Living in Shanghai

We toured some neighborhoods.  This 2 story apartment was in process of being renovated.

Many of the apartments had laundry hanging outside.

Happy Stitching!

Brides in Shanghai

Sunday afternoon we saw 5 different bride and groom out for official photo shoots.  We were walking around the French consession area of Shanghai.

Look carefully to see the young lady in pink walking down the street.

This pair had matching Converse sneakers on.

The entrance to the place we were eating was popular.  I took this photo while sitting in the restaurant - one bride leaves and another shows up!

There was also setup going on for a wedding.

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Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts

This museum is owned by the government.  It was filed with all different kinds of handiwork including embroidery:

needlepoint:

even dough figures.

Many of the pieces were for sale.

On display were some opera costumes and celebration attire.

The building itself was quite beautiful.

Happy Stitching!

Grocery Shopping in Shanghai

There is an amazingly large mall around the corner from my hotel called The Brand Mall.  It looks exactly like a high end mall you would find in the US and is filled with US clothing brands and also had a foot court of sorts on the ground floor that was half US brands - things like Subway, Coldstone Cremery - and also very Chinese.   This particular restaurant should sushi.  You sat on a chair and this conveyor belt brought the food around everyone.  When you saw something you wanted, you took the dish off.

There was also a supermarket on the ground floor where I got some apples and water as well as a small box of cookies. I found many a strange looking item in the produce area. My guess is that these are fruits but I've no idea. All the labels were in Chinese.

Happy Stitching!

Fabric Shopping in Shanghai

I spent a wonderful day with a friend touring neighborhoods in Shanghai.

One of the places we visited was the fabric market.  There were at least 3 floors.  At each of the stalls, the people running the booth would make you a tailor made garment.  Usually the garment takes about a week.  In one case, there was a particular dress I was interested in and she said she would make it in 2 days!  (I liked the one that was violet and green.)

The friend I was with says she will get cotton blouses made there for about $15 US dollars.  She would pay $50 in the local mall.

This women was selling 100% silk for roughly $20/meter.  The dress in the background would cost you roughly $100 made from this silk.   

I didn't see anything I would call quilter's cotton but I did get some fabric.   The solid blue piece is 80% silk.  The blue with flowers is a heavier cotton and the brown with flowers heavier still.  I'm thinking that they would all make nice bags.

Happy Stitching!