In my last post I mentioned a recent intercontinental trip — Mr. Homemaker and I took a little vacation to Great Britain last month! Â We had known for a while that we wanted to go because one of my friends from medical school is spending a year there doing a fellowship. Â We decided that planning a trip to visit them in Scotland would be a good excuse for us to make our first trip to Europe together. Â We took an overnight flight into Glasgow then caught the train to meet our friends at their flat in Edinburgh. Â While the weather was a bit chillier there than it is here, that didn’t stop us from tromping all over the place.
Once we explored Edinburgh, we spent a night at Dalhousie Castle then took the train into the Cotswolds. Â While there we visited Bath, which I thought was a lovely place and can’t wait to go back. Â Finally, we took the train into London and spent three nights before heading back to reality and (warmer temperatures!). Â In London, we booked a room at the High Road House in a residential neighborhood called Chiswick. Â According to their website, their hotel chain is a members club for people in the film industry but when rooms aren’t filled, they reserve them to commoners like us. Â While I think the London hotel is low-key compared to some of their other properties (like Miami), I did spot one celebrity that I recognized while we stayed there (Hugh Dancy).
The hotel was immensely cute and their food and bar service were excellent, not to mention the fact that the bathroom was filled with full-size amenities — we had four different body washes to choose from each morning! To top it all off, the room was reasonably priced and it was a 3 minute walk to the tube.
While I am not a huge museum-buff, I did stop by the Victoria and Albert to view the Ballgowns exhibit while we were in London, and we visited the Tower and saw several of the other big sites.
Now, of course you know I squeezed in a little shopping while we were there. Â I did have to be careful, though, because we did carry-on only for this trip (hard to believe if you know me!).
I knew I wanted to go to Liberty and I was open to any other cute sewing souvenirs I came across. Â First up, while in Bath, I visited a cute little shop called The Makery, where you can actually shop online. Â It was a darling, tiny little store that sold unique trimmings and fabric and also offered classes (of course, I didn’t have time for one of these). Â While there, I picked up two lengths of patterned bias binding (blue floral and red and white dot) and a Molly Makes magazine with a free envelope of assorted buttons. Â Next up, we stopped in Salisbury to visit Stonehenge and while there I passed a sewing machine store that also sold some notions, so I picked up the white buttons and a cupcake pin cushion. Â Finally, in London I knew I had to visit Liberty and that’s what I had been saving all my pennies for.
While there, I met Chow, a very helpful and funny salesman who cut my selections of cotton lawn and cotton jersey.  I also found two pieces from the remnant table, one 2.5 yard piece in a brown, pink, and mustard shoe pattern and another small length of floral silk destined to become a scarf.  Yes, Liberty fabrics are a splurge, but how often does a girl get to visit the brick and mortar store in person?  Not to mention all the restraint I had exercised when packing my carry-on suitcase so I could fit a few cuts of fabric in it for the ride home 🙂
I will leave you with a few more photos from our trip; you can check out my Flickr stream if you want to see more (although I did not upload the entire 500+ photos).  Thanks for looking!  More cooking and sewing to come, so stay tuned 🙂
Susie Homemaker, MD 
Love, love, love your purchases! I can’t wait to see them all made up! Love e boutique hotel…must remember for my next trip across the pond. And my, oh my… Mr. Homemaker is a hottie!
Thanks! Glad I got to see you this weekend, even if just for a minute. We have to get together and sew soon!!
Yay, looks like you had a great time! Love the fabrics.
Thank you! It was a blast. Hope to see you soon!!!
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looks like you had a great time! 😀 Loving all the pics! The fabrics you picked up are gorgeous! hope you share your makes soon! 😀
Thanks, Kim. We did have a wonderful time. I haven’t decided what to do with the fabrics yet, although I think the jersey will become a wrap dress a la DVF. I have several finished projects yet to be blogged so I hope to get to those soon. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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Love the Cupcake pin cushion.! So cute. Sounds like a fun whirlwind trip, and fabric shopping, too!! London is on my list, so thanks for the hotel tip. Barb
Hi, Barb! You should definitely visit — I can’t wait to go back and spend more time. I find myself daydreaming about it 🙂
Have you sewn up any of your NYC fabrics yet? I am cutting into my first one this week…
Nice pics…Chow also helped me when I went to London in April and hubby secretly took a photo of us. I haven’t bought myself to cut into my Liberty fabric as yet…I fear it may be awhile.
Wasn’t he a funny little guy? And full of helpful tips! I would love to see the fabric you picked. I know how you feel about cutting into it — I may just hoard it for a while!! 🙂
So jealous! Two trips with fabric now – lucky woman!
You will definitely have to go with us for the next NYC trip! Nice talking to you yesterday 🙂