A day out of the craft den ~ Liberty in Fashion....

Last week I had a day out of the craft den to catch up with Laura from Bugs and Fishes to see the Liberty in Fashion exhibit at the Fashion and Textile Museum.

It was so interesting to see the prints and styles over the decades and I was pleased I could take pictures to show you....

The garments were beautifully displayed in front of impressive prints and artwork.

I loved these peacock feathers they used for this display, they were real and looked stunning.

I was drawn to the bold prints and colours.

I would so wear this dress!

It was lovely to see the sketches and mood boards used by Liberty....

There is also a display on  "The Art of  Pattern" showing the Liberty textile collections by Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell 

This beautiful, old Singer was in the shop, look how prettily it is displayed!

The exhibit is on until th 28th February 2016 so there is still time to see it.  I also recommend the cafe, the choice of cakes are amazing (I may have had one for breakfast!).

Afterwards we jumped on the tube to the V&A's Childhood Museum in Bethnal Green which I have never been to.  First stop was of course the cafe, which has a fizzi~jayne tick of approval!

It was a lot of fun to wander around and look at all the old toys, especially the ones I played with during my childhood, it's strange to think they are in a museum.  I'm not that old, the museum celebrates everything to do with childhood from across the decades and include items as recent as Harry Potter.  Everything was behind glass so it was hard to get great photos but who remembers these craft kits....

I don't think the one I had was called Nancy but I definitely had a French knitting spool like this

and check out these children's sewing machines....

The Museum of Childhood is free and it is well worth a visit.  They currently have an exhibition about Britain's Child Migrants which was really interesting but very moving and we needed some cheering up after that so we went back to the cafe for some cake (yes it was my second serving of cake of the day but who's counting!).

They have an exhibition of Bagpuss and the Clangers from 19th March 2016, so I hope to be able to go back to see that.

fizzi~jayne x

Psst... Before I go, I am looking for guest bloggers to share craft tutorials and techniques on here next month. Interested? Contact me with your idea.

Another Day in London....

I had another day out in London last week, unfortunately it isn't a new weekly thing, I had another crafty meet up so I took the opportunity to make a day of it. 

I was meeting Laura from Bugs and Fishes in the afternoon so I visited the V&A's Wedding Dress exhibit in the morning and it was AWESOME! If you like wedding dresses or you are interested in fashion history, or if like me you love both, then this is a must see!

The exhibit showcases wedding dresses and documents the history from 1775 to the present day. If you like celeb weddings they have dresses from Gwen Stefani, Kate Moss and Dita Von Teese.

You weren't allowed to take pics so I had the excuse to buy the book so I can revisit the gorgeous-ness of the dresses and swot up on the history, I'm a geek for history especially if it is about pretty dresses.

My favourite dress was called "The Flower Bomb" I am trying to convince my hubby to get married again just so I can have this dress, so far no success!

The Flower Bomb

I didn't have enough time to visit the rest of the gallery otherwise I would be late meeting Laura at the National Gallery. After the obligatory tea and cake we had a wander around the gallery, it was nice to just amble and chat about art, creative things and life. I love being self employed and working from home but it can feel isolated so I think it is important to meet other crafters/small business owners to be inspired and share the challenges of running a creative business.

Before heading home we visited the Tower of London to see the poppies.  You don't have to go into the Tower to see it, just get off the tube to Tower Hill and follow the crowds.  It's an amazing and thought provoking sight....

After having a couple of inspiring days out in London it's time to get my head down in the craft den.  I'm getting lots of custom orders and I am working on Christmas ranges.  I have lots planned for this blog too, I can't wait to share it with you....

fizzi~jayne x