Quilt fabric shopping in Europe

We stumbled upon a fabric store in Rotterdam -- about 2 blocks from the hotel! And this is my third year at that same hotel.  You would have thought I could have smelled it at least!  But we were just taking a stroll and noticed fabric in the window.  Walking in we noticed it was mostly dress making fabric. But then noticed some basement steps......and found the basement was full of cotton fabrics! Woo hoo! I got a batik, maybe for a purse or bag of some type. I resisted on any more.  What I liked though was that they had ALL kinds of colors and sizes of gingham check--in 100% cotton!  Most of our gingham here in the US is a blend with polyester. (great if you are making kids clothes, not great for quilters).  Here is what I bought...  never mind...nothing special and I forgot to take a picture of it. :)

In Amsterdam, we went to Den Haan and Wagenmakers..

 where they have authentic reproduction Dutch fabric..... for a price. :)  It is such beautiful chintz fabric.  I bought some a few years ago, and it's still aging in my closet, so I resisted. I did find a book that just came out in English that I've been waiting for, "A History of Dutch Quilts"  by An Moonen. I'm going to do a post later on this fabulous book. 

After the little detour on Saturday and not being able to get to the quilt shop in Antwerp, I told my friend Pat I would get her to a couple in Paris for sure! The first place I took here (in a few textile shops up by Sacre Coeur) didn't really pan out authentic French cotton fabrics. They are a much better price up there vs. the quilt shop. But since they had just a few in colors she didn't want, we toured the Basillica

                                                          and Montmartre (a neat artist's area)

 while we were there and then headed back into the city.

Stopped at Notre Dame, toured the church

 and the walked the couple of blocks to Le Rouvray.

 NOT open! In fact, with a sign on the door. Closed for remodeling.

And a map of where they are temporarily located. Yeah right! It looks SO easy--see the little arrows on the map and ici (here)?  There is not a straight street in Paris. Street signs are on the buildings. We tried to decipher the map, and ended up walking for 15 minutes. We decided to walk back to the shop, get the full address this time (smart, huh?) when we came upon the street! A very short street, but still no quilt shop. We walked back to get the address, and returned to the little street, which happened to be no more than 50 yards from the original shop! Found the address and peered in the gated windows, and yep...that was the shop all right. Closed today! I wonder if our husbands were behind this, we spent no money on fabric in two cities!

So, all in all, a cheap fabric buying trip! But so much fun in the search. And if you can't find fabric...buy pastries!

Au revoir!