Norwich Sewcials did Great British Sewing Bee Live!

Just over a year ago myself and The Fabric Wrangler decided we'd start up a little group called Norwich Sewcials. Just a little chance for anyone that liked sewing to get together for coffee and chat about our hobbies... little did we expect that over the course of the year so many people would join, help and bring together our great little community.

When the Great British Sewing Bee Live event was announced, of course we wanted to go...but what started with a small trip out turned into..."shall we get a coach trip going?" A little ambitious to say the least but over the course of 3 months we sold out and filled our bus! What a lovely show of support and an exciting prospect.

Off we went on the first day of the exhibition, such an early start but tea service and raffle on board for the journey!

I'm sure so many of you out there got to visit at Excel and there will be so many similar blog posts but I thought it was certainly worth a mention. The day was little short of exceptional!

It was my first time at Excel and the venue was incredibly, so huge! Perfect for packing in all that sewing action... Particular highlights for me would be seeing sewing friends Eliza Sew Little and Melissa Fehr looking awesome in their sports gear. Within about 2 minutes of arriving I had made my first purchase...a pre-order of her new activewear book! Checking in with the Fold Line girls and seeing familar faces from the Sewing Weekender was so much fun.

There was a huge array of fabric stalls, which rather nicely were not repetative at all, they all had something unique to offer which was a very nice touch. 15 minutes into the day I had blown my budget at Fabrics Galore on a variety of novelty prints! (Ooops...although that was somewhat inevitable). Although we didnt see the main show, we did see Jenny Eclair and Patrick Grant!

I was introduced to Higgs and Higgs by my friends who had discovered them on Instagram. Not sure how they had passed me by to date as their fabrics were so beautiful. I picked up some amazing scandi geometric cotton to make a christmas throw. (Bottom left pic)

Another highlight for me was discovering The Arty Crafty Place who were running Indian block printing workshops and selling their kits. Those ladies were fabulous and realy took the time to explain their products, making bespoke kits with whatever print you fancied! I chose these rather hilarious chickens.

In addition to shopping there were some excellent exhibits including vintage handmade items which were exquisite, modern creations and makes from a variety of schools and colleges. In the pic below the dress on the right was from 1930 and had hand cut applique all around the neckline.

Fashion shows took place which were fun to watch and there was a neighbouring champagne bar! (The Fabric Wrangler seemed to be enjoying that one ;) Fuelled by chicken burger and a cuppa we powered on throughout the day right until 5pm when it was time to hed back to the coach.

An excellent day made better by seeing everyone climb back aboard smiling but tired... it was definitely a quieter journey back home!

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