Sigh About Rye and High Eye Oh My

I thought and thought about a name for this post.  I hope you appreciate my craziness creativity.

Design - "Souvenir de France" (freebie)

Designer - Blackbird Designs

Fabric - unknown

Fibers - Sajou Cotton - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 10 June 2013

Completed - 23 June 2013

Okay, let's catch up on Tuesday.

The east Sussex countryside is very pretty.  Lots of grazing sheep and interesting homes.  Look closely at the collage - you can see a field of red poppies, monstrously large white windmill, and two thatched cottages. 

Before we returned to London, we strolled around the ancient town of Rye. Rye is old, old, old - it was an important harbor in Roman times. The oldest buildings in Rye is Ypres Tower (above), which was built in 1249 to defend the town from the French. 

In the 13th century the flow of the river Rother changed and Rye was suddenly two miles inland. Then the sea and the river combined in about 1375 to destroy the eastern part of the town and ships began use the current area (the Strand) to unload their cargoes. Two years later the town was sacked and burnt by the French, and it was ordered that the town walls be completed,as a defence against foreign raiders.  Rye was considered one of the finest of the Cinque Ports even though constant work had to be done to stop the gradual silting-up of the river and the harbour. 

St Mary's Church

The churchyard

There are so many wonderful old buildings in Rye.

This is Mermaid Street - a quaint cobblestone street with building after building from the 1400's.

Maybe this collage will give you an idea of the number and variety of historic homes and businesses.

This charming pink home is the Rectory - right next to St Mary's.

Rye has lace-covered windows, and rose-covered doorways, and secret little gardens, and charming shops. 

Most unusually nearly every old (or should I say ancient) home has a personalized ceramic name-plate. What a great place to walk about and soak up the atmosphere.

Now, if you are still with me, on to today's adventures.

We decided to 'do' the London Eye today.  On our walk from Waterloo Station to the Eye, we passed by four somber memorials to the many railroad employees who lost their lives in WWI.  We also walked by an amusing large faux topiary, two street buskers, and the Jubilee Garden.  Across the river: the Houses of Parliament and Charing Cross Station.

After standing in a very long, but fast moving line, we boarded the Eye. 

Up we went, slowly and smoothly.

From on high we could see the Battersea Power Station, the Thames, The Shard, and crane after crane as London is always under construction.

The BT Tower, St. Paul's, Waterloo Station, Charing Cross Station, the Treasury and Foreign Office were visible.  The last row of the collage shows Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace.

Kudos to my Mom who does not much care for heights, but gamely came along for the ride nonetheless.

Our last stop today, was Liberty's - they always have wonderful displays of flowers for sale. We came one year in February near Valentine's Day and the flowers were out of this world.

Liberty's is a treasure-trove with a souq-like atmosphere.  Persian carpets, Moroccan fountains, Tibetan chests, Indian statues, and Egyptian lanterns.  Where else can you find all that under one roof? 

I am a huge fan of Liberty prints so I oohed and aahed at all the lovely fabrics displayed in their haberdashery department.  I bought four pretty hankies as I so admired the colors and patterns.