For those of you who like to plan ahead, Mardi Gras is Tuesday Feb 13. Of course the celebration starts a week or two beforehand, depending on which country is hosting your choice of celebrations. I have only been to New Orleans off-season, and also in Venice during Carnivale. Both are a riot of color, fabric, costume, and posing for photos. The whole point is that it is a big long excuse for a party, for people who don’t seem to need an excuse. If you are a costume maker, it is the finish line for your busiest season.
In New Orleans I visited the Mardi Gras Museum which is where they store and also create the floats and characters for the annual festivities. It was fascinating to see how their artisans carved into gargantuan columns of styrofoam to create the stylized float figures, then painted them in brilliant hues. During the 2 weeks of Carnivale in Venezia, it is probably best to visit on the ‘off’ week so you are fighting moderate crowds rather than ridicuous crushing mobs of people, which can be scary. (Speaking of Venice, we have just received this luscious new “Murano” collection by Odile Bailloeul.)
I knew from a photographer friend who lived on Lido Island just off Venice, that people come from all over Europe, and the world, to dress in costume, promenade, and attend private costume balls with high-priced elusive tickets….held in in golden historic palazzos. As a photographer, it is an adventure. I wandered through mist-shrouded ancient alleyways, only to turn a corner to find a masked figure in 18th century garb swishing by in a rustle of satin, feathers and sequins. There is a lot of silk jacquard, lace and velvet involved. The elaborate bejeweled masks are often the highlight of the ensemble.
I did spend a month in Brazil in 1987, buying gemstones for my NYC jewelry store/gallery at the time. Sadly it was not during Carnival, but there were scintillating hints of the carnival costumes and samba music during my time in Rio.
This year we happen to have a great selection of Mardi Gras fabrics in stock. If you are a Carnival aficionado, or have fond memories of a New Orleans party, you might want to acquire some of these because they are seasonal collector items. Mardi Gras and Carnivale culminate on Fat Tuesday, from Vegas to Trinidad, and once you’ve experienced the costumes and music you will never forget that Samba Beat.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
(Let the good times roll)
Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul
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Travel/Quilt Dates:
Jan 26 – SAQA NOCO Tour at eQuilter
Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor.
March 6 – Canadian Quilters Association – Zoom Lecture “Intl Quilt Trends”
