Quilt Inspirations in Paris: Part One

This is my hubby, on the banks of the Seine, with Notre Dame Cathedral in the background.  We actually went to Paris!  I can still hardly believe it.

Here's a peak at the inside of my carry on bag.  I like to knit when I fly, because knitting helps me calm down.  I'm not afraid to fly (I actually LIKE to fly), I'm just afraid something will go wrong and we won't get to fly, or we'll be stuck somewhere.  (This has happened.)
I really needed my knitting this time, as we had a weather delay that made us miss our connection, so we lost an entire day of our vacation.
We did finally get there, and it was definitely worth it.

Our first stop?  A flea market!  On our way into Paris from the airport, we stopped at a train station, checked our bags, and walked off to a more or less permanent flea market.  (We both wish we'd taken pictures of the place, sorry.)  There were three or four full city blocks of stalls, selling everything from knock-off clothing to antiques.

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Here's what I bought--a yard of vintage fabric, and this odd stamp.

I'm not sure what this started out to be, as the metal is obviously broken at the top, but I'm planning to use it to make labels for my quilts.  The little shop was amazing, just crammed with old fabrics and linens.  (Below is an image from the internet, to give you an idea.)




Hubby and I are not always typical tourists.  He's a retired scientist, and I love history, so we often visit museums when we travel.
I took these pictures in the Louvre.  The first three come from the palace of Darius I, and date to at least 400 BC.

 Does this look familiar?

How about these triangles?  I'm afraid the beautiful deep aqua color of these bricks doesn't come through in my cell phone photos.

More "Dresden plates".  Looks like around 16 petals.

Not a great photo, but can you see the clam shells decorating this Roman basin?  Many of our motifs have ancient roots.

Quilting designs were just about everywhere, even underfoot.

What about this neat little star in the floor tiles?  It might be fun to make a quilt center based on this pattern.

Or if you're really ambitious, check out this design!  And there are nine patches in the background.

I didn't get any quilting done in Paris (way too tired from sight seeing all day), but my stress knitting helped me make these hats.

These will go to the Mittens and More drive hosted by the local PBS station.  My yarn scraps can go for something worthwhile--making sure Wisconsin kids are warm this winter.  I hope to get lots more done before the October due date.

I took this picture standing on Pont Neuf.  On our next to last night, we went on one of these tour boats just as the sun was going down and the lights were coming on.

It was a once in a lifetime trip, and I'm so glad we went.
In part two, I'll show you photos of lots of old sewing machines.

I hope your week is filled with inspiration and joy.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Angela at So Scrappy
Cynthia at Oh Scrap