Loving the Great British Sewing Bee!

Thoroughly enjoyed the second edition of the Great British Sewing Bee... there are only 4 episodes :-( I never watched the Great British Bake Off but it seemed as though it was on the TV for a long time so I'm quite disappointed this beautiful series will be over before it's barely started!

Some might say that men's trousers are nowhere near as sexy as chocolate cake but I'm riveted ;-) mainly because it has brought back so many lovely memories for me and has inspired me to create with fabric once again.  I used to be fanatical about dressmaking. My newly purchased material would be thrown across the floor before I could barely get through the front door, pattern thrown upon it ready to pin without even taking my coat off!  I'm sure this show is going to start a new sewing revolution! Bet the powers that be are wishing they had made more episodes now ;-)

All the contestants are wonderful but I have a feeling Ann is going to win as she seems to have a bit of an unfair advantage having decades of experience (she's an incredible 82 years of age!) and her finishing touches are exquisite.  My favourite is Lauren. I absolutely love her neck scarf  (her style in general) which no doubt she has made herself as she has been sewing since was a little girl and creates absolutely everything beautifully for home and herself.  I absolutely loved her little patch pockets she created to spruce up a plain short A-Line skirt. I definitely feel the need to make these myself sometime soon! I was sad to see Mark leave as he has to be the most inspirational...take one look at him and you would never believe the outfits he creates for his passion which is 'steam punk' events, ahem doesn't sound like something involving dressing up in Victorian costumes and drinking tea :-/

I wonder if I'll be able to get to a sewing shop and buy some fabulous fabric before the series ends...

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The Thought of Sewing....

It's been a long time since I last sewed!  About 16 years!  Last project a broderie anglaise blouse together with a pair of red tartan dungarees, size... 18-24 months!  Well you wouldn't catch me in such an outfit, not even back then, but it looked adorable on my beautiful daughter...and gave me quite a thrill to see her running around in it knowing I had made it after much blood, sweat and tears (must see if I can find the photo of her wearing it).

Why on earth have I become obsessed again. No, kids haven't grown up and flown the nest?  Well they've grown up but they're still very much in the nest.  Too much time on my hands and need a hobby?  No...haven't any time as I run my own business and work 'round the clock!

I sat down (wasn't going to... didn't intend to) with dinner on lap and watched The Great British Sewing Bee!  Oh, it brought back so many lovely memories... cannot wait to catch next weeks episode and hope it catches on, although not sure it will grip the nation like the Great British Bake Off... although you never know.  I bet sewing clubs, sewing shops and all things related around the Nation are waiting in excited anticipation for reams of fabric and fancy sewing tools of every kind to go flying off the shelves!  I hope so, wouldn't that be lovely?... a revival in the art of making beautiful clothes.  Everything is so mass produced nowadays and off the peg clothes are not always want you had in mind... I always seem to find a great style only to discover the fabric is awful or the fabric is gorgeous but the design would just make you look like a bag of dumplings!

So I'm really looking forward to my first project, not sure what it's going to be at the moment. Probably an A-Line skirt (will need it for work anyway).  All the contestants in the GB Sewing Bee each gave the simple A-Line skirt their own individual style and I'll try to do the same. I have to confess, deep down I'm what you might call a bit of a bodgit and scarper kind of character, at least I was back in the day as it was all self taught.  Some projects were a success, most were, well, consigned to the back of the loft!

This time around hopefully I'll have patience, going to need lots of it, and lots more assistance through social media... all the lovely blogs, youtube videos, facebook pages etc to ensure my first project is a wearable success.

First step... find a sewing class :-)

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