Liberty!

Liberty of London

If you are a knitter or seamstress/tailor and you visit the city of London, you really need to pop around to Liberty and walk up to the third floor and see the Rowan yarns and Liberty cottons.

Liberty is a department store kind of place. There are men's, women's and children's departments. And there's housewares and ARTS AND CRAFTS.

Liberty is just off Regent Street and is located in a magnificent old building with a timbered facade. The chandelier, hanging down several stories, glittering and shining, is enough of a reason to go there.

I have heard of Liberty cloth and even had a couple of pieces of yardage that someone gave to me years ago, back in the 80s, and I made a dress for Kiti from it, and if I remember correctly, a skirt for myself. The bolts of cotton prints are soft to the touch and they definitely fit the description of eye candy. The rows and rows of cloth line the perimeter of the chandelier gallery.

But that's not all, oh no, that's not all. Tucked around the edges of the third floor along one side of the store there is a fully stocked yarn department. Rowan yarns. Sock yarns. Cotton, cotton and silk, wool. Books. Buttons. And so much more.

I gazed, looked away, ran my fingers over the skeins and balls of fiber goodness. But I actually walked out of the store without buying anything. Through the days we toured towers and cathedrals, I kept thinking, "I went to Liberty and didn't buy anything!" I wasn't sure if I was sorry or proud of my resolve to use up my yarn stash in 2008. In the end, on the last day of our time in London, I told the others, "I want to go back to Liberty--just to look!"
The purple bag you see below? Honestly, there is no yarn in it.

I finally chose two knitting books.

Wasn't I good? I'm not sorry I didn't buy some yarn. I do have so much and I can get yarn here in California. But I am glad I bought the Rowan Classic Garden Book Two. I will have hours and hours of enjoyment from the books, reading and planning, even before I pick up my needles and begin to knit.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Part II

St. Paul's Cathedral's dome is an easy to see landmark in London. As we crossed Millenium Bridge from South Bank to North Bank, the dome was vividly outlined against the blue sky.

We approached St. Paul's from the side.

As we moved around to the front of the cathedral, I walked backwards as far as I could without actually moving in to the street so I could get all of the front facade in to a photo.

Then we turned left and walked clockwise around the building.

The side courtyard area which faces Pater Noster Square is used for official ceremonies. We happened to walk past as a South Korean dignitary was being welcomed by some people clad in military uniforms.

On the last Sunday we were in London we attended Evensong Service at St. Paul's. We entered the cathedral by way of the front doors above and and were requested to exit by the side door shown in the photo below.

We continued around toward the rear of the building and entered the back garden area through a gate. To our left we saw the statue of John Wesley, founder of Methodism.

The rose gardens are located at the very back of the cathedral. The plaque says that the medieval chapter house and cloister were destroyed by the Great London Fire of 1666 and that the gardens are laid out in the footprints of those buildings.

Then we walked around to the other side of the cathedral to the fountains and completed the circle.

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul's
The little old bird woman comes.

In her own special way to the people she calls,
"Come, buy my bags full of crumbs.
Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do.
Their young ones are hungry,
Their nests are so bare;
All it takes is tuppence from you.

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag."
Feed the birds," that's what she cries,
While overhead, her birds fill the skies.

All around the cathedral the saints and apostles
Look down as she sells her wares.

Although you can't see it, you know they are smiling
Each time someone shows that he cares.

Though her words are simple and few,
Listen, listen, she's calling to you:

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag."

Or not.

Believe it or not, I am not obsessed with Mary Poppins. It's just that there are so very many references in the movie to landmarks in London. When I saw the chimney pots and the roof tops and St. Paul's Cathedral Square swirling with pigeons, I couldn't help thinking of the songs and images from the movie.

Next post: The Rose Garden at St. Paul's. No birds.

Fourth of July

All four of us tourists, The Professor, Chaplain Dan, The Princess and I, love history. In fact, we're all kinda geeky about learning as much as we can about the past.

One of the first evenings we were in London, we were walking along a street on our way to Hard Rock Cafe London and suddenly The Guys, who were walking ahead of us Ladies, stopped, turned, and stared.

They pointed to these plaques.

The top plaque is easier to read in my photos. The lower plaque makes similar statements from the British perspective.

I find it ironic that today, July 4th, we are celebrating our independence from a country that has been for the past two hundred years (since the close of the War of 1812, in 1814, just before the Battle of New Orleans) our closest ally in war and friend in peace. May both these countries continue to stand and fight for freedom from tyranny and justice for the oppressed.

I send a special thanks to my family members who have fought in war times--my father, my father-in-law, The Professor, our uncles, our son and son-in-law and their many friends--THANK YOU!

The Rooftops of London-

Coo! What a sight!

There and Back Again

We are home from our wonderful England adventure. Our main purpose in going to London was to spend time with these two very special people--our Chaplain Dan and his wonderful wife. We flew 'over the pond' with HER and met HIM in London and spent two wonderful weeks exploring a beautiful country and just enjoying THEIR company.

We spent the first week reveling in the hospitality of Barbara and her husband Alan. Meeting a blogging buddy from half way around the world was a dream come true for me. Barbara and Alan showed us Essex, a part of England that we were unfamiliar with but learned to appreciate when seen through their eyes. Thanks so much!

We also reconnected with an old friend from Papua who now lives near London and enjoyed seeing Kent through HER eyes.

I am still working my way through waaaay too many photos of gardens and buildings and historic sites and thinking about how to best show you England through MY eyes.

What do you want to see first?

Into Our Second Week

Barbara has posted more photos of our wonderful time visiting her and her husband in Essex. Scroll down to my previous post and click on the link to see us at her home. We loved being there and seeing Essex through her eyes. Yes, Essex is a beautiful place!

We are now staying with a long time friend (but non blogger) from Papua days. We are whizzing around London on the tube, seeing so many places. Today we visited Chelsea Physic Garden. Oh! Wait until you see the photos of this amazing garden that was first created in 1686!

Tomorrow Chaplain Dan, The Princess, The Professor, our friend and I are going to Canterbury, another of the places we decided we wanted to revisit after our England trip in 2004. Then, we will be two days in Oxford, Sunday with our friend, then Monday--to Heathrow.

Come back next week for photos!

Where We Are

Barbara at Ramblings From An English Gardens knows where I am! Go to her blog and see a photo!

I am taking lots and lots of photos but I can't upload them from my camera until I get back to my own computer. In the meantime, Barbara will post a few photos.

Out The Door

I'm Walking Out The Door,

With You On My Mind...

I'm walking out with a suitcase and camera.

Be back in a couple of weeks.

I hope to post once or twice while I'm away, but I won't have photos until I get back to Willow's Cottage at the end of the month.

I'll miss you all.

Where are we going? Here's a little hint.

Project Blue. Take Seven

Project Blue. Take Seven.

Butterflies and hearts.

See more BLUE at AnnaCarsonPhotography.

Project Blue. Take Six

Project Blue. Take Six.

Bougainvillea against a BLUE sky.

Camarillo, California

2 June 2008

I pass this magnificient bougainvillea almost every day on my walk. When it is framed by the blue sky, the scarlet glows.

See more Project Blue at AnnaCarsonPhotography.

Project Blue. Take Five

Project Blue. Take Five.

Marine Blues.

Ventura Harbor, Ventura, California.

AnnaCarsonPhotography has more Project Blue for you!

Project Blue. Take Four

I love blue!

The beads I choose to make jewelry are often blue.

My silk knitting needle case is blue.

The blue bird of happiness definitely lives at my house!

See Project Blue at Anna Carson Photography.

Project Blue. Take Three

As I said yesterday, there is no shortage of blue objects to photograph here. This little bowl came from Kazakhstan, a gift from friends who live there. It sits on a shelf sharing its vibrant blues and greens with us as we pass through the living room.

People have asked about the blue yarn. It is going to be a cardigan, and it's nearly finished.

People also asked about the white background for the turquoise vases (which were gifts two years ago from MamaMia and one of her high school friends because they found them in an antique mall in Oregon and, knowing how much I love blue, they just had to get them for me). I have to confess that the white background is the result of dumb, blind luck. I overexposed the shot because my flash was on, as were six overhead bulbs, and next to the vases but not in the photo, was a mirror, and so even more light was reflected onto the painted background. I learned something about light with that shot.

For more Project Blue photos, go to Anna Carson Photography.

Project Blue. Take Two

There is blue everywhere in Willow's Cottage! Every shade and hue from turquoise to navy, to cobalt. My thought today was 'so much blue, so little time!'

For more photos of Project Blue, visit Anna Carson Photography.

Project Blue. Take One

Project Blue. Take One.

New Blue Yarn

I love this project since blue is my favorite color! Anna Carson Photography has links to all the other people participating.