That London

I was not actually late for the 06:42 train early on Saturday morning, although I confess I did have to run to the station and consequently arrived all hot and out of breath and with just five minutes to spare. No surprises there then.

I was excited, oh I was soooo excited to be going on this trip. It's a very long time since I had company on a trip such as this one, as usually I am very happy to go shopping alone. I had wondered how it would be to have company on the journey and also once there. I could not imagine it, yet I was surprisingly  thrilled to have it. There's something about a shared trip that magnifies the whole experience, and my friend Lovely C turned out to be the perfect travel and shopping companion. For a start off, she was very organised, and packed her bag with chocolate and energy bars and bananas. She also made sure to remind me to bring crochet. And a map.

So our train journey down from North to South was a delightful few hours of crochet, nattering, coffee drinking and route-planning. It was kind of like our weekly Knit and Natter but on-the-move. So yes, we had it all worked out :: I had been given a marvelous ready-made plan by the lovely Hen, who coincidentally had made a very similar trip to That London recently. Her kind of shops are my kind of shops and if you hop across to her blog, you can read a remarkably similar London Tale over there. 

First stop for us was Liberty's :: straight up to the third floor for the yarn and haberdashery. I realised immediately from this very first shop that we would be Shopping with Intent. That the pace for the day would be Fast and Furious. Lovely C is a seriously pacey shopper :: she gathered reels of ribbon to purchase while I was still catching my breath from the three flights of stairs. But that was fine by me, I can Speed-Shop, oh yes indeedy.

Next stop, as recommended by Hen, was a shop inside a beautiful trendy arcade to the side of Carnaby Street. All The Fun of the Fair is a quirky little shop packed with yarn and vintage trims and all manner of hand made goodies. The knitted cakes and cacti were especially charming I thought.

As we were on our way out, we had to go past this cake shop :: the cupcakes in the window are what you would most certainly call Eye candy, and I couldn't resist taking a photograph to share with you....

After the delights of the arcade, we walked (very fast) back up Oxford Street :: desitnation Marylebone High Street. More specifically, VV rouleaux (ribbon heaven), Divertimenti (fantastic kitcheny shop with an amazing cafe at the back where we stopped to have a delicious lunch), Brora (cashmere), Emma Bridegwater (pottery and kichenalia) and finally the one and only Cath Kidston. Oh, it was such fun! So many beautiful things to stroke and ooh and ahh at! Shop after shop of inspirational and desirable gorgeousness! In and out we went, the pace was indeed well, yes Pacey!

At the top end of Marylebone High Street is a small tree lined square which often has an outdoor market taking place within. Last time I was there, it was a farmers market with produce jauntily set out under breezy striped awnings. This time it was a vintage inspired market with a banner telling us it was called the "Cabbages and Frocks" market. Lots of vintagey clothes and jewellery, and then joy of joys a stall selling these....

...aren't these simply THE most beautiful cupcakes you have ever ever seen? Oh, I was absolutely in love with these edible creations, which are the work of the marvelous Peggy.

They so reminded me of this...

It was late afternoon by now, but we reckoned we still had time to whizz across town to Islington to make a much dreamed-of visit to Loop.

This was my first visit to this well known yarn shop and it was pure joy. In every possible way. It's hard to describe, but this small shop, down a quiet side street, had such an amazing vibe, and was quite incredibly visually and creatively uplifting and inspiring. There was lots of yarn (naturally enough for a yarn shop), but amongst all the wooly goodness there were also lots of quirky and beautiful little displays of creative, hand made items. These included a number of exquisite creations made by Julie Arkell, who conducts workshops at the Loop shop. It was just wonderful :: from floor to ceiling, from front to back, wonderful. The owner of Loop is Susan Cropper, who's beautiful crochet book I have, and if you'd like to know more about this lovely lady, there's a very good interview with her here.

And so our lovely day was drawing to a close and it was time to head back to Kings Cross to await our train homewards.

Sat on the train, journeying North, and I buy a cup of tea from the refreshment trolley as it comes through our carriage. Tea to drink with this.....

.......my very own delicious, beautiful, charming Peggy cupcake. It was sweet torture eating those gorgeous sugar flowers. the cupcake was as delicious as it was pretty. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm and oh-so-good. Just like the day itself.

Lovely C and I chat about the day, about our various purchases, about what we had loved, about what had inspired us. We sit and quietly crochet, and we both find ourselves beginning to yawn. Sooo tired. But wasn't it such a good day? Yes, such a good day. I am longing for bed....

....and when I finally get there, with my head in the roses and my feet under the ripples, I am blissfully happy and so glad to be home. Such a good day, but so good to be home and into my bed.

So......wanna see my goodies?

I didn't buy a lot.

I was very restrained.

But what I did buy is scrumptious.

Yeah, really yummy.

You know, the usual Attic24 delights .

The things that make my own little world go round....

:: balls of yarn ::

:: woven trim ::

:: a turquoise kitchen spoon ::

:: and multi coloured teaspoons ::

:: cotton tea towels and the lastest CK catalogue ::

:: a candle holder and a pretty pouch ::

:: buttons (well ok, it's actually a sheet of buttony wrapping paper) ::

:: the time to sit and make 24 circle flowers ::

Oh yes, it was such a good day, and I thank you so much for sharing it with me.

xxxxxxxx

Comments

[Gina]

Hi, Lucy! I found your blog from a link posted on one of my crochet groups, & am enjoying it very much. I was sad that you think your blog may be "boring" to others, & I just had to tell you how much I'm enjoying reading about your favorite things (which also happen to be my favorite things)like crochet,cooking & family. I love the bright cheery colors you use in your crochet,seeing your pictures of England, hearing about what your daily life is like & comparing it to mine here in the state of Oregon,USA. I also like how you can hear a person's "accent" by the different words & terms they use. Thank you for the fun I've had looking through your little "window on the world". I hope you'll keep posting,cos I'd like to come back & visit! HUGZ, GINA

[gardenymph]

I'm so glad that you had such a wonderful trip filled with so much color and joy, and good company. I love a good day trip. :~)

[Sue]

Wow, it looks wonderful. Just as well you got in and out before all that snow! What is it about the yarn in the shops over there that it just looks so much more appealing than the yarn over here? The little stores are so beautiful!

[alexis]

oh hey! thanks for that!
Guess where I'm going tomorrow (grin)

Talking about yarn heaven have you ever been to the Handweaver's Studio? here's the link (http://www.geocities.com/athens/agora/9814/index.htm) the website is not much to commend it - but the shop is great! The staff are lovely - very helpful. OH and go on a weekday if you can - weekends its stuffed (takes the fun out a bit).

[miss sew n sew]

Hi Lucy
Looks like you had such a fun day I can't wait to go back to London for another shopping trip the shops are just so good and a love the hustle and bustle of the city that you get. It's good to know where these shops are thanks for sharing I'll note them down. Those cupcakes are gorgeous I've been making big cupcakes like that for my daughters party this friday as their having a cupcake decorating party and seeing those have really inspired me!
Sarahx

[Carina]

Looks like you had a fab time in London. Better than I did the other day, anyway! ;-)

And how funny that you bought the same spoon in Divertimenti that I did, only I bought it in orange! :-)

[Julie]

those cupcakes are amazing, mini works of art.

Sounds like you had a fabulous fun filled day, but I bet you were shattered on Sunday! Thanks for taking us blog readers along for the trip and for sharing all your wonderful purchases. x

[Mairzie]

Lucy, what fun! I quite enjoyed reading about this fabulous day. May I kindly ask if it is possible for you to share the circle flowers crochet pattern? They are lovely and I can think of many ways to use them. Thank you for this beautiful blog.

[Cele]

What a lovely trip. Brilliant photos. Thanks for sharing them. Those cup cakes are amazing.

[Janette]

hi, thanks for coming over the pennines to my blog. I did not realise you were from skipton, I figured it must be somewhere near there because the places you write about are familiar to me. How lucky you are to live there it is a lovely town. Is your friends cafe the wild oats cafe?? My friend who always goes in there when she is in skipton and swears that the food and the atmosphere is fab and right up my street. Me and Neil have a week off in March when Jamie is away on a school trip so we are determined to get there this time. (hope the wild oats is your friends cafe as this will be a bit embarrasing now if it isn't...)
xx

[Aggie]

Hello!

I just discovered your blog! It's amazing, lovely, beautiful and I already love what you write about and how you do it!

So now you're blog is a favourite of mine. Already!

I don't have a blog of my own. Yet.

Have a good time,
Aggie,
Sweden

[A Thrifty Mrs]

Looks like you had a wonderful time in the big smoke.

[kathy]

Hi Lucy, what a fabulous day you had, thank you sooo much for sharing it. The cakes are utterly gorgeous and I pressed on the link left by one of your comments (above) and wow, the wedding cake is utterly beautiful. There are so many clever people out there. My crochet is going fab!! I am making a hexagonal cushion but it may turn in to a blanket depending on time!! Have you had snow? We had lots yesterday (finally!) and the school was closed but nothing today, it is as if we dreamt it! I am off to my knitting course today, love it, although I adore crochet more, it just seems much more pretty. Kathy

[Nathalie]

Next on my to do list: visit London Attic24-style. Great blog entry again.

It's so much fun reading your stories.
Started the hexagon blanket (6 hexagons done already) and my babette blanket.
Have a look at my pics on flickr soon.

Thanks for charing

Nathalie

[michelle]

what a fantastic day! i must plan a trip to loop......looks devine.

[Bertie Meadows]

Oh what a lovely day you had. Can I come next time ?
Bertie x

[carole]

What a fabulous re-run of the whole day! still on a buzz - trying to persuade sarah to open a 'loop of the north'!hope your're havin' fun in all this snow! love C x

[flutterbypatch]

Phew! I need a coffee and a sit down after reading that. Yorkshire to London and back in 5 minutes with all that eye candy has worn me out completely. What a day! I feel as if I was with you every step of the way. Your head must still be spinning Lucy, such a pity all those fab places are so far away. Bet you're already planning the next trip! Eli

[Rachel]

What a fantastic day out.Very impressed that you managed all those gorgeous shops.Lovely goodies!The cupcakes look divine.I must go to the Loop shop,it's on my To Do list,which is very long!
Rachel x

[alisonb2]

Phew!! Beautiful colours, beautiful cup cakes, and a beautiful blog! Thanks for sharing your inspiring trip.

[Debbie]

Thank you for sharing your day with us. Your photographs are always such a joy to look at, so much wonderful colour.
I can't wait to see what all those lovely crocheted flower circles are for.
Debbie x

[emilia]

Il tuo blog èmeraviglioso e tu sei bravissim davvero !!!
Ti seguo con interesse, ti ho messa tra i miei preferiti.
Ti auguro una buonissima giornata :)

[Pascale]

Hello Lucy,
A small message from France.
I love your fabulous blog. It's realy a great pleasure to read you.
Have a nice day.

Pascale

[Sol]

I love your colourful blog and your nice and colourful crochted blankets. You have inspired me to make yet another one... have a nice and colourful day!

[Josie-Mary]

What a lovely day, I hoping for a shopping trip in March.. maybe staying over & seeing 'Oliver'. Need a London fix! :)