Signs of Sewing and Quilting in Malaysia

3D Quilt on Display at Mall Quilt Show

Yesterday, I was stuck at a traffic light for a long time (8 changes of the light.)While glancing out the side window  I noticed a sewing machine repair shop.

This particular shop lot -  a row of old Chinese shops on the ground floor with storage or the owner living upstairs - caught my attention not because of bright displays of gleaming, new computerized sewing machines, or beautiful fabrics lining the walls, or posters displaying all the creative possibilities a machine can create. On the contrary, this old repair shop probably hasn't seen a coat of paint since the 1930's. There were no lights turned on. And there was not an ounce of fabric nor a single customer to be seen.  As a matter of fact, it was hard to distinguish this sewing machine repair shop from the motorcycle repair shop next door. Both shared the same dirt, grime, grease and darkness so typical of these old rows of shop.

What this shop did have, on the other hand, was about 10 Singer treadle sewing machines. The black, elegant American-made machines with the distinctive gold letters, standing proudly in their original, hardwood sewing tables, were scattered in front of this dingy shop. In various states of repair, I couldn't tell if  these machines had been tossed outside to show customers the shop was open, or waiting for a visit from "Antiques Roadshow".  How these machines made their way to Malaysia is beyond me, but if I were a decorator or a collector, this shop had some "good deals."

The Singer machines made me think of my mom. She still has her Singer machine which still works.  I learned to sew on her Singer: pulling the wheel with my right hand, pedaling the treadle with both feet, guiding the fabric with my left.

A green light and honking traffic startled me out of my reminiscing. I drove on to the grocery store at our new and  modern mall. Walking through the center court of the mall, I was greeting by a huge surprise to me - a quilt show. I was shocked having never seen quilt fabric, women sewing or  crafts. As a matter of fact, the one fabric store in town that I've been to has a football-field full of rolls of polyester and a couple of Japanese cottons thrown in - No notions. No scissors. No thread. As a matter of fact,  I've been trying to figure out how anyone sews over here. The best thing I could gather was that they just wrap the cloth around them about 20 times and then sling the end of their shoulder like a sari. Or, they take the fabric to a tailor. (2 suits for RM50.)

Christmas Tree Quilt complete with blinking lights.

But, back to the quilt show. Not only were there quilts for all seasons, including a blinking Christmas tree quilt, Halloween pumpkins and Chinese calligraphy, there were women demonstrating machine quilting techniques on their new Janome sewing machines. One friendly women  invited me to sit down and have a lesson.

The lesson was more to demonstrate the features of her electronic sewing machine,  but I was more interested in her supplies.


"Where do you buy your fabric? Where do you buy your thread, mats and cutters?" I gushed.
She smiled and said, "At our shop. You can come take a class."

I wish I could read the Chinese!

"Do you have a business card? Where are you located? Are you open on Sunday?"
"No business card. But here's our web site."
(A website? Amazing. Very few businesses in our town - I've found none actually- have a web site!)

Unfortunately, the shop is located in Ipoh about 1 1/2 hours from here. Fortunately, Ipoh is where Eric and I go to the movie and enjoy a meal. No reason he can't learn to enjoy quilt shops with me, too.

Seeing the Singer teadle machine and the quilt show inspired me. When I got home,  I took a piece of Malaysian batik fabric from my "stash" and made a table cloth for tonight's dinner party.

There were friendship squares from around the world.

 I was surprised to learn about quilting in Turkey, too.