A lovely group of sewing bloggers asked me to join them in London for their second annual gathering. Last year they met in Paris, this year in London. And what a thrill to meet so many lovely, friendly, and talented women! We had such a good time together, I can’t believe it’s already been a month since our weekend adventure.
While we were in London, of course, we spent time shopping for fabric. Of all the places we went, my favorite was Cloth House, which featured a truly incredible collection of textiles: Japanese ikats, indigo, and sashiko, as well as spectacular linen, denim, and very diverse but tightly-edited collection of high-quality fabrics of all sorts. In the future I will make special trips to London specifically to shop here.
It was actually a bit overwhelming, and as one who is accustomed to shopping NYC’s fashion district I’m not easily overwhelmed. We also visited Liberty of London (of course), Shaukat, and a long list of other shops. Along the way we also managed a stop at the V&A Museum, a morning at Borough Market, and we had a memorable dinner at Arabica near Borough Market. I also appreciated having a chance to shop in an English bookstore now that I’ve been out of the U.S. for more than eight months. S has been devouring books on her Kindle, and I wanted to pick up a few books for her in paper for a change.
Here’s a list of my new sewing friends. Do you know any of them? If not, consider yourself introduced:
- Gioia of Dotta Sews from Italy
- Marta of Do Guincho from Portugal
- An of StraightGrain from Belgium
- Victoria of As It Seams from England
- Olu of Needle and Ted from England
- Laura of Titchy Threads from England
- Annika of Näh Connection from Germany
- Maartje of Huisje Boompje Boefjes from Holland
- Ines of La Folie Sewing Booth from Portugal
- Eva of By Eva Maria from Belgium
- Maria of My Cozy Co from England
- Trine of Groovybaby & Mama from Denmark
- Toya of Made by Toya from England
- Andreia of In a manner of Sewing from Portugal
Such a fun trip! A big thanks to all our sponsors, many of whom contributed patterns and fabric. I’m busy sewing as fast as I can!
