i've been to london...
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| london from primrose hill |
my favourite city in all the world
{not that i've been to very many but even if i had i know i would love london best}
i've had trouble transferring photos from ipad to my laptop - i think it will be a long slow go but for now i have a few from the very first days of my time in the uk
in advance of the embroidery workshop with karen ruane on saturday april 1st, three of us went on a little shopping expedition of all things creative in a few of london's most charming of shops
we started at shepherd's bookbinders...
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| shepherd's |
walls and drawers and tables full of amazing papers
i practiced a lot of restraint here, and the khadi paper on the table in the image above being the most foolish of all - i bought just two sheets of it, wishing now i had bought twenty...
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| shepherd's |
one of the most beautifully presented shops i've ever been in, chock-a-block full of inspiration, i came away with a few new tools and supplies which will hopefully help me to improve my book-binding skills and a few lovely sheets of paper to inspire
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| more shepherd's! |
we wandered through a vintage button shop, a specialty ribbon and trim store, "the cloth house" on berwick street, lace stores and several silk shops in soho
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| the cloth house |
the windows of the cloth house were entrancing with the little textiles strung across them on clotheslines
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| the cloth house |
new cloth, old cloth, new buttons, old buttons... lace
i had a budget and i stuck to it though goodness knows how
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| the cloth house |
inspiration at every corner, in every shop, and the kindest people
the best day
that is, until the next day...
saturday was my embroidery class with karen ruane
nine of us gathered in a lovely space in covent garden for a day of stitching, tea, cake and chatter
i'd been waiting for that day for months; the chance to meet karen, see her amazing work in person, meet people i had come to know a little during our online courses - just be there
below is what i worked on during that most wonderful day
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| my project |
karen made workshop packs for us filled with several surfaces to stitch, tear, stitch, and tear some more
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| workshop kit |
she gave us graph papers and bits of lace and trims to play with as well
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| workshop kit |
the metallic lace in my work was a gift from sue, shopping tour guide extraordinaire
i don't have much to show for six hours of stitching but i have a very good reason that - tea, cake, chat, tea, cake chat... look through karen's ledgers, stitch a little and then tea and cake again
we called it the "london cake day"
i've pulled this out a few times since coming home, thinking i should work on it some more - today i decided it will stay as it is and i'll be able to look at it always and say "i made this in london"
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| latest work |
hard to believe it's already a month
since we left - the only consolation then is that it's one month less
until i get to back again...
7 comments:
wonderful post!! Yes, London cake day...and what a day it was, a pleasure from start to finish. It seems like only yesterday doesn't it? What a pleasure it was to spend time with you and to think....you came all that way for a piece of cake!
Well worth the piece of cake. The shops are exquisite - how far we'd have to go in Canada to find such fine cloth and paper, not to mention buttons.
Your time with Karen is special and you can take your piece with you next time and work on it some more. How many trips would it take to finish it? Never finish it - then your trips will never be ended.
Thanks for sharing such an interesting post and the pictures of your wonderful holiday.
What a wonderful weekend it must have been - first those wonderful places for supplies, and then the workshop!
It's definitely time to go back.I got some sun on my face while running last week and I had to go buy that foundation from Superdrug 2 shades darker, cursing the price of it here the whole time.
Yay! You're back!!! I've been waiting to hear all about your trip, fully prepared with the knowledge that I would be absolutely green-eyed with envy. Yep - a long way to go to eat cake but I can see is was SO worth it!!
What a wonderful day that was. I only wish I was part of the trip out the day before. Next time perhaps. Stunning photos... temptations...
This is such a delightful post of all you were able to do in London. Such fine shops with amazing goodies to acquire...you were excellent to keep to your budget. I am so happy to read all the wonderful experiences you enJOYed in London. Eating cake is a very good thing along with some lovely English Tea. Your stitching work is fantastic and I shall be looking forward to more from you. I missed you dear! Blissful Stiitching...<3
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