Ireland--few quilt shops, lots of quilting ideas

My hubbie and I just got back from my life-time dream trip--Ireland! We spent 8 days checking out Ireland from Dublin to Galway in the west and back again. Saw wonderful landscapes, amazing ancient ruins and castles, loved the pub life and even picked up many ideas for quilting patterns. What I didn't find was local quilt shops---I know they exist from looking them up on line, but either we were going in another direction or we just could not find the 3 we tried to visit. No matter--the sightseeing piqued my interest in the history of my ancestors; the food was totally amazing!; and the people were so dang friendly!

What I did find is lots of inspiration for quilting designs from all the tilework and the intricate molding on the ceilings. AND the carpets, even! I had taken both camera and my sketch book and was able to capture details with both. Wish I'd been able to use photography on our tour of Muckross House-it was Downton Abby to a T! The patterns on the wallpaper were intriquing--much richer colors and large florals for late 1700's-early 1800's than I expected. Another surpise was the very heavy, very ornate silk curtains on these huge windows.

So I'm glad to be home to my own bed and pillow; our dogs are very glad to be sprung from the kennel, and I have quilts waiting for me to quilt. In the meantime, we are planning for the next Irish trip as we definitely plan to return. So to get you thinking Ireland, too, here is a picture of that lovely ceiling molding.