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Wednesday, August 06, 2014

A Wee Bit of Liberty Love!

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How do you get to Liberty?

Turn on this street and just keep going, past crowds and hoards of people out enjoying the beauty of a gorgeously glorious and sunny August Sunday afternoon.

You can’t miss it…it’s the Tudor style building that you can see with the classic Georgian building on the right, next to the modern glass building on the left.


Remain control of your decorum.  Do not jump up and down and run as fast as you can like a child let loose in front of a toy star with FREE signs in the windows.

Walk in a very grown up and proper manner to the front door.  Try to blend in with the locals and not look like the screaming idiot tourist you feel you are on the inside.

This is LIBERTY OF LONDON!  You know the place you’ve heard --- let’s see what the fuss is all about!

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Wow.

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Uhhuh.

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Check out the chimneys..each with a different pattern!

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Flower stalls at the front entrance.

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Oh so BRITISH!

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Are you ready to cross the threshold??

Fabrics are up on the 3rd Level…which is really the FOURTH floor as we would consider it in the USA….we would call the ground floor the first floor –but in actuality, ground floor is ZERO, the next one up is 1st, next one 2nd and so forth.

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Third Floor is the 4th floor?  And we are taking STAIRS!

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But first check the floor…this was in the cosmetics area I believe.  SWEET!

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Posters!  With Liberty prints!  YUMMY!

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Found it!

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Sigh….

Tana Lawns are very fine-handed cotton and many find them too fine, too sheer, too silky for patchwork.  I think it will work just fine if you are sewing similar weights of fabric together – the quilting should stabilize everything, and maybe something that costs 22 pounds per meter  ((About $40 per yard)) will not be used for full bed sized quilts that will be slept under by children or people that would use them hard, or be slept on by pets, etc.

I LOVE the prints.  However, I didn’t buy any for use in patchwork.  I’m saving my money for the Birmingham Festival of Quilts coming up this weekend.

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But aren’t they gorgeous?!

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I can imagine a very flowy summer dress made out of this fabric…light as a feather.

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Flowers and zoo animals!  LOVE IT!

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Paisleys for petting!

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Check the prices, upper right.

The fabric is about 54” wide.  But it’s 22 pounds per meter.  SIGH.

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LOVE!

There are other things you can buy that are MADE with the Liberty Tana Lawns that might be a bit more affordable on the budget and still give you that piece of Liberty in your pocket and a spring in your step:

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Pick a pair of pears!

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Little boxes and accessories with Liberty prints.

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Cute mouse pin cushion!

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Needle book with scissors!

Now THIS was right in my budget, about 7 pounds, or somewhere near $12.00.  And it is something I will use.  So one of of these came home with me.

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Bye bye Liberty! It was GRAND!

We have had an awesome day in Bath.  There was a trip to the American Museum to view the Kaffe Fassett exhibit, and also to see the antique quilts on display in the collection.  SO worth it.

Tomorrow…we are off to Stratford upon Avon – and our Quilter’s tour of England continues!


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19 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:46 PM EDT

    Do they keep Liberty smelling salts under the counter to revive swooning tourists?!

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  2. I am so lucky! One of my friends brought me back a scissor holder/sewing kit similar to what you treated yourself to. I have been to London several times and have not yet been there. I will have to correct this the next time I go.

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  3. Okay. I'll take one....of EVERYTHING! Even if it's a quarter yard,...er, meter....and one of those cute mice.

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  4. I love to use Liberty for English smocked dresses for the granddaughters. Drool, drool....

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  5. .... and I can only drool and drool and drool .............

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  6. I love the feel of that very fine fabric and would love to have a few dresses and blouses made from the gorgeous prints!

    Happy traveling

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  7. Lovely photos of a lovely place! I got in trouble for snapping a picture there ... did you get special permission? Or have they relaxed a bit?

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  8. Ahh, Lawn fabrics so delicate, so feminine! I've a summer lap quilt made from them. It has held up beautifully through the wash and use. The benefit I really love is they hold their color and never fade. The fabrics hold up just as well or better than the cottons we usually use for quilting. It's my favorite quilt.

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  9. I bought some wool from Liberty many years ago while stationed in the UK and make the most wonderful pair of slacks. I don't normally do wool but these slack were so soft and fun to wear

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  10. Shukat fabrics in South Kensington (short walk from V&A) is well known for it's discounted liberty fabrics (around £15 per metre)

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  11. Fabrics Galore at the Festival will have some Liberty prints at about £14 per metre. It's where I stock up when I want them

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  12. I hope you got a Liberty carrier bag to take home with you! I think they're a Liberty must have! Enjoy your trip to the UK xx

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  13. Did you know they even sell Wellington boots printed with liberty prints !!! And yes I have a king sized log cabin quilt made from liberty lawn it is very hard wearing we used to be able to get remnants when they still had the mill in the north of England

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  14. Thanks for the memories! I visited Liberty about 8 years ago and it was indeed fabulous. I bought some of the fabric for my sister, a big clothes sewer. I think it's still in her stash though - maybe I'll inherit?! Have fun!

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  15. You will find a selection of Liberty fabrics at the quilt show, for less! Enjoy the trip...you are going to all the places near our ssecond home in England!

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  16. Remember that blue and yellow lone star you quilted for me? (It was for my Mom) That has Liberty on the back! Definitely a two sided quilt!

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  17. It seems like when I was there that it was cheaper to have a garment made using the fabric there than it was to buy the yardage and make it yourself. Now, how does that make sense? Alas, I too left the fabric on the bolt because of the price.

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  18. When I was at Liberty almost 20 years ago they had a bargain basement. I bought some Liberty cotton down there for a bed quilt. It was much more affordable in the basement.

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  19. Glad to see you enjoyed yourself so much in Liberty. Sadly just like the Liberty building and it's chimneys, even the Georgian building on the right is faux having been built in the early 1920's. It used to be the home of Dickens and Jones and as a child I can well remember half the ground floor being full of fabric, just as the entire second floor of Liberty. How times have changed!

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