Liberty, Purl, Soho

No, not the Statue of Liberty. Liberty of London fabrics. I've seen several bloggers talking about these fabrics, but at $34/yard, I wanted to touch and feel them before making any online purchases. We wandered the streets of Soho and just when I called it quits trying to find The Purl Bee, I looked across the street and saw the big P on the front door of their shop.

What a lovely shop, lots of choices, staff was very friendly and helpful and it was buzzing with activity. Quilters, knitters, crafters, all coming together in one place. I think I would be a regular there if I lived in Manhattan.

Here was my big purchase, enough to make a square scarf and contrast binding. I'm almost finished the hand sewing.
As for living in Manhattan, well, I'm not so sure. I put a lot of miles on my feet, but here are some of my favorite shots while walking around Soho.

Make sure you watch your clock when you park here! As usual, you can click all my photos for a larger view.

Fire escapes which I'm sure become balconies in the hot weather.

OK, we walked into this clothing store and they had 900, yes, 900 sewing machines.  I don't think I looked at one piece of clothing while my girlfriend shopped.

You know I was looking at this,

and this,

and this!

Of course I can't leave without another Red & White post.  The quilting on this one was marvelous.  The maker used dark thread in some parts, she used knots as part of her design on the top of the quilt. 

Here is more detail of the quilting.

A beautiful appliqued piece.

Even the fashion stores got in on the Red & White love! The pattern on the hand bag would make a great block.

There are so many places showing the Red & White show, so if you can't get enough of it, check out Pat Sloan's Red & White blog, Liz over at Quilterie has a list on her sidebar of blogs with Red & White, or, for a photo extravaganza, go here to the Folk Art Museums Flickr site where 100's have posted 1000's of photos.
I ventured out to Fabric-Etc Saturday afternoon and got a yard of creamy white to work with the yard of Rich Red. I liked the look of the naturals rather than stark white. Now I'm ready to start playing with ideas for a two color quilt!
Hope you got to stitch this weekend.
Sharon