I'm back from a very fun but busy weekend in London. Saturday kicked off with a trip to Walthamstow market for some fabric shopping. As soon as I got off the tube at Walthamstow Central who do I spot: Rachel from House of Pinheiro. Now I've never met her in person but recognised her immediately from her blog. For a moment I froze being torn between saying hi but seeming like a creepy stalker or ignoring her, which somehow seemed rude to me.
What's the etiquette when you bump into sewing bloggers on the street? Is there one? I mean if I saw, say, Kate Moss on the street it would be considered quite the opposite of rude to say hello.
After some split second deliberation I opted to say hi and introduced myself despite the risk of seeming like a stalker. Rachel did seem a little baffled and confused but graciously invited me to come along with her and her friends on their fabric shopping trip. I was glad to be around people who knew where they were going, because I had little idea of where to find all the secret fabric haunts. Luckily, everyone turned out to be really nice, which alleviated my feeling like a stalker.
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| Photosource: House of Pinheiro's Instagram |
I was glad I finally got to see what Walthamstow market is all about, but couldn't really find the kind of fabric I was after for some of my future planned projects. I left the market a couple of hours later having bought only a miserly piece of tailors chalk for 50p.
Next, I made my way to Chinelo's Free-hand Pattern Cutting class, picking up some food on the way, and almost arriving late, because I keep underestimating the vast expanse of the London transport system.
Our class was filled with students ranging from beginner to experienced sewers and Chinelo had her work cut out for her, running back and forth between students to lift the weight of confusion.
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| Chinelo & students at work |
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| Rachel being measured by a student, whose name I don't know |
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| Lovely lady, whose name I didn't catch, next to Rachel and Kerry |
I enjoyed learning an entirely different approach to pattern cutting, but feel I need to practice and understand this method a bit more before finding its benefits or drawbacks as compared to my method of cutting patterns. I definitely enjoyed the process of drawing directly on fabric without the need of making paper patterns first.
I was super exhausted after the class and spent the evening with a friend dosing off to The Big Lebowsky.
My second day in London started with a generous sleep in and some coffee before rushing off to the V&A to meet fellow blogger Inna for The Glamour of Italian Fashion exhibition.
The show featured some spectacular clothes and was very inspiring. Unfortunately, photographing was strictly prohibited so I can't show you any of the beauties we saw, but can only recommend that you go see the exhibition for yourself if you get a chance.
After the museum Inna & me had lunch & coffee together. Inna is a lovely person. I'm really happy I met her. It's so nice to speak to someone with shared interests. We have already agreed to meet again! However, we talked so much that we completely forgot to take any pictures of our meeting.
Tiredness caught up with me in the late afternoon and I said goodbye to Inna, made my way to the coach station and rested a while before boarding my bus back home.
Back home I feel really inspired to finish the Chinelo dress, for which there wasn't quite time enough in class. So back to my sewing machine it is.