Charlotte & I have known each other through Etsy and blogging for years but (apart from briefly bumping into each other at the station on the way home from last year's Festival of Quilts) we'd never actually met before. It was great to finally do so, and to have some excellent company for the day!
We met up at the Fashion & Textile Museum, for a visit to their (now ended) Artist Textiles exhibition.
It feels a bit mean to be saying this on my blog when the exhibition has now finished, but I'm really glad I got the chance to see this! I'd heard great things about it from other crafty bloggers and I wasn't disappointed. Lots of really interesting prints from different artists and eras, and a nice mix of fabric panels and items like dresses made with the fabric.
I also really enjoyed the display of Sarah Campbell's beautiful and colourful work, which showed the development of some of her commercial designs from sketches to finished product.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the exhibition programme at the Museum. More textile-focused exhibitions to visit? Yes please! Their next exhibition, Made in Mexico, opens on 6th June.
The Fashion & Textile Museum is on Bermondsey Street, which is rather smart with lots of lovely cafes to choose from for lunch. If you want you can pick up a free "fashion heritage" map in the Museum (or download it here) that you can follow for a self-guided tour of the area, exploring a bit of the history of its fashion & textile industries. We just went and had a nice lunch :)
It turns out to be a foodie paradise. So much amaaaazing looking food, both pepared and fresh, with lots of ingredients/varieties that I'd never even heard of.
Quite mouth-watering, and all in a wonderful setting!
Then we walked to the river...
... and strolled along the South Bank...
... to Tate Modern where we looked at some art (resisting the urge to climb on it, of course). We spotted some knitted pieces, and some paintings that would make great quilts. Then there was just time for a cuppa and some cake (mmm... cake...) before we headed home.
Textiles, art, food, tea, & lots of nattering - what more could you want from a day out?
Yes I agree, I too cannot manage to blog before exhibitions are over but well at least like you I share them with my readers and they can enjoy them somehow too!
ReplyDeleteI love your travelling blogposts!AriadnefromGreece!
it was indeed a nice day out! Thanks for meeting up :-)
ReplyDeleteAriadne - Better late than never, right? I think lots of the people who enjoy these posts on my blog enjoy them because they don't live anywhere near London, so they prob wouldn't be able to make it to the exhibitions anyway! :)
ReplyDeleteCharlotte - No probs, hope we can do it again sometime! x