Saturday 13 April 2013

Gallivanting Is Officially Over

Well, that's it. I don't think I will be going anywhere else for a while. I spent yesterday in London with Terri - one of the lovely Brit Bee bunch, though not much of a blogger so not known to all. What a fabulous day! My two girls get on brilliantly well with Terri's younger daughter so all five of us met up.

First off Helen presented Terri with this hoop she had made. Last time I saw Terri she gave me some embroidery transfers she had found for me to give the girls and this was the first one that Helen made. Helen might be on her second hoop already, and I just might have to do a bulk order of hoops.


Next we wandered into the M&M shop on Leicester Square. Fascinating place. Colourful. Huge. But word of warning, if you happen to allow your children to get some M&Ms from the pick and mix make sure your credit limit is up to it. Never again!!!


Inevitably our next stop was Chinatown. By this time the rain was falling heavily and casually wandering about was not on the cards. But this is how nice my favourite dim sum restaurant is. They saw us try the door a half hour before they opened and came and let us in. Got us a big pot of Chinese tea and allowed us to sit and chat, inside warm and dry, until the kitchen opened. How nice is that?!


Our next stop was inevitable too. We trotted up Regent Street, managing to keep the girls out of all shops - especially Hamley's - and made it to Liberty. Believe it or not, I had never made it up to the fabric level before. First we strolled amongst the antiques and collectibles, taking random guesses to what the price tags would read.


That hand quilted, whole cloth yellow throw (above, bottom right) was £450! I fell in love with the Quaker style rocker and to quote Terri, 'Take a photo and get it made somewhere else for a quarter of the price.'

But it is all good fun and you certainly see some interesting things. We let Helen and Maddie off to explore on their own with firm instructions to touch nothing unless they were prepared to sell a kidney to pay for it. Emily joined Terri and I to peruse fabrics and haberdashery.


Terri and I did walk away with a wee purple Liberty bag each, though you might be disappointed to see what we bought. I am not sure that bakers twine is what one expects to depart Liberty with.


For me a visit to Liberty fills me with awe because I love the actual building so much. I could walk around gazing at the architectural details all day and ignore just about everything that is available for purchase.


The day was so wonderful because I got to spend time with Terri. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting her then you will fully understand what I mean by that. She is one of the best.


Susan

33 comments:

  1. Looks like so much fun! I know what the pic and mx at the cinema does to your bank account (never babysitting there again!) so I can only imagine how M&M heaven would be o.O My mum and I have played that game in Liberty, eye-watering isn't it?! Glad you all had so much fun anyway :o)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fantastic day (bugger the rain!), way better than shopping for Cub camp gear!
    Love that Rhonda thought Liberty was Hogwarts!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like it was a lovely day, despite the rain and the pricey sweets! (I can echo Katy's comment about them at the cinema! I also learnt the hard way! I have only been to Liberty's once but was also enthralled by the architectural detail-it's like another world! Wish I'd bought something so I could have one of their pretty purple bags!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a lovely day out! I used to work very close to Liberty and loved to have a wander around every now and then - haven't been for years now though! Love the bakers twine too!
    R x

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love Libertys - it has been a while since I've been in London but hope to get there soon. Lovely photos! So get what you mean about the M&M shop - we last visited a store like that in Orlando - crazy prices.

    ReplyDelete
  6. First off, gorgeous embroidery - mega talented stitcher there.

    We visited the m&m shop in Leicester square last week. Visually stunning in very different way from liberty! Hubby is still a wee bit traumatised by the m&m place, while jnr filled his camera with pics of the large m&m statues and the gallery paintings. Sensible son didn't try to buy anything more than a pack of playing cards!

    Had my first visit to liberty too, but sadly no purple bag for me. Generally speaking liking the item and liking the price tag seemed to be inversely proportionate for me ( loved the item, hated the price or loved the price, hated the item). But a fabulous building to just enjoy being in!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a lovely day! I think I have to take the older ones and just go for a day to London! I am sure they will love to go with me just not passing Hamleys!!! I need to get in there and the M&M shop as well

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great day had by all !! love Liberty we have in mind for a trip to London Before Christmas :))now we are nearer though not as near as you ,i thought you had done the hoop it is beautiful well done Helen !!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful day! Liberty looks like an incredible store - all that beautiful carved wood. Helen did a great job on her hoop - what a creative young lady she is.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I see what you mean about architecture of the building, it's amazing! So many incredible design ideas :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is a proper girlie day out. I hope that you chatted non-stop and had fun! Di x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sounds like a perfect day - I love the architecture in Libertys too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. When you find someone to make a copy of the rocking chair will you let me know?! Looks like a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
  14. So glad youse all had a good day, roll on May!!! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. Looks like a perfect day and your daughters embroidery is amazing! I've only ever been to an M&M store once and they just looked so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  16. So lovely to see that smiling Chinese face again! Looks like you all had a brill day! I'm jealous! Jxo

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks like a fab day out. You know I've never EVER been to Liberty's in London.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Looks and sounds like such a lovely day x

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a great day out. Too late with the M&M advice though. Got stung badly in New York with Jack a couple of years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sounds like you had a fabulous day. Libertys is an amazing shop, we are so lucky to gave all these old buildings

    ReplyDelete
  21. So many years since I was in the Liberty shop, it is very special. Glad you had a good day.

    ReplyDelete
  22. It is hard to decide between what is more exciting - the M&M's or the Liberty shop:)

    ReplyDelete
  23. It sounds like a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a fantastic day. I hope you are up to repeating it in July!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a wonderful day. I agree with the architecture. It's lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  26. So great to read you've had such a nice day. I love the photos, too.
    I can hardly believe that I visited Liberty 17 years ago. I wasn't interested in fabric then and I can't remember if I even saw it, but the building was stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Looks like all the elements of a great day out were included and still jealous of your lunch!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love Liberty's too. So pleased you had such a fabby day. Your photo's brought back lovely memories for me too.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Full on Chinese! Thanks for making a perfect end to a wonderful holiday! Your girly whirly's are fabadecicious, hope your trip home was quick! :-) xxx

    ReplyDelete
  30. Love, love, love Liberty's. it is always a thrill to enter the doors and just bask in all the beauty. I bought a tiny hand sewing kit their many years ago that I still treasure.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Glad it turned out well - love Liberty's - probably my favourite shop for window shopping!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Sounds like a great day. I think I'm the only Aussie left to not have been to London, well there are a few of us I spose, but this is a shop I shall check out when I do get there one day!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. I read them all and I love them all. I do my utmost to reply to comments as often as possible. If you comment and never receive a reply from me there is the possibility that you are a no-reply commenter.