moving forward

It has been several months since I wrote anything. That time has been a mixture of pleasure and excitement, and then deep sadness.  I had trouble trying to post while I was travelling in Europe and since then life has been turned upside down with the passing of my husband soon after my return. After 45 years with the last few spent as carer, it will take a while to get used to the change. Thank you to family and friends, especially my quilting friends, who have been very supportive.

Now to begin to tell something of my travels which took me to Portugal, Spain, France (and the European Patchwork Meeting) and then to visit family in Munich, Groningen and Stockholm.

I travelled on a tour from Lisbon to Madrid including a cruise on the River Duoro from Porto to the Spanish border. In Portugal I wanted to see the famous tiles, and I wasn't disappointed. I'll cover them in another post, as with some fabulous old tapestries. Along the way I was looking out for textiles. The traditional crafts are hard to find now, the finished product generally being too expensive. Portugal has experienced economic depression in recent years and has been basing its recovery primarily on wine/port, cork and newly manufactured quality table and bedroom linens - very nice, but not cheap either (and heavy in the luggage)

Here are a few things that caught my eye.
A shop in Lisbon - the window display and bolts of fabric for sale inside (displayed like it was when I was growing up)

I saw this hanging in the distance in Lisbon and zoomed in on it. Don't know its purpose. Textile of some sort by the edges of each piece (and tiles would be too heavy)

  An interesting modern tapestry in the hotel

A tapestry I spotted through a doorway

 Items for sale in tourist shops in a narrow street in Sintra

An old tapestry in a winery in Porto

Samples at the door to entice you. The back piece is quite heavy - not sure what it was for.

 The hand embroidered sign from a shop which did have some hand worked pieces

 Table napkin from a dinner at a winery.

 Hand worked pieces for sale at an antique shop

 And nearby this fabric hanging on the door - not sure if it was decorative, or washed and drying

 That is fairly short. I'll try to write about tiles soon.

sharing a few memories

Other priorities have taken the place of stitching lately, but a talk by Julie Haddrick  http://haddrickonfabric.com.au/    about her passion for Japan and Japanese textiles at our recent Guild meeting got me thinking about my 2 trips there. I loved it both times, and went back to look at my photographs to recall some of the experiences. The trips were both before I started this blog, so I thought I would share a few.
We travelled to the northern island of Hokkaido. This is the traditional work of the Ainu people

Hand applique and the line is chain stitch

This jacket was at the Ice Museum in Asahikawa - a fascinating place. The International Weaving and Textile Museum nearby had wonderful examples of Asian embroideries, and kantha, Shibori work and weaving, but unfortunately they could not be photographed.
Then we visited the Shiroai Museum of the Ainu people.

 Love this little stool cum chair (I think my knees would prefer one!)

 Fine embroideries in one of the model houses

 and one of the figures in the Museum

 This quilt I spotted laying over goods as the Hakodate market was closing. It looks quite American, so I can't help wondering about its history.

One can see fine fabrics, fine detail and pattern, kimonos a plenty. Here are just a few shots

 In a shop window, not so traditional but exquisite, and below on a market satll

Look down as you are walking and you see wonderful patterns on all the manhole covers, or maybe tiles like these...

Loved this in a garden at Shiraoi

and the patterning of this cricket on the bark of a tree.

My only disappointment is to have been twice and not yet seen Mt Fuji. We tried to, both times, but it was shrouded in fog. The perfect excuse for another trip?