Arpillera from Peru

I mentioned that when we were on vacation in Michigan we spent a day in Saugatuck. We had a very nice time. There's a nice little downtown with cute shops right by the channel. The weather was gorgeous, the company was excellent, and we just had a good time.

I found a shop that carried "fair trade" items; and I get excited when I see one of those, because I know you can find things from around the world, and usually some in textiles. Once I went in the store, I was thrilled, because they had a lot of textiles. I found this Arpillera from Peru there. My budget determined the size I could get, but there were wonderful examples there, a rain forest, a garden, a market, an undersea scene, etc. (I'm not sure there were all of these in the shop, I've been browsing on-line as well.)




I chose the village scene for my granddaughter's sake. I wanted her to look at it, and she is crazy about animals, so this is the one I got. P & C were intrigued by the pink pigs, and they both liked the knitted hats. Most of the animals are fuzzy, so it was nice to feel them, as well. It is signed, and the store owner told me if I wanted to I could communicate through the web-page and find out exactly the artist that made it.

I like this piece so much that I'm planning to add another arpillera someday, when I can afford it. There is a "Tree of Life" that is cool, and a nativity scene with all the animals that pops off the page.



This is a picture of the little park along the channel. There were small parks scattered throughout the shopping area. We had lunch in a pub type restaurant. The sweet potato fries were wonderful. My mom wasn't walking very well (she's doing much better now) so we didn't get to many of the stores. DH and I are hoping to go back and check out more of the town.