I’ve never been much of a one for being invited to things.

When I was growing up I was always a one-best-friend girl, rather than a part-of-a-gang one. So I didn’t get invited to lots of birthday parties and sleepovers and suchlike.

And now I’m grown-up, I’m similar; not much of a social gad-about, never one of the “in-crowd”, a bit awkward, if I’m honest, at social events.

I’ve never really minded this. It’s just me.

So for me to be invited to something prestigious, and in London was quite a big deal…

By virtue of my doll-making exploits, I was invited by Sarah Campbell to the private view of the Liberty in Fashion exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.

And it was wonderful!

I had never been to the Fashion and Textile Museum before.

Created by designer Zandra Rhodes, it sits in a bright pink building on an unassuming little street, just around the corner from Guy’s Hospital and The Shard.

Unsure of how long it would take me to get across London, I arrived too early.

Although I’d had a vague idea of wandering about somewhere in London for an hour or so, it was pouring down, so I ended up disturbing Sarah’s lunch and sitting with her in the museum café drinking tea instead. The exhibition actually opens today (tickets are available here) and is on until next February. But I got a proper preview – before even anyone else arrived for the private view!

Alas, the combination of my not-so-wonderful camera, basic photography skills and reflections on the glass from the museum lighting means my photographs don’t really do it justice. Please forgive me.

You’ll just have to go and see it yourself.

There is a whole roomful of wonderful designs by Sarah and her sister Susan Collier, on loan mainly from Sarah’s own personal archive, which couldn’t fail to make me happy…

The displays provide fascinating insights into the design process.

Finished fabrics are shown alongside their creators’ design notebooks, sketches and paintings, magazine clippings of the fashions of the day manufactured from them, sample sheets and even items of clothing…

There are lots examples of the beautiful colourful scarves for which Liberty is still famous today…

And then downstairs, there are the clothes…

They are amazing… from early twentieth century embroidered dresses, through art nouveau artists’ robes (the sort of outfit the word “Bohemian” was coined for!), to crêpe dresses of the 1930s in faded pastels and the pastoral-influenced “milk maid” smocks of the 1970s, they were all fantastic!

There are even some present-day designers represented, showing how Liberty continues to be an influence in the fashion world.

But they were hellishly difficult to photograph! I wanted a picture of a shocking pink 1960s cocktail dress with petals around the hem, but just couldn’t get a decent shot of it.

However, these were possibly my favourites…

Can you guess from which decade those bobby dazzlers hail?!

Of course, as well as supplying professional fashion designers, Liberty has always provided fabrics for home sewing as well…

Which brings me neatly to why I was invited.

It was truly lovely to see my dolls, which are made from Liberty fabrics from Sarah Campbell’s personal archive, on display.

I knew they were going on sale in the shop, but I hadn’t realised that a couple of them are actually appearing in the exhibition itself…

Please excuse the somewhat grey photo, they are behind glass. Like precious things!

They all now have names, with the rest being sold downstairs in the shop (along with their specially-made bags to take them home in)…

I thought the highlight of my evening had come when I almost bumped into Kaffe Fassett, wandering round…

But then, as I was in the shop considering whether to purchase a Liberty notebook, I felt a tap on the shoulder…

Someone had bought one of my dolls! And one of the museum’s staff wanted to point me out as the maker to the lady purchasing!

The purchaser was Susan Bishop, fashion historian and curator at Creative Fashion Forum.

I blushed a bit and probably gabbled.

But then, as I said, I’ve never been very good at social events. ♥