An epic meet-up!

BREAKING NEWS: You can now see the professional photos from the day, organised by Rachel and taken by Digpal Singh 

Friends, I have just limped back home from what can only be described as an epic meet-up, organised by the beautiful and unflappable Rachel (House of Pinheiro). I reckon there must have been at least 40 and maybe even 50 of us, including sewing friends from as far as Australia and America! Fingers crossed for a full name and blog list from Rachel, because there were a lot of new-to-me faces and way too many people to list without leaving someone out. 

Despite the huge scale of the day it was filled with laughter, sincerity, excitement and...wait for it...sunshine! I loved meeting up with old pals, making new pals with those whose blogs I've admired forever and discovering even more talented people. Too much chatting, shopping and eating prevented me from snapping quality photos, but here's a few that highlight the magnitude of it all!

It all kicked off at the breathtaking Victoria and Albert Museum (my first ever visit!), where we enjoyed the glorious sunshine and had professional photos taken by a friend of Rachel's. I'm sure Rachel will be sharing these soon, so do check her blog for updates.


There were so many of us! And this was taken way before everyone had arrived...


Beautiful ladies wearing their beautiful handmade dresses!


I don't know how Rachel did such a great job at herding us all from the V&A to Goldhawk Road. There was a bit of a high noon moment as we waited on opposite sides of the road for everyone to arrive...hehe!



We literally overwhelmed an entire Lebanese restaurant - yes, the food was delicious!


I didn't get any pictures of the swap, which took place in the basement of the restaurant, but it too was epic. I've literally seen nothing like it before...there were overflowing suitcases and wheelie bags and we even got a goodie bag each...more on what mine contained at a later date ;o) 

I managed to 'get rid of' my four lengths of fabric and two sewing patterns, without being tempted to take anything for myself. I did, however, 'treat' myself to the two lovely prints below (and some plain silk cotton for lining purposes which was too boring to photograph) - my hand's in the pictures for a sense of scale.



Finally, I want to say a massive and heartfelt 'Thank you' to Rachel! She was a charming host and did an excellent job at organising such a large-scale event and looking after us all so well. Having organised a meet-up on a much smaller scale last year, I can only imagine how exhausted she must feel right now. I hope you can put your feet up and relax tomorrow Rachel!x  

54 comments:

  1. It was a indeed an epic day - and well done you for blogging about it so quickly! I am totally exhausted so can only imagine how Rachel must be feeling! Great to see you again!

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    1. Poor Rachel! She did us all very proud ;o)

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  2. I'm sorry I had to leave before the swap (and before getting my hands on a goody bag, sob!) but I had SO MUCH FUN today - it was good to see you again, even if we did only get to chat briefly - looking forward to seeing you in Birmingham in June! x

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    1. It was lovely seeing you too my dear, but yes, next time we need more chatting time. We should so make the journey across one weekend for a coffee and a natter ;o)

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  3. Was lovely to meet you and I agree that Rachel did an amazing job of organising an epic day! From the sewing stalker!!

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    1. Lovely to meet you too sewing stalker! Haha!

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  4. Oh I'm so sad I couldn't come along, it looks like you had a wonderful day. So jealous �� Now I'm really looking forward to the Brum meetup - fingers crossed the sun will shine then too!

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    1. Don't be jealous Sabs, we'll have loads of fun at Brum too ;o)

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  5. Wowed! What an amazing gigantasaurus of a blogger meet!! Glad you had the sun shining on your fab day and sorry to miss you all xx

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  6. I am so glad the sun shone for you all.Love your new fabrics too!

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  7. You all look so beautiful! Thanks for this post, Marie. I've been stalking Twitter and Instagram for updates all day, totally living vicariously through you guys. Congratulations on this sunshiny day.
    Best,
    Shelley

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    1. You're most welcome Shelley, thanks for taking an interest!

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  8. looks like you all had a great day, the weather was fab. Sorry I missed this one, hope to make the next ones.

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    1. Yep, there's always another meet-up you can join for sure ;o)

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  9. It was so nice to meet you, and I can't wait to see what you make from your fabric. I already have plans for the green fabric you gave me - watch this space :)

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    1. Ditto Katy and I look forward to seeing what you make with your cotton sateen ;o)

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  10. What a fabulous day! It looks like you had an amazing time, I wish I could have been there. Hopefully I'll be in London in August if you're going...

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    1. I should be going in August so fingers crossed we meet then!

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  11. Wowee - you lucky people! :D

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    1. Fingers crossed I get to meet you one of these days too!

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  12. That sounds like so much fun!

    Your hands are beautiful- your manicurist did a lovely job.

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    1. Thanks Bea! I just painted my nails myself, no manicurist involved ;o)

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  13. Such a great day! And it was lovely meeting you Marie! (and everyone else too!)

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  14. It was a fab day! Great to meet you and everyone else!

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  15. sounds like you had a lovely day :)

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    1. We did indeed ta! Maybe you can make a meet-up soon?

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  16. Wow! What a fun day that would have been.

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  17. Wow! What an amazing meetup! So glad you had a beautiful day for it, too! The prints you bought are gorgeous-- I'm excited to see them turn into garments!

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    1. Thanks Sonja! It was soooo awesome and I'm proud I was restrained with what I bought ;o)

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  18. Such a fabulous day, and great to meet you! It exceeded all my expectations. Can't wait 'til the next one.

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    1. Yes, it was brilliant meeting you too! Now following your lovely blog ;o)

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  19. Looks like it was lots of fun, the photos are great! Looking forward to meeting you in Birmingham.

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  20. What fabulous photos. Looks like a fab day, lots of fabulous outfits. Sewing ladies look like a happy bunch. What do you call 40+ sewing ladies found in one place?

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    1. Hmmm, what do you call 40+ sewing ladies found in one place?!?

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    2. We were diacussing this on the tube. We need a collective noun!

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    3. The official collective for seamstresses is a 'scolding of seamstresses'. Funny, huh? Hope this link works in comments:
      http://agoodtalkingto.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-scolding-of-seamstresses.html

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  21. You have no idea how jealous I am!!!! My husband and I might be coming to London this year, hopefully we can do a little meet up! :)

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    1. Oooh, when are you looking to come? Make sure you keep in touch and we'll try and organise something...you can email me (address on my about page) or leave a comment on any post. I'd love to meet you!!!

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  22. Lovely to meet you on Saturday Marie! Your dress looked great in real life. And I bought exactly the same stripy fabric! Started cutting it to day and already ballsed a piece up, so fingers crossed I get a garment out of it... What are you making with yours?

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    1. You too Amy and how cool that we bought the same fabric! I'm sure you didn't mess it up at all...what are you making? I've earmarked mine for a 50s pattern I have!

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    2. I'm making an Easy Vogue dress - just finished matching the stripes and cutting the pieces! Looking forward to seeing both our dresses...x

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  23. Hi Marie!
    So sorry I didn't get to say Hi on Saturday! Love the first Fabric you got, its beautiful! I have some (slightly dodgy!) pics on my blog post if you need them! It was definitely epic!

    Emmie

    http://vintageinkfairy.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Hi Emmie, hopefully we'll get to chat next time ;o)

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  24. Hey look, my face is on your blog! You were very restrained with what you took home. I'm impressed. Lovely seeing you. Catch up again in June!

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    1. Yes, it is, it is! It's nice to have the next meet-up date to look forward to already ;o)

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  25. It looks like you had a great time! We would love to hear from you about the next meet up! :) xx

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    1. Hi there, thanks for stopping by! I know of three meet-ups coming up soon:

      Brighton 18 May - http://sew-incidentally.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sewing-meet-up-brighton-saturday-18th.html

      Birmingham 15 June - http://asewingodyssey.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/birmingham-meet-up-saturday-15-june.html

      London 3 August - http://sew-incidentally.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sewing-meet-up-london-goldhawk-road.html

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  26. it was such an epic day! I'm so glad I finally got to meet you in person! I'm hoping to make it up to Birmingham in June for more meet-up fun :) x

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