Thursday, September 29, 2011

Day 11: London

Wow! I can't believe I got so behind in my posting! Right now I am on a train, heading back up to Heather's after spending a couple of wonderful days in Bath. So now I am rewinding the clock back to Saturday...












I started off the day on Saturday with a trip to the British Museum. Although I saw quite a bit of it (Rosetta Stone, Mummies, Ancient Cyprus, Roman Empire, early North America) I still left quite a bit to discover on my next trip. The museum reminded me of the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, with lots of Egyptian artifacts and many other very old things. I felt like there were design inspiration everywhere I looked...and I was grateful that I was able to take photos in most areas. As with most such places, I seemed to "max out" after a few hours and my brain needed to have a bit of a rest.

I have admired Loop yarn shop in Islington from afar for quite some time....and naturally it was near the top of my list of things to do.


What I really wasn't expecting was to feel so overwhelmed that I was unable to choose any yarn. The problem was that everything was so nice--I just couldn't make up my mind. Plus, I was suddenly struck my an inability to remember all of the different things I want to knit in the near future. I even left the store and walked around for a bit, but when I came back, I wasn't really any better off. I finally settled on a couple of new (to me) magazines and some beautiful buttons....so I will have a little momento from my trip, even sans yarn.

I must be a glutton for punishment, because when I left Loop, I went to Liberty. Talk about being surrounded by lovely! Lucky for me, they had bundles of coordinating pieces of Tana Lawn available -- not a fat quarters, but just random widths of 10-12 different fabrics, making up about 2m. Since the minimum cut off of the bolts is 1/2 metre, the bundles were quite appealing for the sheer variety factor. The challenge was in choosing my bundles (no two the same) and a bit of coordinating fabric.

The Tana Lawn is so luxurious feeling. No doubt about it, it was a big splurge. But I have no regrets. Plus it was much cheaper to buy here than at home, and a more complete selection of prints and colours. (Wow...it sure sounds like I'm justifying... :-) ). I know that when I get quilt made, it will be a lasting, lifetime momento of my trip.

I did a bit more window shopping around the Oxford Circus area, but started to feel a little claustrophobic. Not only were there a lot of people milling about (just like most places in London), but it was also a little disappointing to see do many familiar shops. I guess the big US shops have invaded more than just Yorkdale!