Tag: Little Cotton Rabbits

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Swatch: Liberty of London

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Originally built in 1885 and opening to Regent Street, the store front was redeveloped using retired British naval ship timbers in the 1920s.

I have long drooled over the Liberty of London fabrics and clothing. It is harder to find the fabrics in the USA. J Crew carries some of the clothing. I have been to the fabric corner of Harrods numerous times to stroke and oogle the Liberty fabrics, the whole time not realizing that they have an entire department store near Oxford Circus!

I had just started the #5 Jane Austen walking tour (more on this in future blog), when I looked down Argyll Street and spied Liberty stores at the end of the street. I had to detour.

Starting with the stunning florist at the entrance, the entire place is a palace of beauty. My heart beat faster as I tried to take it all in. I quickly recalculated the day I planned. I was not going to rush through this store. I wanted to soak in every display, every lovely English item.

Liberty does not just carry their own brand. You can find Stella McCartney baby outfits in the children’s section and designer clothes throughout. I started in the stationary shop and looking at bags and scarves. Some of the prices were quite reasonable and some made me hyperventilate. I bought some notecards and decided I may as well sign up for the loyalty points program because I was headed to the third level where the fabric and yarn is displayed.

I thought I might be going to a yarn shop in Islington at the end of the day, so luckily I had tucked in a couple of patterns that I plan to knit for my expected grandson. I shed all my bags and jackets and prepared for a good long browse.

Trudy asked if I needed assistance. We had a wonderful time trying to sort it all out with different weights and US and UK measurements. She is a very experienced knitter and we shared back and forth. The wifi in the store is excellent so I was able to show her Little Cotton Rabbits (I could hardly believe she had not seen this UK treasure!). She showed me her knitting project. In the end I spent more than I expected and I could not be more pleased.

I looked through many more departments and I stopped in the cafe for tea and an English cheese tray. The lovely customer service department refunded my VAT. Yet, the highlight for me was shopping with the assistance of Trudy Healy-Potter. She is a textile designer and offers classes at Liberty.

She showed me how she spliced three patterns from the Rowan loves… pattern book to create the colorful sweater she has almost finished. Not only am I excited about the projects I will be knitting this summer in anticipation of Grandson #1, I am reenergized about the craft overall. Liberty is so clever to have Trudy on their team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SWATCH: Bunny and Elephant Riding the Mail

Bunny and Elephant jumped into a padded mail envelope and are flying off to the United Kingdom
Bunny and Elephant jumped into a padded mail envelope and are flying off to the United Kingdom to meet Lizzie and Christina.

My goals was to finish these two knitted animal dolls by UK Sarah’s visit. I downloaded the patterns from Little Cotton Rabbits. You can find the patterns at http://www.littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk. Julie Williams has a blog called Little Cotton Rabbits: knitting and living with an autistic son. She is the Beatrix Potter of the knitting world. I am in love with these patterns and I love the results. They are a little fiddly to knit, so I will probably only make them rarely.

I am working on two more dresses so they have a change of clothes. I grew attached to Bunny and Elephant so it was hard not to name them. I will leave this to Lizzie (Christina is a bit young to have a say.)

Check out Julie Williams’ beautiful blog. If you are a knitter and you want a moderately challenging project that is hugely rewarding (you will be delighted), then order one of the patterns and give it a go.