Compost Studios

I am a writer, nature lover, budding artist, photography enthusiast, and creative spirit reducing, reusing, and recycling midlife experiences through narrative, art, photos, and poetry. 

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Veronica McCabe Deschambault, V-Grrrl in the Middle, Compost StudiosTM

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Friday
Apr272007

Tapestry buying trip to Gent, Belgium

Today I joined a group of American women on a day trip to Gent. It's  a lovely historic city at the confluence of two rivers. It has a long history in shipping, and in the 13th century was one of Europe's major cities with a population of about 65,000. It's not a major tourist attraction in Belgium, being upstaged by Brugges, and yet it offers everything from medieval castles to classic Flemish, Roman, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. It has markets and squares, belfries and churches, watchtowers and guild houses, and lots and lots of unique and interesting shops.

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One of the American women has cultivated a relationship with the owner of a tapestry shop.  Belgium is renowned for its tapestries, a reputation it developed during the middle ages. Belgian tapestries hung in castles, palaces, and chateaus across Europe and were commissioned by popes for the Vatican. Today the tapestries are no longer handwoven but are still made in Belgium. The shop in Gent featured tradtional and more modern designs on wall hangings, pillows, handbags, runners and and luggage. The owner of the shop offered our group a special discount and also arranged for a tour guide to acquaint us with the town's historic landmarks.

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I'm not particularly into tapestry, but I was eager to get together with some women friends. E has been interested in acquiring a tapestry as a souvenir of Belgium and so I shook him down for euros and combed through the shop. Most of the wall tapestries feature classical images--medieval scenes, castles, ladies in gardens, flowers, maps, etc. While many of them were nice, they just weren't me. I couldn't imagine where I would hang them. I didn't want to have yet another piece of wall art languishing in a box somewhere. I am always buying art, and I don't have many places to hang wall art in our Belgian home.

I was, however, interested in the table runners. I have a few antique pieces that have cheap crocheted lace dresser scarves covering the imperfections on their tops. Over time, the lace has become stretched out and droopy and I've  been plotting to replace it but didn't know what to replace it with. Buying tapestry table runners for these chests and dressers seemed a perfect solution and a practical way to satisfy E's yen to bring a bit of Belgian tapestry into our home. 

There were loads and loads of throw pillows with all sorts of scenes, images, and patterns, ranging from the traditional, to reproductions of famous paintings, to whimsical themes. As much as I liked some of them, I kept resisting because no matter how attractive I might find decorative pillows, I hate having to find a place for them every time I want to sprawl on the sofa or clear off the bed at night.

Still there was one pillow in the shop calling my name.

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Yeah, I know it's cutesy and sentimental, but I have three good reasons for buying it.

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Reason number one is Petey.

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Reason number two is Amy.

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And this is just one of six bookcases in the house--reason number three.

Now you know why the pillow belongs in my home (notice, it also matches the sofa!).

April 27, 2007

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Reader Comments (7)

Your photos of Gent make me nostalgic - it was my home for many years and I miss it. My husband and I actually lived around the corner from the Graslei, the canal pictured in your post. It's my favorite city in Belgium, I can't wait to return this summer! Enjoy the nice spring weather :-).
April 27, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterInge
The pictures you posted of Gent are gorgeous; I sat and stared at them for a few minutes, just taking them in.
April 28, 2007 | Unregistered Commentermamatulip
What a picturesque place to visit. The architecture alone makes it worth photographing.
April 28, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterNance
i used to live in gent a year ago. we lived down the street from the gravensteen castle. if i opened the windows and looked to the left, there it was! it was also great for all the bars to go to. however, it wasnt for us. too busy, too many people, too expensive!, too trendy. we now live in west flanders, in a house with a yard in a small village where the people are open and friendly. i do miss the night life sometimes though, and some of the "hidden gem" shops.
April 28, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterAmanda
Love the pillow! And the sight-seeing trip: well worth it. With views like that, who needs tapestry?!
April 28, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterOrtizzle
That looks like the perfect pillow to accent your home! Did you get tht table runners as well? Was E happy with your purchases?
April 29, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterTera
Tera,

I did get the table runners too. E liked everything, though I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually buys a tapestry on his own. I think he's secretly holding out for something with a grand medieval scene so he can indulge his "a man's home is his castle" fantasies.

The table runners I bought were relatively simple, trimmed with a pattern of deep green foliage on the edges and "wreaths" in the center against a khaki background. I did buy one with a dark red background and a traditional oriental rug kind of floral pattern.
April 29, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterV-Grrrl

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