibits across the US.

Victoria's work balances between art quilting, traditional & modern quilting styles and reflects her passion for continuing the fine art of quilting in the modern age.

A farm girl raised in Minnesota, her influences are heavily based on her grandmother's scrappy colourful quilts.

Victoria considers her process as an artist/storyteller by incorporating memories of life, travels and nature in all that she does.

A wandering spirit who loves to travel, Victoria looks forward to sharing her quilty stories with the tour..

Arrivals to Hanoi - Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, Vietnam

NOTE we will collect you from the airport whatever time you arrive

Our hotel is in the Old City not far from Hoàn Kiếm Lake, try and fit in at least one 6.30 am walk to the lake – this is optional, but it is the best time of the day at the Lake.

All the locals are doing Tai Chi, dancing and having fun, go the first day and you will be hooked.

Breakfast.

A visit to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is a must do for anyone with an interest in culture and especially textiles - get ready to swoon.

Great coffee shop in the grounds to take a break and meet up with our gang.

After lunch, we will dive into some of the local markets - there is a great place for linen and another market has the bright floral cottons you will see around that are so 'traditional Vietnam'. There is also a few vendors with lovely soft silks and interesting coins and medallions and beads downstairs. A short walk from our hotel through the labyrinth of Old City is a great street full of haberdashery.

Our Welcome Dinner tradition in Hanoi is to go to a local favourite restaurant whose specialty is Cha Ca La Vong [fish and noodles].

This is a Hanoi specialty and delicious, the restaurant only sells the one dish and is always packed. [Non fish eaters they can arrange another option]

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A day to enjoy some of the colourful craft villages around Hanoi.

The Votive Offerings Village- sculptures for the temple- got to see them to believe them.

Incense Making Village

Mrs Khoung and her women’s self-help group stitching beautiful silk pictures.

Lotus silk and silk production with Mrs Thuan.

We'll have a delicious dinner and then trundle along to the station.

Adding to our adventures we will take the night train to Lao Cai and then transfer to our hotel in the morning to shower and have breakfast before our adventures for the day begin.

The trains are modern, we are supplied with fresh bed linen and blankets, there is water and snack waiting on your cabin table.

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We arrive early in Lao Cai in the North West of Vietnam, and are met by our bus. 

We will transfer to our Hotel in Bac Ha - our rooms are waiting for us, so we can drop our bags, have a shower and meet at breakfast.

Bac Ha is home to many Ethnic Minorities especially The Flower H'mong. 

We plan to go visiting today, check our a fire water still - The Flower H'mong are well known for their distilling skills.  

Much to see in various villages, and a great textile dealer in town.

There will be time in the afternoon to work with Victoria.

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Early departure for a village market – it is big, remote and very busy.

Lots of traditional costumes to see, and interesting products on sale.

Everything from fresh produce and livestock to handmade crafts and textiles. 

Lots of women dressed in their finest outfits. A riot of colours, food stalls and socialising - it is fun.

Boating on Chay River after lunch on the way to Sapa.

In the afternoon we will make our way to Sapa and a comfortable hotel.

Bring your swimmers - their pool overlooks the very deep valley beyond Sapa, great view whilst you dip.

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We will visit Mrs Chi for a workshop on batik + indigo and a home cooked lunch.

Mrs Chi is a dynamo - she will show us how she makes hemp cloth, give everyone a shot of firewater [ completely optional], quite possibly dress some in H’Mong clothes and get us dancing [not usually quite so optional, she loves a good dance]

Free afternoon to explore Sapa

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Away, a way over the other side of Sapa is an excellent Second Hand Textile Market - come and meet the women who have the most amazing pieces for sale. Be ready to bargain - it is always a hoot with the ladies.

We are then heading to a scenic spot, the cafe of Mrs Song. 

We are welcome to sit on the verandah, soak up the view and tea whilst working with Victoria on her project.

This area is mostly Red Dzou Minority and they are keen gardeners, after lunch we will walk down through the village, we might even meet a few women with textiles to show us.

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Leaving the mountains behind we are heading back to Hanoi this morning.

We'll grab lunch and visit the Women's Museum and then have free time to enjoy Hanoi.

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Stay on a Boat on Lan Ha Bay

Enchanting scenery of World Heritage listed Ha Long Bay.

Time to work on your journals project or just soak up the view.

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Disembarking from our boat we will head to Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi to fly to Hue, the Old Imperial Capital of Vietnam.

It will be later in the day by the time we arrive, so we'll have a restful evening at our hotel.

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The Old Imperial City is impressive to explore, 

The Royal Tombs are quite amazing flights of fancy and even quirkier is an abandoned fun park - Thuy Tien Lake.

It will be an interesting day poking around and exploring. 

Then perhaps a dip in our hotel pool and a free evening.

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Sightseeing along the way at the Marble Mountain  we are heading onto Hoi An.

What better way to appreciate the cuisine than to take a cooking class, learn how to make something delicious and share a meal together?

Explore Hoi An in the evening there is the Night Market, perhaps a boat trip on Hoai River at sunset  and many great restaurants and shops.

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We will visit the My Son Sanctuary this morning.

My Son Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in central Vietnam, known for its extensive collection of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples. These temples, constructed between the 4th and 13th centuries, were built by the Champa civilization. It's situated in a mountainous area and is considered one of the most important historical and cultural sites in Southeast Asia.  

It is beautiful the ruins and the natural area and a peaceful way to wind up our journey.

Returning to Hoi An, the afternoon is unstructured.

Let's meet with Victoria before dinner to finish off The Memory Quilt Project and share our work.

Then celebrate our time together will a delicious meal.

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Suggested materials list

Sketchbooks

• If you have a favourite brand or type of sketchbook, that’s great - bring it 🙂
• I’d recommend using a sketchbook that is no smaller that A5 (14.8 x 21 cm) and I tend to use an A4 (21.0 x 29.7 cm) one. This will help you both fit more on the page and also work a little more boldly!
• Square sketchbooks provide an alternative format these days, which I quite like too. As we’ll be sketching on location, I’d recommend using a hardback sketchbook so that you can use it on your lap as well as on a table surface. 
• I have used ringbound and threadbound sketchbooks, and I think the choice comes down to personal preference. Bear in mind that if you want to sketch across two pages you’d have the ringbind in the way if you choose one of those.
•   I’d recommend choosing a sketchbook with a paper quality of 120-150 gsm providing versatility for various sketching techniques. 
•   As we’ll be using mostly pencils and pens, I’d recommend a smoother paper, rather than one with too much texture.
• These are some great sketchbook brands to have a look at...

Moleskin   Stillman and Birn   Hahnemuehle   Strathmore

Materials

•   A set of fine-liner pens with a range of three or more nib sizes, from fine to big. 0.05 is the finest size nib and 0.8 is the biggest. There are lots of price points to choose from, and I use all these brands: Derwent    Sta Marker  Staedtler
•   A range of coloured felt tips - I love using fine tipped ones such as these point 88 ones from Stabilo and these dual-ended ones from Manuscript called Callicreative Duotip which are great for doing some creative lettering with too.
• A set of coloured pencils. These range in price and colour density, and I have sets of each of these:  Derwent Coloursoft   Faber-Castell Polychromos  Stabilo 
• Any other coloured pencils you think might be fun to use, like these Koh-i-Noor ,Hardtmuth Jumbo Magic pencils 
• A range of lead pencils, for example HB, 2B, 4B, 6B.
• A pencil sharpener
• Any other types of pens, pencils and coloured pencils you might already have at home and/or like to use, such as biros, fountain pens, markers, highlighters and gel pens.
• A set of crayons for taking rubbings with might be handy. I love these bees wax crayons from Stockmar.
• A glue stick for sticking things into your sketchbook if you’d like to.

Physical Fitness for Sightseeing 

This adventure is designed for enthusiastic, active travellers with a good general level of health and mobility.

To make the most of your experience, you’ll need to be comfortable walking for 3 to 4 hours a day - sometimes over uneven ground, up hills, and a few flights of stairs. 

Getting in and out of local transport and navigating occasional over-the-bath showers may also be part of the journey.

If you’re up for a bit of daily movement and love immersing yourself on foot, you’ll thrive on this tour. 

Just a heads-up - it is not be the best match for those who like to take things very slowly or need lots of rest stops along the way.