Fabric Shopping

I miss those days I could go to my happy place, fabric/craft shops. I haven't done that for 4 years now. The only fabric shop I go to now is a store in ATC that luckily sells patchwork fabric. Or I just get from an online shop.

Shopping for fabric in person is more fun though. I got to relieve that when Sweetie played some videos of crafters shopping at Nippori Fabric Town (Tokyo). 

When I used to travel often, one of the things I'd do is visit craft shops after work. My favorites include: 

Tomato (Tokyo)

Yuzawaya (Tokyo)

Spotlight (Singapore, better in New Zealand)

Lincraft (Australia)

Yong Le Market (Taipei)

Fabric Outlet (San Francisco)

*I think Blogger has issued with photo importa lately 

Too bad I didn't get to see any craft store in any of my trips to Europe (too busy!). I heard though fabric is quite expensive there, but it would have been fun to see what's available and what kind of sewing gadgets they use.

Mom left a boatload of scrap fabric, so I have no need to buy for now. I should probably get busy and work on something soon. My leg is still recovering, so I'm going through my craft books from Booksale for now.

Oh, and I haven't visited Divisoria in a gazillion years. I'll put it on my bucket list :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Vivid Sydney

Before the world went on lockdown I was able to see a bit of Vivid Sydney. It's the annual celebration of creativity, innovation and technology. They usually have installations and projections all over the city. I read it returned this year.

I chanced upon it in 2019 and saw it with some friends during a business trip. We headed to the area of the Sydney Opera House and walked around to admire the installations and projections. The Sydney Opera House was a sight to see. They projected different images on the building. It's best seen in person (here's a short clip). My photos did not do justice to the beautiful images. 

Some of the installations reminded me of the Winter Illuminations in Japan. Uncle Fumio and Tita Pet brought us to see it when we visited them in Tokyo. The installations in Sydney though featured animals. They were so pretty. I didn't take that many photos because I wanted to relish the moment. 

What made the experience of seeing Vivid Sydney was seeing it with friends. It would be fun to go back someday to see more of the installations and projections across the city. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Adventure Down Under: Sydney

Way back in the late 90s my Tita Chu invited me to come visit Australia. I managed to get a visa but didn't have enough funds to pay for a ticket (huhu!). It took more than 15 years for me to and mainly because I had work to do (sorry I'm such a tightwad!). I was worried about leaving my son at home alone so I immediately checked if I could get cheap tickets so I could bring him with me. We got lucky since I managed to get promo tickets for Miguel and Sweetie!

So off we went Down Under on a red-eye flight. Seven and a half hours later we arrived in Sydney and ended up eating at McDonald's at the airport. The first thing we learned? Water and taxis are very expensive in Australia. You could actually drink from the tap but unfamiliar water is one thing that makes me sick so I always drink boiled water (some bottled water makes me sick too boo). The first thing we did when we arrived at the hotel was take a shower and sleep.

In the evening we met up with Tita Chu and Uncle Robert at a nearby restaurant. We had a real treat eating seafood buffet. It was a good thing we decided to walk back to the hotel. I walk very slow so it took us about an hour to reach the hotel. It was a good long walk since we were able to familiarize ourselves with the area.

The next day we met up with Tita Chu at the pier and went on the Captain Cook's Sydney Harbour Story Cruise. It was a two hour ride across the harbour. We got to see the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the different nooks and crannies locals go to (there was even a nude beach!). It was an awesome experience to see the area. We were also lucky because the sun hid for awhile so it wasn't too hot to be on the open deck. It was such a beautiful day to be with family.

In the evening we had a very different experience. Tita Chu brought us to the Mercedes Benz Fashion Show. It was our first time to attend a fashion show. It was fun to see new trends in fashion. 

The next day we had an awesome gastronomic experience at the Sydney Fish Market with Sweetie's cousin James. We had a wide array of seafood. Fresh. Juicy. Crispy. The scallops were unbelievably huge! Bondat from lunch we headed to the Market to buy some stuff. 

So that was our first three days in Sydney.