Day in China-town

I spent most of the day yesterday at the Chinese-Australian museum in Chinatown. The first few hours was an embroidery workshop: the blue and white embroidery of Sichuan Province in south-west China. Here's what I made:

Yep, that's the total result of the workshop--at least in terms of embroidery. And these women made shirt cuffs, towels and sheets all intricately covered with designs. Add the pleasure of seeing a small, but significant collection of domestic textiles--all done in indigo-dyed thread on unbleached cotton backgrounds--and interesting interaction with the curator of the exhibition, Peg Fraser and you'll know the workshop was worthwhile. But wait, there's more! A couple more hours having another good look at some details, like the various depiction of lotus blossoms, and sketching them in my notebook. Lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant frequented by Chinese international students. A train ride there and back. And the prospect of dinner with my friend A. It was a good day. I came home with lots of questions and ideas.