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.

Visiting Thailand - Moviestar Style

I've felt like an actress in an action film or a writer getting inspiration for a fantasy book during our recent tour of Thailand. I've pretended to be James Bond and sat on the same steps as the Wolfpack Gang. I've wondered if Frank Baum based "The Wizard of Oz" on the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah.  If you want to have a Hollywood style escape from reality here are sights that are sure to please.

1) The Temple of the Emerald Buddah and The Grand Palace - This "must see" of Bangkok felt and looked like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. The statures of white monkeys, the emerald colored glass and gold plate adorning the sides of the temple is to the somewhat grimy and dirty Bangkok as the transformation  from black and white to color is to the movie. (The picture on the left is the Temple of the Emerald Buddah at the Grand Palace. Unfortunately my photo of the Emerald Buddah did not turn out so I substituted my photo of the Golden Buddah who is easier to photograph.)

2) The Tiger Temple - The song "Lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh my..." kept running in my head as I walked with tigers and past bears to the Tiger Temple. All I needed were some red slippers and a blue and white checkered dress. Posing for photographs with tigers - including one who starred in "The Hangover II" -  all while trying to appear calm was hard knowing that tigers have and do still attack their tamers.I did not want to die in this hot, dry, rocky, dusty Thai canyon.

3) The Elephant Village - Riding an elephant was fun. As a matter of fact it made me laugh out loud. From "Horton Hears a Who" to "The Jungle Book", I've always enjoyed reading about elephants and, more recently watching books about elephants be made into films. There are plenty of movies including one of my recent favorites: "Like Water for Elephants." The elephant I rode was named Long John Silver (a Hollywood icon even though Long John is not an elephant)  He liked being tickled behind the ears with my toes. The owner could make the elephant walk, stop, and pose for pictures, all by what seemed to be his toes. 

4) Riding Long Boats through Bangkok and to the Floating Market - We pretended we were (or would have pretended if we didn't have to wear the not-so-Hollywoodesque life jackets) James Bond from "Golden Eye" racing through the canals of Bangkok. The ride was pretty thrilling especially when our boat nearly capsized from the large wake of another boat and then rammed into the concrete edge of the canal as the long boat driver maneuvered to keep the boat upright.I didn't want to imagine swimming in the canal although some people were fishing...)

5) Evening cocktails at the Lebua Sky Bar - Exiting the hotel at the 64th floor of the Lebua Hotel, walking out to the rooftop deck,  and walking down the steps where the  hungover Wolfpack tried to remember what had happened, was MUCH better than watching the movie. The  Sky Bar appears to be suspended in mid-air among  twinkling stars, wispy clouds and blinking lights of Bangkok. 

6) The Fast Boat Ferry to Phi Phi Island -  Although we did not go to Phang Nga Bay where the 1974 James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed, we did see many islands that could have substituted for the evil lair of Scaramanga, Bond's nemesis, on our day boat trip around Ko Phi Phi. Snorkeling among the brightly colored coral and tropical fish made it easy to imagine being lulled into a life of tropical leisure while at the same time remaining vigilant to evil lurking around the next cave.

Writing this blog post from the function but not luxury (compared to what we just left) of our Bangkok Airport hotel and waiting for a return flight to reality is like the curtain going up after a great film. Although it's back to reality for us, the memories of this great "action film" will energize us until the next time.

Taking Time to Be a Tourist In KL

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I forgot about the +1 day when calculating Ellen and her friend's arrival  from the US. So I actually arrived in KL one day before I needed to be here. In reality, it's been a good thing to have this extra day. I've been a little stressed about being a tour guide here because I don't really know KL that well. On my three previous trips, the majority of time was spent at the Suria and Pavillion Malls. going to a movie, or trying to find some Western food. So, having this extra day in the city allowed me to explore new places the way I like...slowly, without a set plan, and without having to worry about getting lost or reassuring tired and hungry companions that I know exactly how long and where (food/home/a taxi stand/a cup of coffee/an ATM) will be.

My idea of exploring a new city is to pick a "tentative" destination, use a myriad of maps and a "sixth sense" to find a walking route to that destination. I then like to explore by foot until I'm tired. When my feet start aching, then it's time to tackle the public transportation system (in this case monorail and lightrail) to get home. (Taking a taxi always seems a little like cheating even though taxis are relatively inexpensive in this part of the world.)

Today's destination was St. John's Cathedral. I like to find a churches in cities for several reasons: they offer the peace and quiet of a Sunday service in the midst of the hustle and noise of a large city, and they are often located in the historical centers of these cities so they make a great starting place for sightseeing.

As I approaced the cathedral this morning I was struck by the number of street vendors (food, used clothing, shoes, drinks, etc...) who had staked their claims on the limited free space in front of the cathedral. Malaysian women selling fried things and nasi lemak, Indian women selling second-hand clothing, men selling bottles of water, Milo, and umbrellas. 

I poked my way through the open umbrellas and tiptoed through mucky puddles, damp trash, empty water bottles, and crowded stalls to the front of the cathedral. It quickly became apparant that I would be sitting outside with the other "late" worshippers. As the rain picked up we became more friendly, huddling together under the awning. The crowd, mostly Indian and Chinese with a few tourists like myself sprinkled in, were in upbeat moods thankful for the rain trying to wash the past month's haze from the sky. Luckily the service was in English and I recognized many of the songs so it felt a little familiar.

After the service, the rain picked up so the rest of my journey was dictated by the location of Chinese shop house six-foot walkways. In otherwards, when I came to a street corner, I usually choise the direction with the most shelter from the rain. My wanderings took me to Jalan Petaling (Chinatown) where the roast duck and pork were being attacked by meat cleevers under the watchful eyes of hungry shoppers, fresh produce and fish were being grabbed up by Chinese women doing their weekly shopping, and business savvy t-shirt vendors were opening their stalls early knowing that tourists like myself would linger to avoid going back out in the rain.

Continuing on my walk I found Central Market where about 1000 Chinese men, women and children were wearing wooden Chinese sandals and participating in a "Walk-a-Thon" for a local charity. 

Thousands of tiny wooden sandals tap, tap, tapped cautiously across the slippery, wet cobblestones. Although the shoes don't look comfortable to me, they definitely keep the wearer's feet up out of the puddles.

From Central Market I took my first ride on the LRT. (Call me slow-minded but it wasn't until I got to the station where I thought I could transfer to the MR that I understand that the light rail (LRT) and the monorail (MR) are NOT different lines on the same subway system but rather completely differnt systems. They require different tokens, an exit from a station, and a walk in the rain to move from one to the other. I only wasted RM4 (about $1.20) but I gained a lot of knowledge and saw some sights along the way.

After a brief stop back at the hotel to change into better walking shoes, I hopped back on the MR where I ventured to the Lake Gardens, the National Museum, and another shopping mall for a coffee and a rest.

The best part of today was the confidence gained that  I can give a "hightlights" of KL tour to my daughter and her friend  keeping room for jetlag recovery and relaxation. Now, if the plane will just be on time...