Deb Roberts' Quilt and Textile Study Tours

FRANCE 2008 - all new itinerary!
$100 discount when you register before December 1, 2007

French Quilted Treasures
April 30-May 11, 2008

~Overview~

Join Deb Roberts and like minded quilt enthusiasts for this 12 Day fully-escorted tour of France and Switzerland where you will have the opportunity to explore the countryside of the South of France and the border regions of Alsace, while we learn about French and European quilt and textile history and how textile trade ruled Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Once again, Deb Roberts is opening doors to French museum archives for you to see quilts and printed fabric that will expose you to an insider's view of both historical and contemporary textile traditions in France and Switzerland.  This year, the tour will begin and end in the city that started it all - Marseille, and end in Zurich with a final stop at the Abegg-Stiftung Museum in Bern.

For the first 5 days of the tour, we will focus on the textile history of France where it had its start - in Provençe.  Here we will visit the renowned museum of Souleiado, home to over 40,000 wood textile print blocks and a fabulous quilt collection.  The Souleiado is housed in a mansion that once housed a textile printing factory in the 19th century, their collection of 18th and 19th century quilts is outstanding, as is their costume collection which features garments of printed cotton fabrics from these periods.  We will also visit the Chateau Gombert, which details life in the Provençe region since the beginning; when Marseille first became a major seaport in the 1600s.  Here, they have one of the finest collections of printed cotton jupon (skirts) in the world. The Maison du Boutis in Calvison is also a stop, a small museum not to be missed for its collection of "broderie de Marseille" (boutis) which dates back to the 17th century.  A visit to the Museum de vieux Nimes is also on our itinerary this year - here, city museum has textile samples from the Nimes printworks dating back to the early 1700s.  We will take a break one day to simply enjoy the hillside villages of Provençe and the Luberon:  Les Baux, Gordes and Rousillon - three treasures of the Provençial countryside which have been accurately added to the list of France's most beautiful villages.  No time in Provençe would be complete without attending market day - and we will attend the best, Market Day in L'isle sur la Sorgue, where venders and dealers set up their new and antique wares for a day of shopping and sight seeing fun.  My favorite stop here is Boutique Francine - Francine has the area's best supply of antique textiles and quilts of every description and she welcomes my groups with added bonuses. 

The days that follow will be just as exciting as we will head by train to Mulhouse, in the Alsace region.  Alsace was the area of the most printed textile mills in France in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Here, we will have several opportunities to study at the Musee de L'Impression sur Etoffes,  This museum, without question has the world's finest textile sample book collection and it is there for our study at will.  We will also have a guided tour of the areas which demonstrate how the textiles were printed, and if you desire you will have the opportunity to block print your own fabric.  We will also have a free day in Mulhouse to explore the Alsace area at leisure.  Some may want to see the Wallpaper museum with examples dating back to the 17th century, or you may want to travel to the Swiss/German town of Colmar, which is enchanting.  Whatever you choose, you will not be disappointed with the Alsace region - only that you do not have more time here.

Finally, it is off to Zurich, Switzerland which will be our departure point for home, but not before an exciting stop at the Abegg-Stiftung Museum in Bern. This museum is reported to have some of the finest documented textiles in Europe.  To take in a few of the other sites of Switzerland our last day will be free to enjoy on our own.  Some may want to take the short train to Lucerne, others may want to travel to Basel, another area of rich textile history, or even travel a short hour by train to the Liechtenstein border to visit the Museum of Textiles and Library in St.Gallen.  Whatever you choose, it will definitely be a great end to a  memorable journey. 

For further information, including full itinerary and pricing, please refer to the website at http://textiletour.com, where you will also find testimonies from previous travelers. The deadline for registration for a the full package including group air must be received by January 20, 2008, as after this date any held seats will be released.  After January 1, the deadline will be February 1 for anyone wishing the land only tour option.

$100 discount when your registration is received prior to December 1, 2007

Space is limited, please register early to avoid disappointment. 
email Deb at textiletours@aol.com.

 View the Itinerary Online.