(Post 25 of 189. Thanks again to those who participated in the Fundrazr!)

My next, and final, stop this morning was the Oaxaca Textile Museum.

There, I learned about the link between the word textile and the word, well, text, both of which are very similar in many languages. A lot of culture is conveyed through textiles and things like samplers (embroidered pieces with the alphabet) are a popular way to blend art with language.

I loved this map of most of North America:

The amount of detail on this Mountie was amazing — every important detail of his outfit is there!

A sampler. I love the Spanish and French words for such an art form, abecedario/abécédaire, using the first four letters of the alphabet to convey what the item is.

This was made by a 10-year-old English girl in 1829!

This was an interesting social project. “What was the last time you said something that put a knot in your throat? We invite you to share your feelings through thread, the needle, or paint.” There were lots of embroidered pieces from visitors attached to the sign.

The clothing of light and mirrors exhibit was interesting.

This piece was stunning!

I enjoyed a display showing all the different textiles and clothing styles of “the land of clouds” — Oaxaca.

The museum shop was full of treasures that were too expensive for me. Much later in the day, after going home to work and finish some blog posts, I set out again for La Casa de las Artesanías to get another item on my shopping list (I really did have a list!). I’d spotted it when I arrived but had decided to wait in case I saw something more perfect. But this was the best I found:

It’s a table cloth. I love the pink and yellow, but was disappointed that most of it is actually cream. But I haven’t been able to find another one in this super heavy cotton in colours I even remotely like, so this is it. 550 pesos felt like a bargain for such quality, and I bought it from the lady who made it.