I found quilting inspiration in lots of places. The 3 below were just inside one of the entrances to Printemps in Paris.
Outside in cobblestones in Paris and Deauville:
In a building by the beach in Deauville:
And quilting designs on a glass wall in our hotel room in Singapore:
Singapore was an island of contrasts. From big city skylines:
to the tranquility of the Botanic Gardens.
While in Singapore we found Daiso; a Japanese store that sells almost everything, but everything is priced at roughly $2!!
Here is what I bought:
The 2 fabrics at the back are chirimen crepes.
Another day I found on a map a place called the Textile Centre!! :) It turned out to be a multistory building with small stores mostly devoted to fabrics. Many were wholesalers, uniform manufacturers, selling furnishing fabrics, and many were closed. :(
On the ground level I found some stores selling mostly haberdashery items. One was a treasure trove! Sing Mui Heng has several branches. I spent ages in there! In one section they had an enormous range of Swarovski crystals. Here is what I came home with:
By this time space (and weight limits) in the suitcase were at a premium, so I was restrained!!
There was one evening while we were in Paris that was very special for me personally. While I was at high school our French teacher organised for our whole class to be matched up with pen friends in France. The idea was for us to practice our French by writing to someone our own age in France. Well, Odile and I have been writing to each other on and off for over 40 years! First of all it was letters, the old fashioned way! Later I would receive postcards from Odile sent from exotic places she went on holiday. More lately we have corresponded by email.
Well......we finally met!! After more than 40 years we have seen each other face to face!! :) She speaks perfect English! (Sorry to say my French is abysmal!! Lol......apart from having a strong Aussie accent!!)
In the excitement I forgot to take a photograph! :(
The next few posts will be back to stitching, with an occasional holiday photo added.
Oh Miriam, these photos are inspiring and magical. I really enjoyed the pure variety of quilt designs. Your story about Odile made my heart swell up.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures! One of the glass pics reminds me of the Joseph's Coat quilt you made.
ReplyDeleteYou got some great deals too.
Glad you met your friend!
Hugs
Donna
Oh my gosh! How fantastic that you were able to meet a friend after 40 years -- that's amazing. It looks like you had some fun textile visits!
ReplyDeleteoh I love the floor tile pictures beautiful I have a book about them and someone made quilts from them!
ReplyDeletelove, love, love that red fabric!
Kathie
Wonderful pics Miriam, isn't it funny how we see 'quilts' everywhere. I love that you met your penpal after 40 years, how amazing. xo
ReplyDeleteI find there is quilt inspiration all around us. Surely some of the amazing quilt patterns today came from ancient architecture! How fantastic to meet a pen pal after so many years.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see patterns around you -I love the star fish mosaic. How wonderful to meet up with your pen pal. BTW there is a Japanese Daiso store in Bourke St. Melbourne!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to meet after all these years! I'm impressed that you have both been writing for that long.
ReplyDeleteThat story brings tears to my eyes!
Great stories. Meeting a penpal after 40 years is very special. I've also just came back from overseas and took photos of mosaics and floors. I'm stopping over in Singapore in December for about 17 hours. Would love to hear what you think I should do in that tiny space of time.
ReplyDelete