Sewing: London calling...

Most of the craft blogs I follow are from the UK - it's only natural then, that whenever I go to London (Eurostar is such a great invention - 2 hours from Brussels!), I will seek out any of the addresses I've found mentioned.

This time around, it was Tilly and Karen who mentioned Walthamstow and Berwick Street, and I was happy to oblige.  Walthamstow is in East London, an area heavily under development.  Which is great from an economic/social point, but not so great from the point of trying to walk around in search of a craft heaven!

my mini-loot from the W. Morris Gallery:
a bookmark and a folding bag 

my maxi-loot: all the trimmings and more!

With a little detour (in Walthamstow there is also a great little museum on William Morris, one of the masters of the Arts & Crafts movement), it was time.  I found High street, and gathered all my courage to zig-zag across the various construction sites there.  I soon found very interesting shops with fabrics and I got excited.  Alas, it was not to be - the prices were normal prices (i.e. like the ones I can find in Belgium), which was not what I was there for - I wanted the 1 and 2 pound-a-metre fabrics!  (I have a slight suspicion that I really looked like a tourist, and that people were not willing to offer me the same prices as to Londoners, but that's ok ...)

What I did find, however, was a tiny little shop with all the trimmings!  Now, that was a great discovery and I'm not ashamed to say I bought half the store (ok, I'm exaggerating a little).  Seriously, all the bindings, the threads, the needles, the zippers -- anything that has to do with sewing was there, and it was at 1/4 of the price here in Brussels.  How could I resist?

my medium-loot from the Cloth House:  rollends

The next day it was Soho day, with a visit to Berwick Street and then on to Liberty.  The Cloth House is a very nice establishment, that carries mid- to high-range fabrics (again, vs. the prices here) but I really liked the ambience that I found there - they even have vintage French buttons (how cute is that!).  I did not leave empty-handed:  I found these two rollends at a bargain!

All in all, a great way to discover yet another facet of London.  Next time, I'll continue with my Goldhawk road adventures...