Liberty!

Liberty of London is famous among quilters and sewists. Here’s a bit of its history, from their webpage:

When our adventurous founder Arthur Lasenby Liberty laid plans for a London emporium laden with luxuries and fabrics from distant lands, his dream was to metaphorically dock a ship in the city streets. To this day, a voyage of discovery awaits on the good ship Liberty, with history hidden amongst six floors of cutting-edge design, unexpected edits and beautiful wares from the world’s greatest craftspeople.

And they aren’t kidding! The store was constructed from from the timbers of two ancient ‘three-decker’ battle ships. The whole place creaks!

Although they sell everything from perfumes to jewelry to menswear, quilters are there for the fabric. See some of it online here.

Here’s a selection I happen to have of their famous Tana Lawns. See more and better photos on their Instagram here.

And here is the founder himelf.

Liberty is now celebrating its 150th birthday and it’s still going strong. This store and the British Museum are my must-sees the next time I’m in London.