Exploring London - Shaukat, Cloth House & John Lewis

So you're in London and wanting to fabric shop - there are three other stores I love to visit when I'm home that you may want to take a look at.

Liberty Lawn & Essex Linen FPP Feather

I love foundation paper piecing, but experience has taught me that not all foundation paper piecing patterns are equal, I'm very happy to shout from the rooftops, however, about all FPP patterns created by Juliet @The Tartankiwi.  

Juliet is an absolute Queen of FPP, her patterns are well thought out so there's the minimum number of pieces necessary for the sewist to piece the design as simply and easily as possible.  She is rigorous in her pattern testing too, testing and developing patterns thoroughly herself then she has several reliable testers trial the patterns and feedback before releasing them to the general public.

When Juliet sent me an image of her latest FPP Feather Border pattern I jumped at the chance to test it and here it is.

I've used Liberty Lawns for the feather and Robert Kaufman Yarn-Dyed Black Essex Linen for the background.  My favourite London shop for Liberty Lawns is Shaukat, they've more Liberty fabric than the Liberty store itself alongside other lawns and specialist fabrics - I've written a couple of posts about the fabric I've bought there here and here.  If you haven't been to the Liberty store then, of course, that should be top of your 'must do' list for any London trip - more pretty pics of the store here.

A couple of the lawns were left over from this reversible apron I made for my Mum a few years ago, you can read more about it here and though my Mum's looking very good for her years it's not actually her but my youngest, Flicky, modelling the apron ;D

Getting sidetracked now, all this talk of home and Liberty - let's have another look at that FPP Feather.

The FPP pattern includes two sizes of feather - 12" x 3" and 24" x 6" - I've made a 24" x 6" feather.  Juliet made the feather so she could border a block with four feathers, I've got other ideas, though.  Initially, I thought I'd extend the block to make a rectangular cushion but now I'm thinking a wall hanging so I'm going to sit on it for a while and see what ideas brew, you know the way they do.

You can see more tested versions of the FPP Feather Border here on Juliet's The Tartankiwi blog and her pattern's available now via her Etsy store and also her Payhip store.  

Disclaimer: I do not receive payment from Juliet @TheTartankiwi for testing her patterns, nor do I receive a commission on any patterns sold via her Etsy store or any other sales method.  This post is purely informational and of no direct benefit, monetary or otherwise, to me.

Please note the pattern does not include Juliet's Kea Alpine Parrot pattern as pictured but this FPP pattern is available separately.

Here's a look back at the patterns I've previously tested for Juliet.

Click any of the images below to go through to my post about testing that particular pattern:

  
 

Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :)

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The Thrill Of Coming Home

"The thrill of coming home has never changed."

Guy Pearce

For just over two weeks I've been in England and it has been wonderful to wake to this view from my hotel room window every morning.

As I pack to fly back to the States this evening, here's a handful of pics.

English Paper Piecing on the plane.

Knitting on the plane.

My hotel room view by night.

Two fat quarter bundles from John Lewis.

 Four lots of three metre lengths of Liberty fabric from Shaukat on Old Brompton Road (the best place to buy Liberty!).

Some more small pieces of Liberty from Shaukat.

Oh and I squeezed in a visit to this wonderful city too - doesn't everyone love Paris?

 

 

 

   

More Fabric

I've been buying more fabric on my travels around London, what do you think of these?

Picked these two cute fabrics up at the V&A Museum - created by Evergreen  they're 'reusable wrapping paper',100% cotton - Marching Soldiers and Routemaster London Bus and Taxi but I think they'll quilt beautifully.


Next stop Shaukat on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington.  Shaukat is the largest stockist of Liberty fabric in London (way, way more fabric than Liberty itself).  Spread over 2 floors this is fabric heaven.

Picked up 7 Liberty fabrics, a piece by Rose & Hubble and a 3 metre length of John Kaldor fabric.  The smaller pieces are all Art Nouveau designs and the larger piece is Art Deco.  My English house was built during the Art Deco period and I added some Art Nouveau features successfully (after all both periods were next to each other on the design timeline and I guess people would have been mixing both styles quite naturally anyway) so I think I can make these work together well.

I'm really keen to get home now - all this fabric and all I want to do is start sewing :)