I found your posts very interesting thanks so much for sharing!! I do feel very lucky of the fabric choices that we have here! Happy New Year and I wish you many visitors and trips to the US in 2011!

I don't have any trips planned to the US in 2011, though my dh will go to the states in Sept. :) (Missions conf.)

I will go with the kids, though, possibly to Egypt here in Jan. We have to leave the country due to a problem with my temp. residency card and I have to leave before Jan. 26. You know what they sell in Egypt, right? Egyptian cotton!!!!!

(Believe it or not, you can get a charter flight to Egypt, plus hotel and food for about $350 per person for one week from Warsaw.)

Fun.

I'll take an extra bag if I go there...There is a huge bazaar in Cairo...

Hey...quilters look EVERYWHERE....

That's a sad inventory to choose from!!!!

or seersucker?

seersucker it is. That's the name I was thinking about.

Thanks for sharing. I now feel very greatfull to have a very colorful stash.

I guess we are really lucky in the U.S. to have such a great selection of quilting fabrics! Thanks for sharing.

I'm happy to have a computer to order special fabric from if I can't find in store ! Can you do this as well ? Or is it absurdly expensive to do that ?

MODA = "trendy" , "fashion" in Spanish.
A perfect name for a fabric store.
I think they know the meaning of the word.

This is such an interesting post. Thanks for all the info and pictures. You sound very resourceful. I was wondering how you got interested in quilting since it isn't popular there??
My husband's grandparents came from Poland :)

you could probably get it shipped as a gift to avoid import fees, no?

Yes, if someone sent something as a gift, they probably would not charge import fees. However, most regular stores won't do that. Ebay sellers might. Most stores will put in an invoice. We've had friends buy a kid's coat for a good price from Penney's in the states, had it sent and were charge 100% customs on it. No longer a good deal.

But with the cost of shipping regular air mail, it is really expensive (a small box costs $50--and not even that heavy. A heavy box? Forget it.

I frankly don't do not want to order special fabrics and have them sent here. Postage is expensive. People complain about postage in the USA...but it is quite cheap compared to international postage.

MODA is also about fashion here in Poland as well. "modna" is an adjective meaning fashionable. MODA is also "fashion" or "style" here.

Well, I told some churches that they could send me all their extra unused, partially finished craft supplies that their ladies' groups had and I would distribute the supplies to ladies in this part of the world who liked to do crafts (you know...a guilt reliever...people could get rid of their UFOs and feel like they were helping at the same time). So, I was given boxes of stuff. I went through it and gave a lot away to ladies from Latvia, Belarus and here in Poland.

However, included was some pretty ugly fabric. I had read that no fabric is ugly if you cut it into small enough pieces. That started my journey.

That fabric was used a long time ago and given away as quilts.

Perhaps you should open a shop just for quilters - you would do very well because of the novelty. My relatives came from Lodz - so I suppose it is fairly similar all over?

Don't know if our situation is comparable to Poland. I ordered an item for $8.99 and the shipping was $20.

Thank you for sharing this! This is probably one of the most interesting threads I have read. I just love seeing how people around the world live and what they have for fabric options. Happy New Year!

Thanks for the pictures - this group is great because it is so nice that altho we all live so far apart, our hobby brings us so close together.

Crinkly fabric could be "SEERSUCKER".

thank you for sharing -- so interesting to see different parts of the world (and even US)

How is it you chose living in Poland? I have heard there is a large community of expatriate Americans living there. From what I hear it is a welcoming, warm, less-expensive and beautiful place to live. What else can you tell us about your daily routine and your quilting habits. For instance, is there a quilting community in your town? Are other quilting "necessaries" available locally or do you get them on-line?

I love that green dress in a couple of the pictures.

If most people have no knowledge of quilting, I can see why your fabric selection would be so slim. Good thing you have family and friends in the states that you can count on to bring you fabrics from time to time.

Sorry your selection is so limited. Thanks for sharing, We need to count our blessings for sure.

I love the photos, thank you for posting. My Mother-in-law is from Poland and she is the best seamstress. She is 85 from Krakow and lives in the states. She taught me to sew.

I LOVED seeing all the fabric in this store. Since I sew apparel also - loved the woolens!

Long story. My dh has a PhD in the Old Testament (Bible) and came here in October, 1994 to be a professor in a seminary that was starting here. Because of communism and the lack of Bible teaching, the churches were asking for help in this area.

That's what got us here.

Now, we are starting a (Baptist) church near Warsaw and run a charitable organization. Sometimes my husband travels to other countries, like the Ukraine to teach for short segments--like summer school classes. He's heading to another country in the spring to teach pastors from closed countries (countries where people get in trouble for believing or even having a Bible.) I don't want to be too specific because of the topic... A year from now he is invited to go to Kenya to teach for a couple of weeks. They said I am invited too....:)

So, in spite of the fact that we don't have many cottons here...don't feel sorry for me. Life is really much simpler here. We don't have zillions of choices of cold cereals (between 10-15) or it doesn't take a long time to figure out which kind of dental floss you want or which toothbrush to buy--we don't have that kind of choice. In one sense it is bad, but on the other hand, buying soda pop is easy...if you want diet you buy Diet Coke or Pepsi or diet generic soda. We don't have Diet Sprite, 7-up, Mt. Dew, etc.

You get used to fewer choices and learn to live with it. On the other hand, my kids can walk home from school by themselves-- my 16-year-old goes out with her friend, another 16-year-old on their bikes and just hang around in the woods, etc. It is more like life used to be in the 50's in the states.

So, my lack of choices of cottons is a small price. It forces me to be creative and use ingenuity. I do cut up old cotton woven clothes, though. :)

I bought flannel PJs through the course of a solid year--at the used clothing store. I found patterns I liked and bought the bottoms and tops separately--for 60cents a piece. At the end of the year, I cut them all up and then decided to see what I had. I had enough to make 7 flannel rag quilts.

Very interesting. It is always good to see how others live. Thanks. - Cynthia

I love to hear about your creativity due to lack of fabrics!

May God Bless You!!

Thanks for sharing.

It could also be seersucker.

Since it is used for summer wt. linens, I'm thinking seersucker. Chenille would be very warm!
No offense Stewy.

thanks so much for sharing with us, i have relatives in poland and chicago.

Oh my how interesting this thread is! You are so right, our stashes are more than your "shop" has.
I am thinking that you should head up a quilting class for the region. Then the ladies would understand your love for quilting. And... perhaps request more quilting fabrics in the store.

a bit off topic but i was wondering what kind of technology they have there? Is it "dial up internet" or do they have DSL? Its quite interesting to hear about another culture, i love some of the technology we have today but at the same time, it can be a source of great stress.

From time to time if u have a nice story to share, it would be wonderful! Be sure and put POLAND some where in the heading so the Thread will stand out. It is so interesting this simple yet complicated life u have over there. Thanku so much for sharing. God Bless PS do folks garden over there? flowers?

Thanks for the very interesting explanation of just how you landed in Poland. The former Soviet block countries were so closed off for so long it will take a very long time for them to recover. In some regards they may never. It's people like you and your DH who will help them grow and prosper, though, so keep up the good work. As for choices, some times I wish there weren't so many for us, too. But I do love looking at the beautiful fabrics available on line. Thanks again.

Thanks for sharing. I am polish and have yet to get there. This was very interesting to see. Thank you

I would have said seersucker if for summer...

This is without doubt, the most interesting thread I have read. I look forward to any of your posts. Just wish there was someway to help. Are you teaching any of the ladies to quilt or sew or any other craft?

I married a Polish boy but I think I'm happy to live where my
favorite LQS carries 6000 bolts. Or should I say spoiled. Thanks for sharing with us.