A Stitching Odyssey: Intimate blogger hook-up

Today has simply been ace! I had the pleasure of meeting up in Birmingham with two lovely stitching bloggers – Winnie from Scruffy Badger Time and Catherine from The Makings of an Urban Rustic. I've been a huge fan of Winnie's makes and blog for a while so it was no surprise at all to find out that she's as fun and fabulous as she comes across online. And I'm so happy to have met Catherine who has a seriously good eye for top fabric and whose knitting has blown me away!

Not even the miserable weather could dampen our spirits (pun intended), we had an absolute blast terrorising the stall holders at the Rag Market.

There were trimmings...boy were there trimmings!

And ridiculous amounts of cheap fabric - look how excited Winnie and Catherine are!

A few hours later we needed to recharge our batteries with delicious drink, food and chatter.

We also used our hard-earned break as a chance to swap some bits and I came away with these lovelies. Thank you ladies!

Re-energised, we went back for more and accidentally discovered one of the best fabric shops ever - the Fancy Silk Store! Don't let the name fool you, this shop stocks pretty much everything and at very reasonable prices! 

Winnie contemplating some pretty peacock print...and yes, she got some in the end!

I, of course, didn't come home empty handed. I indulged in yet some more jersey...

...some crepe and viscose...

...and a sweet little collar!

I also left with some divine inspiration! This cute child's dress left me desperate for one in my size, so I've decided to recreate it for myself this summer. I can't imagine it will be hard to draft, in fact I have a couple of patterns that should be easy enough to adapt...wish me luck!

Thank you ladies for a delightful day! It was excellent meeting you both and I really enjoyed getting to know a bit about you both. Here's hoping we get to do it again soon!