Just returned from a weekend away in London with my eldest daughter. Last Wednesday, I became the mother of a teenager and it is a joy. We travelled up by train on Friday evening so that we could get an early start on Saturday. Armed with a list of places to visit, we quite literally pounded the streets of inner London in search of interesting destinations.
First stop was Borders on Oxford Street - mostly because it was the only place open at 9am (at home, I have most of my shopping chores done by 9.15am!) - but it turned out to have a very comprehensive craft section stocking all kinds of knitting books which haven't made it as far as Cornwall. Surprisingly, I came away empty handed even though I did see a couple of titles which have featured large on various blogs and have piqued my interest. Funny how you can tap into the enthusiasm of a knitter but not be especially thrilled by the book itself .....
Next up was Liberty, always a treasure trove. I like to enter the store through the florists and then spend time wandering through the various departments working up to the fabrics and haberdashery. Lots of interesting yarn on sale but I didn't succumb. I've become a stash queen of late, preferring to pick out little gems which are hiding away in my yarn cupboard.
I really enjoyed All the Fun of the Fair which is in a little arcade just off Carnaby Street. Lots of fun, knitted cakes and biscuits and interesting little knitterly goodies. I did buy a little yarn here - Hemp for Knitting in a beautiful spring green colour - a skein of DK and some 4-ply.
I'm going to knit up the heavier DK weight into a hat, possibly another chemo hat for the BB as she has now lost most of her hair. I've read that hemp softens with wear and washing and I'm sure I've also read that it is suitable for use on sensitive skins. Also, I anticipate that it is a breathable fibre which will be useful in the hotter weather. We'll see. Plenty of other heads around here if it's not suitable anyway.
Wandering a little off the beaten track, we came to The Cloth House which I adored. Lots of vintage-y French type fabrics, linen, floral sprigs, beautiful ribbons, charcoal grey woollens - it was an absolute delight. I even enjoyed the music that was playing - Edith Piaf's greatest hits. And that was despite having sat through that Piaf film at the cinema last year - I was simply exhausted at the end of the screening though you have to admire the woman's tenacity.
The Button Queen was a little sparse looking - guess I wasn't in the market for buttons today. I'm a big fan of Duttons for Buttons in Harrogate already. Too bad that they don't expand their business southwards. VV Rouleaux which is just up the road, was lovely but, in picking out our favourite ribbon, we managed to find one that cost £35 per metre. Maybe for the right project?! We left empty-handed.
A taxi ride took us to the British Museum and then we walked over to Persephone Books. I was pleased to see that Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day is back in stock although the more familiar Persephone-grey version is going to take a few more weeks. I'm looking forward to reading it although my daughter has earmarked our copy already.
Gosh, what an pretty exhausting day, lots of walking but I like to walk in cities. We kicked off our shoes and collapsed in front of Doctor Who with a big bag of sweeties from our favourite sweet shop, Hope & Greenwood. We needed our rest in advance of Sunday's sightseeing.
I like being the mother of a teenager.
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Looks like an ideal trip to London. I'm so glad you got to go to Liberty. It's my favorite spot in London. Did you have tea and knit while you were there?
Posted by: Jennifer at June 24, 2008 01:59 PMThat little arcade is where my old office used to be - they decided to turn it from offices to shops. We were on the top floor.
Whst a busy day you had!